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Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science
From the acclaimed author of Finding Wonders and Grasping Mysteries comes a gorgeously written biography in “deliberate, delicate verse” ( Kirkus Reviews ) about the pioneering Jewish woman physicist whose scientific prowess changed the course of World War II.
At the turn of the 20th century, Lise Meitner dreamed of becoming a scientist. In her time, girls were not supposed to want careers, much less ones in science. But Lise was smart—and determined. She earned a PhD in physics, then became the first woman physics professor at the University of Berlin. The work was thrilling, but Nazi Germany was a dangerous place for a Jewish woman. When the risks grew too great, Lise escaped to Sweden, where she continued the experiments that she and her laboratory partner had worked on for years. Her efforts led to the discovery of nuclear fission and altered the course of history.
Only Lise’s partner, a man, received the Nobel Prize for their findings, but this moving and accessible biography shows how Lise’s legacy endures.
At the turn of the 20th century, Lise Meitner dreamed of becoming a scientist. In her time, girls were not supposed to want careers, much less ones in science. But Lise was smart—and determined. She earned a PhD in physics, then became the first woman physics professor at the University of Berlin. The work was thrilling, but Nazi Germany was a dangerous place for a Jewish woman. When the risks grew too great, Lise escaped to Sweden, where she continued the experiments that she and her laboratory partner had worked on for years. Her efforts led to the discovery of nuclear fission and altered the course of history.
Only Lise’s partner, a man, received the Nobel Prize for their findings, but this moving and accessible biography shows how Lise’s legacy endures.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published January 18, 2022
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About the author
Jeannine Atkins
23 books47 followersJeannine Atkins is the author of Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science, Grasping Mysteries: Girls Who Loved Math, and Little Woman in Blue: A Novel of May Alcott. She teaches in the MFA program at Simmons College. You can learn more on her website at http://www.Jeannineatkins.com.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 26, 2023
With her 2022 middle grade novel in verse Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science Jeannine Atkins examines the life of early to mid 20th century Austrian and later Swedish (Jewish by background) physicist Lise Meitner (1978-1968), who rose over ingrained gender prejudice and opposition to not only female scientists but also to women even working outside of the home to teach and do groundbreaking research in nuclear fission, with Meitner becoming the first woman at the University of Vienna and just the second in the world to earn a PhD in physics (working for many years as a tenured professor in Berlin but having to flee Germany for Sweden in 1938 due to National Socialism and Adolf Hitler's antisemitic polices, luckily having friends and colleagues in Germany and elsewhere who helped her escape as Lise Meitner had left it too long and almost got stranded in Germany, and which more than likely would have meant Auschwitz or another death camp for her).
And yes, regarding how Jeannine Atkins is textually portraying Lise Meitner's life (and career) in Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science, yes and from my own prior independent research on Meitner, Atkins (in my opinion) gets the main biographical points across very nicely and mostly correctly, in other words factually (and that I do hugely appreciate Jeannine Atkins clearly demonstrating and pointing out in Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science Lise Meitner's parents and especially her lawyer father being very supportive of their daughters pursuing science education and as career choices, how at least until National Socialism the main obstacles faced by Meitner regarding being a university physicist and professor were in fact not her Jewish background but mostly and sadly her being a woman, was the all encompassing pan-European and in fact pretty much global gender bias against women in the sciences and particularly in academia and not to mention that I also really do celebrate Atkins very pointedly stating in Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science Lise Meitner's vocal and public opposition to the nuclear bomb and her also actively and both publicly and privately condemning academic colleagues and friends who helped both the Nazis and the Americans create and later use the latter on Japan and that the timelines, list of names and bibliography are a very nice added academic and intellectual bonus, although considering that Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science was published in 2022, I do wish that Jeannine Atkins would also be including internet website resources and not just books).
But my appreciation for the generally solid factuality of Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science quite notwithstanding, I do have one annoying and frustrating content-based bone of contention with Jeannine Atkins’ featured text. For while it is indeed true (and very much understandable) why and how Lise Meitner was feeling pretty bitter and slighted when she was ignored for the 1944/1945 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for discovering nuclear fission (and that only her male lab partners Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann were recognised and honoured by the and equally all male selection committee), it is in fact not true that Otto Hahn was an active participant in this (and like is unfortunately claimed and stated by Atkins in Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science) since according to what I have read both on Wikipedia and other online resources, Otto Hahn actually was not even aware of Lise Meitner being ignored for the Nobel Prize and only found out about this from newspaper articles after the fact (something that Lise Meitner accepted and believed and that her bitterness was indeed mostly directed at Sweden and at the Nobel committees and not at either Hahn or Strassmann, and I really do wish that Jeannine Atkins would show this in Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science because her words kind of insinuate the opposite and cast a lot of for and to me uncalled for direct blame at particularly Otto Hahn).
And therefore, while the above mentioned issue does not in any manner makes me not enjoy and not want to warmly recommend Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science, as the textual positives certainly far outweigh any negatives, both this and that Jeannine Atkins’ free form poetry short chapters do tend to get a bit personally distracting (and also kind of leave me wanting more nuance and verbal depth since whenever I manage to get really into an episode of Lise Meitner’s life, Atkins usually jumps into something else, often completely different and generally not with really good textual transitions either), for me, and although Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science is educational and with a delightful, necessary and encouraging feminist vibe, sorry, but my own and personal rating for Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science cannot and will not go higher than three stars.
And yes, regarding how Jeannine Atkins is textually portraying Lise Meitner's life (and career) in Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science, yes and from my own prior independent research on Meitner, Atkins (in my opinion) gets the main biographical points across very nicely and mostly correctly, in other words factually (and that I do hugely appreciate Jeannine Atkins clearly demonstrating and pointing out in Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science Lise Meitner's parents and especially her lawyer father being very supportive of their daughters pursuing science education and as career choices, how at least until National Socialism the main obstacles faced by Meitner regarding being a university physicist and professor were in fact not her Jewish background but mostly and sadly her being a woman, was the all encompassing pan-European and in fact pretty much global gender bias against women in the sciences and particularly in academia and not to mention that I also really do celebrate Atkins very pointedly stating in Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science Lise Meitner's vocal and public opposition to the nuclear bomb and her also actively and both publicly and privately condemning academic colleagues and friends who helped both the Nazis and the Americans create and later use the latter on Japan and that the timelines, list of names and bibliography are a very nice added academic and intellectual bonus, although considering that Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science was published in 2022, I do wish that Jeannine Atkins would also be including internet website resources and not just books).
But my appreciation for the generally solid factuality of Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science quite notwithstanding, I do have one annoying and frustrating content-based bone of contention with Jeannine Atkins’ featured text. For while it is indeed true (and very much understandable) why and how Lise Meitner was feeling pretty bitter and slighted when she was ignored for the 1944/1945 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for discovering nuclear fission (and that only her male lab partners Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann were recognised and honoured by the and equally all male selection committee), it is in fact not true that Otto Hahn was an active participant in this (and like is unfortunately claimed and stated by Atkins in Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science) since according to what I have read both on Wikipedia and other online resources, Otto Hahn actually was not even aware of Lise Meitner being ignored for the Nobel Prize and only found out about this from newspaper articles after the fact (something that Lise Meitner accepted and believed and that her bitterness was indeed mostly directed at Sweden and at the Nobel committees and not at either Hahn or Strassmann, and I really do wish that Jeannine Atkins would show this in Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science because her words kind of insinuate the opposite and cast a lot of for and to me uncalled for direct blame at particularly Otto Hahn).
And therefore, while the above mentioned issue does not in any manner makes me not enjoy and not want to warmly recommend Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science, as the textual positives certainly far outweigh any negatives, both this and that Jeannine Atkins’ free form poetry short chapters do tend to get a bit personally distracting (and also kind of leave me wanting more nuance and verbal depth since whenever I manage to get really into an episode of Lise Meitner’s life, Atkins usually jumps into something else, often completely different and generally not with really good textual transitions either), for me, and although Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science is educational and with a delightful, necessary and encouraging feminist vibe, sorry, but my own and personal rating for Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science cannot and will not go higher than three stars.
xx-dnf-skim-reference
February 23, 2025For STEM heroes, Feb. 225 discussion in Children's Books group.
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Sorry, I've got too much going on now to finish. This does seem engaging, important, accessible. I do recommend it.
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Sorry, I've got too much going on now to finish. This does seem engaging, important, accessible. I do recommend it.
May 11, 2022
This biography-in-verse introduces readers to the pioneering Jewish female physicist whose scientific prowess changed the course of World War II.
April 12, 2022
Jeannine Atkins' books often teach me. Her books craftily tell stories about women, most not well-known, some educated in science areas, often not, if at all, well-recognized. Be sure to check the list of her books, now this newest one, Hidden Powers, Lise Meitner's Call to Science.
Lise was a young Jewish girl in Austria who wanted to study chemistry. There were roadblocks because she was a girl, but she persisted and finished a Ph.D., and went to work in Berlin. The blocks continued. At first, women weren't allowed in the science buildings, and when finally admitted, they weren't paid and had to take an assistant position only. Lise Meitner's story is an inspirational story of a scientist who did keep going with her work, eventually getting to the point that she recognized a new thing, nuclear fission, though it was not named at the time. The Nazis were starting to achieve more power, Lise and some colleagues are worried, and they eventually lose their jobs because they are Jewish or will not join the Nazi party. Jeannine's writing keeps the time and tension going by sharing the latest events and much of the time letting Lise herself share her thoughts. Others do, too. In one early scene, a friend says "Nobody believes that foolishness." As is known about that terrifying era, people did. And Lise replies, wishing people didn't make up things. "There's rot in the lie that one group of people/is worse than others. One lie sets a space for more."
Some of the text foreshadows things that will happen. Lise tries to remain in Berlin but at last, she understands it is not safe to remain. The tension between safety, poignant scenes of goodbye, and Lise's work after so many years calls the reader to hope for better. It is of interest that other more well-known scientists are in this story, too, like Einstein and Fermi, many of whom fled Germany in order to be safe. .
Jeannine shows the feelings so well through the poems. There is happiness in finding answers in the research, in the friendships with colleagues and family friends, small trips to a beach. Finally, sadness at how her world changed in her homeland and horror that her research ended in the atomic bomb.
It is a bittersweet end, but an admirable story where one can feel Lise's passion for her science, her home, her friends, yet ending in her sorrow for her country, friends, and some colleagues. It's a complex story that is intriguing to read from a life I hadn't known.
Read more »
Lise was a young Jewish girl in Austria who wanted to study chemistry. There were roadblocks because she was a girl, but she persisted and finished a Ph.D., and went to work in Berlin. The blocks continued. At first, women weren't allowed in the science buildings, and when finally admitted, they weren't paid and had to take an assistant position only. Lise Meitner's story is an inspirational story of a scientist who did keep going with her work, eventually getting to the point that she recognized a new thing, nuclear fission, though it was not named at the time. The Nazis were starting to achieve more power, Lise and some colleagues are worried, and they eventually lose their jobs because they are Jewish or will not join the Nazi party. Jeannine's writing keeps the time and tension going by sharing the latest events and much of the time letting Lise herself share her thoughts. Others do, too. In one early scene, a friend says "Nobody believes that foolishness." As is known about that terrifying era, people did. And Lise replies, wishing people didn't make up things. "There's rot in the lie that one group of people/is worse than others. One lie sets a space for more."
Some of the text foreshadows things that will happen. Lise tries to remain in Berlin but at last, she understands it is not safe to remain. The tension between safety, poignant scenes of goodbye, and Lise's work after so many years calls the reader to hope for better. It is of interest that other more well-known scientists are in this story, too, like Einstein and Fermi, many of whom fled Germany in order to be safe. .
Jeannine shows the feelings so well through the poems. There is happiness in finding answers in the research, in the friendships with colleagues and family friends, small trips to a beach. Finally, sadness at how her world changed in her homeland and horror that her research ended in the atomic bomb.
It is a bittersweet end, but an admirable story where one can feel Lise's passion for her science, her home, her friends, yet ending in her sorrow for her country, friends, and some colleagues. It's a complex story that is intriguing to read from a life I hadn't known.
Read more »
May 12, 2022
I love the trend of nonfiction verse in the category of autobiographies and biographies, so I definitely enjoyed reading and learning from it with the format. There were so many lines that jumped off the page for their power in sharing a story about a woman who was silenced because she was a woman in science and because she was Jewish. But she had a zest for science and discovery and worked tirelessly in the name of it. It certainly had to be since the prestige always went to the man. Over her career she didn't have papers published because she wasn't a Sir and her lab partner ended up with the Nobel Prize though they were PARTNERS.
"Lise looks out the window at a world dividing in two. / What's called 'pride' in boys / is called 'bragging' in girls. / What's called 'humble' in boys / can make a girl disappear."
"Lise loses the tight sleeves of shyness when talking about work she loves. / Still, she aims to look meek for now. / She'd rather be called shy than a show-off, ' but being cautious is exhausting. / She wants to matter. Is that selfish?"
"If your mother and I wanted all our children / to be alike, we might have stopped / at two instead of eight, Vati says. / We don't expect all to have the same calling." (The title of the chapter/verse was "Eight Ways"
"Mixing seeds from a red snapdragon with seeds / from white ones can turn blossoms pink, Elisabeth says. / They don't follow the genetic laws of dominance, / but blend colors instead of choosing one"..
"Lise looks out the window at a world dividing in two. / What's called 'pride' in boys / is called 'bragging' in girls. / What's called 'humble' in boys / can make a girl disappear."
"Lise loses the tight sleeves of shyness when talking about work she loves. / Still, she aims to look meek for now. / She'd rather be called shy than a show-off, ' but being cautious is exhausting. / She wants to matter. Is that selfish?"
"If your mother and I wanted all our children / to be alike, we might have stopped / at two instead of eight, Vati says. / We don't expect all to have the same calling." (The title of the chapter/verse was "Eight Ways"
"Mixing seeds from a red snapdragon with seeds / from white ones can turn blossoms pink, Elisabeth says. / They don't follow the genetic laws of dominance, / but blend colors instead of choosing one"..
September 28, 2023
Lise Meitner's life started in Austria where she chafed under the sexist views on education and work for women, especially scientists as chemistry was her passion. This Novel in Verse follows Lise's life from beginning to end - being able to get a PhD, becoming a professor and researcher, Hitler's rise to power, both World Wars, and seeing her long time lab partner, Otto Hahn, take the Nobel Prize for their collaborative work in discovering nuclear fission. The heartbreak, anger, and resentment over being snubbed in Physics because she is female and Jewish, the hatred arising in WWII under Hitler's regime and not knowing what happens to friends and family, and having to leave Berlin, her home for many years, to survive. Other scientists, many of them Nobel Prize winners, congregate and value Lise's work, like Einstein, Marie Curie, Niels Bohr, and more. Lise's horror that her discovery led to the creation of the atomic bomb and it's use in Japan is palpable and it as well as the horrors of WWII follow her through her life. There is an attached time line and information about all the scientists mentioned in the book. Hand to readers who love science and want to learn more of the scientific method and the benefits and negatives, like the atomic bomb, of discovery.
July 4, 2023
Evocative and richly engrossing, Jeannine Atkins’ "Hidden Powers" highlights the real-life challenges and triumphs of Lise Meitner, a pathbreaking physicist who first realized the principles of nuclear fission while overcoming misogynistic prejudice, anti-Semitism, and the terrors of Nazism. Written in sensitively nuanced, vivid, compelling verse -- an audacious narrative choice that succeeds beautifully -- "Hidden Powers" conjures not only the excitement of scientific discovery, but the worlds of early- and mid-twentieth century Jewish intellectual life in Austria and Germany and the intimate personal relationships of Meitner, her family, and her friends. Atkins is a wonderful writer with a gift for the telling detail, for nature description, for perceiving the intricacies of personality, and for fully inhabiting a historical period so that it springs convincingly to life. Although this is marketed as a book for young readers, it truly is a literary gem appropriate for all ages -- I’m 69 years old and savored every page. I also learned a lot. Highly recommended.
October 11, 2022
2022, biography
As I was reading this book I was reading Ethel's Song at the same time so it was interesting that both were about WW2 and the atomic bomb.
Learning about Dr Meitner's life from birth to death was really interesting. I honestly couldn't put the book down because I was learning about physics and Germany during this time period. My favorite part was watching how she broke boundaries to becoming the first woman at her university to get a PhD, then the first women in Germany to get her own physics lab. Yet, it made me sick about how many years she "volunteered" her services in labs and helped many male scientists. And then to not be acknowledged by her 30 year colleague in the Noble peace prize was so upsetting.
This definitely would be an inspiring book for young girls. Follow your passions and live with dignity and grace. Women's rights have come a long ways but we still are not treated equally.
As I was reading this book I was reading Ethel's Song at the same time so it was interesting that both were about WW2 and the atomic bomb.
Learning about Dr Meitner's life from birth to death was really interesting. I honestly couldn't put the book down because I was learning about physics and Germany during this time period. My favorite part was watching how she broke boundaries to becoming the first woman at her university to get a PhD, then the first women in Germany to get her own physics lab. Yet, it made me sick about how many years she "volunteered" her services in labs and helped many male scientists. And then to not be acknowledged by her 30 year colleague in the Noble peace prize was so upsetting.
This definitely would be an inspiring book for young girls. Follow your passions and live with dignity and grace. Women's rights have come a long ways but we still are not treated equally.
December 17, 2023
I found this book in the young adult section looking for something for my son to read. I skipped around and was hooked by the details about living in Germany during pre-WW1 and intrigued by the verse.
I skipped the beginning because I found it a bit boring, but was fascinated by the use of verse to tell a story about a real person. Lise's story in particular was fascinating, frustrating, and illuminating.
Incredible to be reminded of all the great scientific minds living in the same time and collaborating different ways.
I skipped the beginning because I found it a bit boring, but was fascinated by the use of verse to tell a story about a real person. Lise's story in particular was fascinating, frustrating, and illuminating.
Incredible to be reminded of all the great scientific minds living in the same time and collaborating different ways.
April 11, 2022
This is a wonderful short book written for middle school readers to learn about this important woman in history. The writing style is different written in poem like prose that makes the story flow.
Learn about a woman who helped discover atomic energy but was never recognized for her contributions to science because of the time period she lived in. Lise Meitner was a jewish woman who risked her life to work in Germany experimenting and teaching until she could not stay there any longer.
Learn about a woman who helped discover atomic energy but was never recognized for her contributions to science because of the time period she lived in. Lise Meitner was a jewish woman who risked her life to work in Germany experimenting and teaching until she could not stay there any longer.
May 6, 2023
Rating: G+ wwii violence and references. No profanity, index, no overt violence. Suggestion of a lesbian relationship between Lise and a biologist.
Recommend: aspiring girl scientists / interested readers, novel in verse. 6th and up.
A little more detailed than needed I think - the years leading up to the start of wwii were longer and more detailed than needed, especially in contrast to the wrap up which was fast. So many names! That got a little confusing too.
Recommend: aspiring girl scientists / interested readers, novel in verse. 6th and up.
A little more detailed than needed I think - the years leading up to the start of wwii were longer and more detailed than needed, especially in contrast to the wrap up which was fast. So many names! That got a little confusing too.
March 31, 2025
Historical fiction book told in verse about Lise Meitner.
She was a Jewish physicist during WWII.
I enjoyed this book. Some of my kids (the younger ones 7 and 9) didn’t always understand it but they are also new to books being told in verse.
I think it’s an excellent book to introduce kids to this type of writing style.
She was a Jewish physicist during WWII.
I enjoyed this book. Some of my kids (the younger ones 7 and 9) didn’t always understand it but they are also new to books being told in verse.
I think it’s an excellent book to introduce kids to this type of writing style.
December 28, 2021
In brief, engaging verses, Atkins paints a vivid portrait of a tenacious physicist who persisted in her research despite the barriers presented to women and the persecutions of Nazi Germany. Full review to follow in SLJ.
November 19, 2022
This beautiful historical novel in verse could be read and enjoyed by anyone grades 4 and up. I didn’t know much about Lise Meitner before this book, and now I’m in awe of her. A scientist who kept her humanity.
Read
February 10, 2023No rating since I’m not the target audience for this book (I work in a children’s department at a library so I’m trying to read our collection), but I did really enjoy this one! I hadn’t heard of Lise Meitner before reading this one, so I enjoyed learning about her and her story.
March 30, 2023
I love her as a role model; I love the STEM connections, I like the written in verse style, which can be extremely accessible. For middle grade nonfiction it was really good, but I can see parts that might not engage young readers as much, I still read it cover to cover though and enjoyed it.
September 20, 2021
Great story - easy to read and holds interest. Perfect for middle grade to learn about science and also WWII and also women in science
October 10, 2022
Impactful, powerful, accessible, important.
November 8, 2022
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus or Netgalley
December 29, 2022
Lovely novel in verse biography, well done with factual information and some fictionalized additions.
January 30, 2023
Verse novel of the fictionalized story of the life of the woman who discovered nuclear fission, Lise Meitner. A great companion to The Woman Who Split the Atom.
February 28, 2023
An absolutely wonderful novel-in-verse about one of my heroes.
April 17, 2023
An inspirational novel in verse about a woman that did not receive the honor she so rightly deserved.
November 7, 2022
I really enjoy reading books about real live people whose story has been forgotten or not properly told. This book about Lise Meitner is one such person.
My review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/...
My review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/...
September 17, 2024
A middle grade
Fictionalized
Nobel in verse
About a real scientist
That
Was more human
Than
Scientist
And
So much more.
Highly
Recommended.
Fictionalized
Nobel in verse
About a real scientist
That
Was more human
Than
Scientist
And
So much more.
Highly
Recommended.
April 1, 2023
Another wonderful biography in verse from Jeannine Atkins, this time about Lise Meitner's incredible life. Learned so much!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews