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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)

1,636 customer reviews

in Astronautics & Space Flight

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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. Soon to be a major motion picture 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.

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“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.

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (December 6, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062363603
ISBN-13: 978-0062363602
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 1,636 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Aerospace > Astronautics & Space Flight
- #2 in Books > History > Americas > United States > African Americans
- #2 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > African-American & Black

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Top customer reviews

This is a great history book, not historical fiction

ByJDon September 8, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Much hullabaloo has appeared in social media based on the release of the preview for the movie based on this book. The movie will be historical fiction, the book is not. The book is as much about the advances and science done at NACA and NASA as it is about the black women who were an integral part of this piece of history. It is an easy reading book and most readers will find it an interesting read as well.

I was an officer in the Air Force for 20 years, working in the missile and space industry. I also lived in Hampton, VA, for 6 years growing up. I feel like the author has given me back a piece of my history that I never knew was missing. I've always known that there are women who went before, upon whose shoulders I stand, but it is incredible to add a deeper understanding of what that meant and to know their names.

Thank you, Margot Lee Shetterly, for persevering and doing the work to bring this history to light in a way that makes it accessible.

1717 comments 1,023 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Enjoy The Pie!

ByAmazon Customeron January 12, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

My comments are somewhat bias since Katherine Johnson is my aunt. I have seen the movie twice and read the book. My preference is the book mostly because of the additional information provided about Aunt Katherine. Many movie goers who only see the movie will miss out on a number of opportunities to see more realistically Aunt Katherine's nature, attitudes, and life's perspectives on work, family, and race. The movie is done very well and I commend all those involved in its production including the talented stars. It is a case of getting one slice of pie when you could get two slices. I suggest you eat WELL! ATBroady

44 comments 392 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Masterful, well-written, and leaves you wanting more!

ByGirl Friday ReaderVINE VOICEon September 6, 2016

Format: Hardcover

Hidden Figures has garnered much attention for being the heretofore forgotten story of the African-American women who helped build NASA (or to be more exact, the NASA field center at Langley). The media has boiled the tale of these women down to the oft-used cliche "heroes"; Shetterley's narrative digs beyond that.

Sure, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, et al are amazing, inspiring, and strong, but their own modesty over their roles in NACA/NASA history is telling: like many black pioneers of the Jim Crow era, they didn't step up for the attention or accolades. They stepped up to be "the first" in order to pave the way for those who would come behind them.

Shetterley deftly reveals these cross-generational ties at Langley, as well as how for African-Americans, the professional is often the personal when it came to representation and community. The portions of the book that were the most fascinating to me were those pertaining to the links forged by the black community in the Southern Virginia area, and how they intersected with employment and residency in Hampton as the 20th century progressed.

Shetterley's prose shined the best on the minutia of the women's lives, but the parts about NACA/NASA were just as interesting--and Shetterley's explanations of the mathematics and aeronautics is masterful. It was never pedantic, yet never overly simplified. As I reached the end, I was disappointed there weren't more pages, but also even hungrier for more stories about the intersection of race, gender, and science!

Get this book! It is an excellent companion to Nathalia Holt's Rise of the Rocket Girls and Lily Koppel's The Astronaut Wives Club, for a comparison of the different experiences of women in the Space Race.

0Comment 354 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Inspiring Story About Four Unique Women

ByBassocantorHALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWERon September 6, 2016

Format: Hardcover

I admit I was completely ignorant of the story presented in HIDDEN FIGURES. I had no idea that black women played such a key role in our space program. It's great to finally acknowledge those who contributed so much, but yet received so little credit for their work.

HIDDEN FIGURES tells the story of four determined black women, who overcame numerous obstacles, and worked in the space program at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (now known as "Langley Research Center.") It was at this Virginia lab where Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden were able to employ their skills--and really make a difference. It was "behind the scenes" work back then--but now we know the real picture.

To give the reader an idea of how difficult it was for a woman--much less an African-American woman--to actually become a mathematician, the author notes these statistics: "In the 1930s, just over a hundred women worked as professional mathematicians." The likelihood of a black woman actually becoming a mathematician working on the space program was about zero: "Employers openly discriminated against Irish and Jewish women with math degrees. The odds of a black woman encountering work in the field hovered near zero."

Oddly, the Soviet Union actively encouraged women in engineering. The schools in the Soviet Union were “loaded with women” including many of their engineering grads. Alas--that was not the case in the United States, which "struggled to find a place for women and Negroes in its science workplace, and in society at large."

At the time, women generally got little credit for their work. It was unusual for a woman to even be acknowledged as co-author of a report: "The work of most of the women, like that of the computing machines they used, was anonymous. Even a woman who had worked closely with an engineer on the content of a research report was rarely rewarded by seeing her name alongside his on the final publication."

At the lab, life for black women was not quite as bad as outside, where strict rules were followed, with blacks always separate from whites. At Langley, the "boundaries were fuzzier. Blacks were ghettoed into separate bathrooms, but they had also been given an unprecedented entrée into the professional world."

At Langley, the work was serious; lives were at stake: "Sending a man into space was a damn tall order, but it was that part about returning him safely to Earth that kept Katherine Johnson and the rest of the space pilgrims awake at night."

Recall that the U.S. did not yet have a track record of successful space launches. In fact, many launches were complete failures: "Two of the Atlas’s last five sallies had ended in failure. One of them had surged into the sky, erupting into spectacular fireballs with the capsule still attached. That wasn’t exactly a confidence builder for the man preparing to ride it into orbit..."

All in all, I found HIDDEN FIGURES to be a fascinating, as well as an informative read. The author paints a compelling picture, illustrating how difficult it was for these four women to accomplish what they did. Thanks to Margot Lee Shetterly for revealing this inspiring story about these unique women. These women all deserve a special place in the record books for such a remarkable, historical achievement.

Advance Review Copy courtesy of Edelweiss.

11 comment 211 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Read this and enjoy learning some very important things.

ByAmazon Customeron October 12, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I only read this because it was the choice of my book group, but I'm really glad that I did. It's well written and a really good read. I learned a lot about the space program and what women have had to deal with in the work force. But this book dealt particularly well with how black society dealt with segregation and all the attendant hardships and how it fought against them. Although I thought I knew about segregation this author really opened my eyes to its day to day reality. This is one of the most important books I've read in a long time.

0Comment 275 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Most recent customer reviews

An important book.

A fantastic read. A piece of history I had never heard about.

Published 1 hour ago by Robert Henderson

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the ...

I enjoyed this book mostly for the human abilities to make changes. I had a hard time following the math and engineering portions because that is not my strong knowledge.

Published 6 hours ago by Carol Jean Lee

Black Education Accelerates

Wonderful history of black education initiatives in the face of so many obstacles. Doers stand out; the get respect.Read more

Published 1 day ago by David L. Fonda

History Lessons Worth Watching

What a great movie - understand history and the courage of these intelligent women fighting for what is right and also improving America. Excellent.

Published 1 day ago by gphowe

Five Stars

excellent book and the movie was wonderful

Published 2 days ago by Amazon Customer

Engaging read

This was a very engaging read. However, the last chapter moved from history to the author's opinion and hyperbole which I thought had no place in this otherwise fine description...Read more

Published 3 days ago by mystery lover

So much more than the film!

"Hidden Figures" is the story of the black women computers at NASA who aided the development of both the aircraft that won World War II and the success of the US space program.Read more

Published 3 days ago by Barbara Shimkas Bennett

A very interesting read! I probably would have given ...

A very interesting read! I probably would have given it 5 stars if it had ended with the penultimate chapter. It just got a little too preachy for my tastes at the end.

Published 3 days ago by William P. Wallace

Five Stars

An excellent book about some special people.

Published 4 days ago by Amazon Customer

Too technical after the seeing the movie first.

Too technical for most of it, difficult to put it into perspective with the movie which I seen first.

Published 4 days ago by Lady

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