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Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race Paperback – December 6, 2016

by Margot Lee Shetterly (Author)

13,515 ratings

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The #1 New York Times bestseller

The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space—a powerful, revelatory history essential to our understanding of race, discrimination, and achievement in modern America. The basis for the smash Academy Award-nominated film starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner.

Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South’s segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America’s aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam’s call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory.

Even as Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley’s all-black “West Computing” group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens.

Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country’s future.

-WINNER OF ANISFIELD-WOLF AWARD FOR NONFICTION
-WINNER BLACK CAUCUS OF AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEST NONFICTION BOOK
-WINNER NAACP IMAGE AWARD BEST NONFICTION BOOK
-WINNER NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE COMMUNICATION AWARD

Editorial Reviews

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“Meticulous… the depth and detail that are the book’s strength make it an effective, fact-based rudder with which would-be scientists and their allies can stabilize their flights of fancy. This hardworking, earnest book is the perfect foil for the glamour still to come.” — Seattle Times

“Much as Tom Wolfe did in “The Right Stuff”, Shetterly moves gracefully between the women’s lives and the broader sweep of history . . . Shetterly, who grew up in Hampton, blends impressive research with an enormous amount of heart in telling these stories — Boston Globe

“Restoring the truth about individuals who were at once black, women and astounding mathematicians, in a world that was constructed to stymie them at every step, is no easy task. Shetterly does it with the depth and detail of a skilled historian and the narrative aplomb of a masterful storyteller.” — Bookreporter.com

From the Back Cover

The #1 New York Times bestseller

Now a Major Motion Picture from Twentieth Century Fox

The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space

Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women. Originally math teachers in the South’s segregated public schools, these gifted professionals answered Uncle Sam’s call during the labor shortages of World War II. With new jobs at the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia, they finally had a shot at jobs that would push their skills to the limits.

Even as Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley’s all-black “West Computing” group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens.

Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden—four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades as they faced challenges, forged alliances, and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country’s future.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 6, 2016
Edition ‏ : ‎ Media tie-in
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062363603
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062363602
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.83 x 8 inches
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1350L
Best Sellers Rank: #7,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Women in History
- #78 in Women's Biographies
- #279 in Memoirs (Books)
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13,515 ratings

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Customers find this book engaging and well-written, with thorough research and historical context. The book provides a comprehensive look at black women mathematicians and their contributions to American space history, highlighting their intelligence and perseverance in the face of racial and gender barriers. While customers appreciate the detailed historical information, some find it too technical at times.

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Readability Information quality Writing quality Detail Historical accuracy Intelligence Courage Technical content

1,282 customers mention "Readability"1,208 positive74 negative

Customers find the book readable and engaging, describing it as a fantastic and interesting read with a good story.

"...Great book. If you have seen the movie, the book is better." Read more

"...Great read, don't neglect the details of the writer she includes either. Film was excellent but did a composite and few changes from the book." Read more

"Excellent book. The writer has a wonderful command of English and was enjoyable reading...." Read more

"Great story and a great book!" Read more

656 customers mention "Information quality"614 positive42 negative

Customers find the book enlightening and educational, describing it as a well-researched history lesson that provides important insights.

"So very interesting and informative. What an amazing group of young black women. Loved it...." Read more

"...Women who eventually put a man on the moon . very informative and very interesting." Read more

"...It is remarkable and inspiring to see that some "women" lived theirs dreams and became mayor part of History...." Read more

"Informative; showcases the talent and brillance of women and more especially the struggle and tenacity of black women determined to make a..." Read more

441 customers mention "Writing quality"328 positive113 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, noting it is well written and easy to read, with the author being extremely thorough.

"Outstanding book. Well written with excellent command of language and expression, the book does an outstanding job of interweaving several..." Read more

"...Hidden Figures is well written and thoroughly researched by an author who is passionate about her subject. I did enjoy the historical perspective...." Read more

"...deserve praise for their unheralded honorable service. Not an easy read, I had to pull out the dictionary on more words than I care to admit...." Read more

"I thought this book was very well written and informative...." Read more

336 customers mention "Detail"271 positive65 negative

Customers appreciate the book's detailed exploration of the stories of important black women mathematicians, providing a deeper understanding of their remarkable careers and achievements.

"...All woven together. The title says it all: Hidden Figures." Read more

"...Wish i could read it again and again. Great detail. Though Hollywood took liberties with movie they didn't need to change, it flleshed out story...." Read more

"...thoughtful and nonadversarial in it's treatment of both race and gender issues...." Read more

"...What an interesting read! These ladies were very intelligent women who were given a chance to serve their country and also to use their gifts to..." Read more

255 customers mention "Historical accuracy"182 positive73 negative

Customers appreciate the historical accuracy of the book, which provides fascinating information about the space program and incorporates aviation history.

"Impressive! Historical and scientific, “Hidden Figures” chronicles the rise of the US Space Race within the context of segregation and a rising..." Read more

"Interesting history never before shown in my life. There are so many incredible people who aren't "white" who have done great things...." Read more

"The book is a very slow complicated read. Very historic - almost too historic that it doesn't really tell a good story...." Read more

"A terrific book! Integrates the history of our country, the space program, and the civil rights movement across time with the lives and..." Read more

126 customers mention "Intelligence"126 positive0 negative

Customers praise the intelligence of the women featured in the book, describing them as brilliant, amazingly gifted, and talented.

"I loved this book for so much more than the amazing women who worked at NACA/NASA after WWII and into the 60s...." Read more

"...Opened my eyes. Nobody I know knew anything about these wonderful, brilliant women and all the struggles they went through to elevate themselves and..." Read more

"...And yet, behind these great Astronauts were these incredible women who were the brains behind one of the world’s great achievements in space...." Read more

"...I enjoyed the movie, but I love the book. These women are amazing! Reading their stories made me realize just how brave they were...." Read more

86 customers mention "Courage"86 positive0 negative

Customers praise the courage of the women featured in the book, highlighting their perseverance in the face of trials and accomplishments, with one customer noting their poise and grace.

"...Such inner strength and fortitude and courage...." Read more

"...respectable research filled my mind with life stories of remarkable, courageous, brilliant black women who were on the front lines of charging..." Read more

"This is a startling story of persistence, perseverance, determination & dedication - young black women who refused to consider defeat or barriers..." Read more

"...Hooray for these brave women and the excellent work they did." Read more

128 customers mention "Technical content"69 positive59 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the technical content of the book, with some appreciating the detailed information while others find it too technical at times.

"This is a detailed, compelling historical book of the black women behind the start of NASA...." Read more

"...It jumps all around in time, place, and topic character. I found it hard to follow...." Read more

"...Their intelligence, hard work, confidence are so inspiring. Prejudice was a part of their lives...." Read more

"...The beginning of the book was difficult to read because it was very technical...." Read more

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Dewwhipper
Great read
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2025
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This book highlights the careers of the women you saw in the movie and others. What they did was amazing considering the racism of the times. That's what I found to be most interesting thing about this book - what these women accomplished professionally and in their private lives during the 40s, 50s and 60s is unreal. This writer definitely did her research of the times. As an aside, there is saying that we went to moon on "low bid". What they paid these women should considered a SIN.

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Robert V Frazier
Inspiring true story
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2017
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This needs to be mandatory reading for every child in America before going to high school, but especially for every black girl. Of course, not everybody can be a NASA mathematician, engineer, or scientist, and astronaut may be a defunct career, but whatever anyone wants to be in life, this book will inspire them to pursue their goals and never let any external circumstances or obstacles keep them from achieving success. I'm happy to see that there is a Young Reader's Edition of the book now.

It is true that the writing gets a bit bogged down in details at times, and some of the stories around the main subject matter are a bit disjointed. In particular, the story about Mary Jackson helping her son Levi with his soap box derby project in chapter nineteen breaks off partway through to focus on Mary at work, then picks up the narrative about the derby many pages later. And that chapter does not reach a real conclusion. But the criticisms of the book in some of the negative reviews here on Amazon are unwarranted. It is a fascinating account of a side of NASA that I not only never heard of while growing up in the 60s and 70s, but I never even suspected existed.

Imagine if in all three seasons of Star Trek, the original series with Captain Kirk, every time the camera was on Lieutenant Uhura, her image had been edited out, and all of her lines of dialog had been displayed as subtitles instead of us hearing her. Then imagine that only now, for the first time, a fully-restored version of those episodes were released, and finally we could be see and hear the amazing and capable black woman working as an equal among equals on the bridge of the Enterprise.

That is the impact of this story on me, and on countless others.

Read this book. If it takes longer than you're used to for a book this long, bear with it. It's worth it, I assure you.

The movie is wonderful, but as it says on the poster, the film is based on a true story. This book is the true story. I recommend experiencing both. The movie for its emotional impact, and the book for the full untold story, only a fraction of which made it up on the big screen.

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Maekayla Phoenix
Highly Recommend!
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2021
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Hidden Figures was truly a heroic novel about the women of NASA who went unrecognized for their tremendous efforts towards air exploration and travel. I have mixed views on this novel, but I think it should be read widely amongst African American children, teens, and young adults as it is an inspiring story about hardworking people who sought to become more than what society duped them to be because of their race. This novel is empowering and is a good read in my eyes. The way Shetterly can educate the reader on the social issues during the 20th century and display its impact on African Americans through specific characters is very impressive, yet trivial.
As it is a groundbreaking novel, it does have some cons. The piece was a bit too heavy to read because the author tries to focus on so many aspects during this period. She makes so many references towards history, the book starts to become a history book in a sense, but it is essentially a book about history. That was a difficult concept for me to grasp as I read and wrote an assignment on it. Shetterly, unfortunately, bites off more than can chew as she switches from characters while trying to include historical events. Her constant back-and-forth methods made it difficult for me to interpret what was happening at some moments. She did pull it off, but the transitions made be harder for others. I feel like she tried to fit too much information into a small frame. She elaborated on Jim Crow, Brown vs. The Board of Education, World War 2, the space race, and many other events in only 265 pages, so the plot had some holes and was convoluted. Some characters like young Christine were irrelevant to the plot and I saw no significance in those people. Another reference was the woman from Star Trek and her story, which I thought was not important to the plot. Shetterly’s depiction of African American men and women in racist America was so puissant, I do not think she needed to include some small pieces like the ones I mentioned.
On the other hand, her ability to captivate the character’s emotions through text was incredible. An example would be Mary Jackson’s predicament with the bathroom and her journey to become an engineer at NASA. She moves the audience through her distressful tone as she illustrates the struggle the women at NASA and African Americans faced while trying to avoid being devoured by the country that prayed on their downfall as racism still lingered. African Americans often felt “angry and humiliated” because of the treatment they faced as “negotiating racial boundaries had become a daily fact of negro life.” (Shetterly 108) Shetterly’s novel gave an insider’s look at the status of African Americans in America during the 20th century. They were caught in a crossfire as the country relied on them to fight in WW2, which was a war against racism, but wouldn’t call it upon themselves to solve the racial problems in their own country. “America’s inadequacy” and hypocrisy came to the forefront with the lives of Dorothy, Katherine, and Mary being emphasized. (Shetterly, 152) These individuals were part of a black movement of individuals who sacrificed everything they had to become more than their color. America asked so much of these people but gave them nothing. Shetterly beautifully elicits the power that African Americans had in the workforce that America bothers to show or care about and this is why I believe this piece is worth reading.
This book was different because it displayed success in many different ways instead of one. This is what demonstrates black excellence at its finest. Given that this book was a little too heavy and convoluted in the plot, I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. It goes to show that black voices can be heard no matter the predicaments we face. In a stagnant country, we will prosper. These successful women “mirrored the aspirations and philosophy of the surrounding black community” and that is why this novel should be read by others seeking to become pioneers of a new age of black progression. (Shetterly,95)

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Bruce
An outstanding look at the hidden history of Black women
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2025
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The book portrays life in Hampton, Virginia, during the war years and the space exploration years through the lives, eyes, and words of Black female mathematicians called computers.

Without the assistance, hard work, and strength of these women, history may have been different. Dot, Mary, and Katherine made a world of difference in the success of flight.

They were strong and able to handle the life of challenges and discrimination in the South.

An amazing story. If you enjoy history, the book delivers.

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maraka
This is one of the best history books I've ever read
Reviewed in Germany on January 7, 2021
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... though it's not written by any historian.

The author starts of with some personal remarks that give us some access to the world, she experienced in her childhood, the black community of scientists working for NASA, many of them women. And then the question: How many female black scientists have been there, contributing to the national goals of aircraft and spacetravel?

She starts to ask witnesses and consult libraries an historians, taking us on a trip of time travel, written in the fluent language of a novel but precise as the narrative of an historical account.

She gives us a broad and detailed picture of early NACA, which started as a scientific enterprise to improve military an civil aircraft during World War I and transformed into a space agency after World War II.

She chooses a few well documented female black protagonists in this surrounding and gives us an idea of their social, historical and scientific backgrounds and surroundings, their stories and developments and arranges hundreds of other people's stories and historical details around them to draw a very dense and detailed picture of NACA, NASA but also the state of Virginia, the US, the Civil rights movement, black workers teachers, scientists, communities and institutions, the cold war, the space race. Every page interesting and enjoyable.

I could have read more of this and felt unfortunate when I read that the author actually was leaving out some pieces, believing, it would be too much to include it all. I can understand that so many pages might be difficult to sell. But I would like to have a sequel with the missing stories. Really. It's so beautiful to read about these things and so amazing. Would be a shame not to share the whole story after all that work.

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Anand Rai
A great book to have.
Reviewed in India on September 30, 2024
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This is truly a piece of history. It cites a great example of humanity's victory over racism. A loved it very much.

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S Musoke
The most fascinating thing about this story is the way ...
Reviewed in Canada on February 14, 2017
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The most fascinating thing about this story is the way it remained untold for so long. And also it is told very well by an author who got to understand the subjects and their circumstances very well. It is not just about colour prejudices and colour-bars. It is also about the hard-to-get-rid-of prejudices and oppression of white-male domination in our so called "free society" -- especially in the so-called @land of the free". So much more in the book than what is in the movie version.

The story brings to mind the period, only about 30 years ago, when I was doing my PhD. I traveled to a university in the UK to consult with one of the leading experts in my subject of study. I was utterly surprised to discover that person I had gone to see was actually a woman!! She had been forced to hide her female identity. She was listed in the university and published under a male first name!! She explained to me that women were not allowed to be in "don positions" at the university and publishers were unwilling to publish work done by women. So she masqueraded as a man!!

There are still many more "Hidden Figures" stories to be told.

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Richaud Dominique
very good
Reviewed in France on January 8, 2024
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a lire absolument et ensuite voir le film, les femmes sont toujours les grandes oubliées de l'histoire quelles que soient leur couleur de peau

to read first and then see the movie in this order

women are always forgetten in history whaterver their skin color

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Monika S
Wonderful read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2024
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This book has been thoroughly researched and contains details I have not expected but enjoyed greatly. It’s eye-opening for someone like me who grew up in Europe and loves reading about the American Space Program. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in history. Beautifully written by a talented author, where love, admiration and respect for the characters is shown on each page. I’m so grateful for this book as it’s now my favourite book of all the books I have ever read. Thank you.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great read

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring true story

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommend!

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding look at the hidden history of Black women

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5.0 out of 5 stars This is one of the best history books I've ever read

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book to have.

5.0 out of 5 stars The most fascinating thing about this story is the way ...

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5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful read

Great read

Inspiring true story

Highly Recommend!

An outstanding look at the hidden history of Black women

This is one of the best history books I've ever read

A great book to have.

The most fascinating thing about this story is the way ...

very good

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