Book cover of Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission

Book description

The long-awaited memoir of a trailblazer and role model who is telling her story for the first time.
Eileen Collins was an aviation pioneer her entire career, from her crowning achievements as the first woman to command an American space mission as well as the first to pilot the space…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

It’s hard to imagine the competent, happily married Eileen Collins, the first female Space Shuttle commander, living off food stamps in subsidized housing with her alcoholic father trying to break down the door or later having to call 911 because her mother tried to kill herself. As she says, “It was awful to live through, but it shaped me into who I am today.”

I marveled at how she transformed herself from a mediocre student to a woman willing to work multiple part-time jobs to attend community college and avoid her parents’ fates. Not only did she become a test…

If you love Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars.

Browse books like Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars

Book cover of Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space
Book cover of Go for Orbit: One of America's First Women Astronauts Finds Her Space
Book cover of Managing Martians

Share your top 3 reads of 2026!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

183

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars, you might also like...

Book cover of Child of Vanris

Child of Vanris by Nikki McCormack,

At five years old, Kasiel was found with the pointed ends of his ears cut off. Despite that brutal start, he’s lived twelve peaceful years with the man who took him in. Keeping his hair long over his mutilated ears helps him hide the fact that he is Vanrian, a…

Book cover of Almost Home

Almost Home by Howard Means,

Almost Home is a fictional retelling of the last great tragedy of the Civil War.

In late April 1865, almost 2,000 newly freed Union prisoners of war are packed onto the steamer Sultana, in poor repair and with a listed capacity of 376 passengers. Among them are four Indiana soldiers…

5 book lists we think you will like!