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Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, is the de-facto centerpiece of the book, and much of NASA and the Space Shuttle program is viewed through Ride’s eyes. NASA, as it turns out, is actually a pretty welcoming place and most of the members of Astronaut Group 8 went on to have extremely impressive careers with the organization, including both notable spaceflights and positions in upper management. Much of the book, as you would expect, details the trials and tribulations of this diverse group entering the formerly all-white, and all-male, world of NASA astronauts. “The New Guys” ostensibly sets out to chronicle the experiences of the women and minority members of Astronaut Group 8, but actually accomplishes a much larger goal along the way: giving the reader a boots-on-the-ground view, and oral history of, the Space Shuttle program from the 1970s through its end in 2011. Astronaut Group 8 was notable for the inclusion of six women, one of whom was Jewish, three Astronauts who were Black, and one who was Asian. NASA, looking to diversify the Astronaut Corps, and recognizing that they needed a lot of new astronauts to fly the upcoming Space Shuttle missions, selected Astronaut Group 8. In the wake of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, the United States Congress passed the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972. Title: The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space Travel