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Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race Hardcover – September 6, 2016
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The #1 New York Times bestseller
-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
The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA at the leading edge of the feminist and civil rights movement, whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space—a powerful, revelatory contribution that is as essential to our understanding of race, discrimination, and achievement in modern America as Between the World and Me and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. 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.
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWilliam Morrow
- Publication dateSeptember 6, 2016
- Dimensions6 x 1.17 x 9 inches
- ISBN-10006236359X
- ISBN-13978-0062363596
- Lexile measure1350L
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
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
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.
Before John Glenn orbited 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 entering 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 as they faced challenges, forged alliances, and used their intellect to change their own lives and their country’s future.
About the Author
Margot Lee Shetterly grew up in Hampton, Virginia, where she knew many of the women in her book Hidden Figures. She is an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow and the recipient of a Virginia Foundation for the Humanities grant for her research on women in computing. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Product details
- Publisher : William Morrow; First Edition (September 6, 2016)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 006236359X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062363596
- Lexile measure : 1350L
- Item Weight : 1.25 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.17 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #103,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #146 in Astrophysics & Space Science (Books)
- #271 in Women in History
- #1,211 in Women's Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
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Hidden Figures tells the story of many women, but focuses on Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Groble Johnson, and Mary Jackson. During WWII, Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory was faced with a problem – how could they get enough mathematicians and human “computers” to do the calculations necessary to get state of the art aircraft designed for the war effort? They decided to start advertising at colleges for mathematicians including all black colleges. They hired a number of highly qualified women with great mathematical skills who put in their all to make both the war effort and space program a success. While doing so, they also helped to bring their families a better life.
I’ve honestly struggled with this book review. I could write a multi-page review and go into depth about each woman and their lives, but I don’t think that is effective. The book has such a great depth to it, it is hard to narrow it down for a review and give it justice. I bookmarked fifty or so quotes I loved so I’ll have to narrow it down to. What did I love about the book? What I loved the most was learning about women that were successful in the STEM field. When you are growing up and thinking about going into the STEM field, there are not many role models to look up to. That is why I am also so excited about the movie. Having it become the norm to show the reality of women working in these fields will hopefully encourage other young women to pursue a career in these fields. I also love that it is finally giving these women credit for all of their hard work.
I also loved that the book told the story of many women who worked at Langley, but focused on these women. I loved learning their stories, their lives and struggles and how they were able to use their love of math to get a college education and a rewarding career.
Hidden Figures also gave a unique look into history. These women worked at NASA, but were not considered equal. Over time they were able to work for equality and a way to break through the glass ceiling. Why were women with the same qualification as men hired at a lower grade and not allowed to progress up to as high a grade as similarly qualified men? They worked hard to dispel the myth that “men were uniquely qualified to be engineers.” I learned a lot more about the segregated south as well. It seems so strange to me that African Americans not only couldn’t use bathrooms or drinking fountains that white people used, but they couldn’t even check out books from the library that weren’t from the colored section. They also couldn’t attend the same schools which forced each town to try to staff two different schools, which was not always effective. The segregation made it very hard for a woman of color to be able to make it in a technical field, but these women persevered and made it.
I’ve narrowed down a few favorite quotes:
“As a child, however, I knew so many African Americans working in science, math, and engineering that I thought that’s just what black folks did.” – Author Margot Lee Shetterly. I thought this was awesome. If we can change the stereotype of only white males being in these fields, I think we could attract more qualified people to them.
“You men and women working here far from the sound of drums and guns, working in your civilian capacity in accordance with you highly specialized skills, are winning your part of this war: the battle of research. This war is being fought in the laboratories as well as on the battlefields.”
“Being an engineer, Mary Jackson would eventually learn, meant being the only black person, or the only woman, or both, at industry conferences for years.” I still find myself the only woman at engineering meetings, but it’s gotten better.
“They wouldn’t get rich, but an engineer’s salary was more than enough to crack into the ranks of the comfortable middle class.” I always tell this to my family who thinks engineers live in mansions.
“There wasn’t one day I didn’t wake up excited to go to work.” – Katherine Johnson
“She was still juggling the duties of Girl Scout mom, Sunday school teacher, trips to music lessons, and homemaker for her two daughters in addition to her full time work at Langley.” I felt like this was a page out of my life!
Overall, Hidden Figures told a compelling true story that all Americans should know about the hidden women who helped to make our air and space program a success. I learned a lot from this book and can’t wait to see the movie!
Book Source: Review Copy from William Morrow. Thanks!
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)
Top reviews from other countries
to read first and then see the movie in this order
women are always forgetten in history whaterver their skin color
Este audiolibro viene en una funda de CD como la de cualquier película. Tiene un bonito diseño exterior y el CD de audio también es de muy buena calidad. Quizás he echado en falta algún tipo de panfleto o mini guía en su interior con información o curiosidades de la historia o del audiolibro.
El audiolibro es muy largo, por lo que pasarás un montón de horas entretenido. Concretamente, la narración dura casi 11 horas. Hay que tener presente que la narración es del libro íntegro, por lo que no encontraremos resúmenes de la historia o fragmentos faltantes.
Algo que es muy importante en un audiolibro (sobre todo, si es en un idioma extranjero) es la voz del narrador o narradora. En este caso, la narradora es Robin Miles. Ya había escuchado su voz en algún otro audiolibro hace algún tiempo y sabía que me iba encontrar, pero te puedo asegurar que no te defraudará. Es una voz muy nítida y que se entiene muy bien. Además, sigue un ritmo muy adecuado. Quizás, el único pero que le pondría a su voz es que es bastante aguda y hasta que te haces a ella, puede sonar un poco extraña los primeros minutos.
La relación calidad-precio de este audiolibro, atendiendo a su coste y características del producto, me parece muy buena.
Resumiendo... Un excelente audiolibro, tanto en calidad de la voz como de la historia. Sin duda, lo recomiendo totalmente.
Reviewed in Spain on May 7, 2022
Este audiolibro viene en una funda de CD como la de cualquier película. Tiene un bonito diseño exterior y el CD de audio también es de muy buena calidad. Quizás he echado en falta algún tipo de panfleto o mini guía en su interior con información o curiosidades de la historia o del audiolibro.
El audiolibro es muy largo, por lo que pasarás un montón de horas entretenido. Concretamente, la narración dura casi 11 horas. Hay que tener presente que la narración es del libro íntegro, por lo que no encontraremos resúmenes de la historia o fragmentos faltantes.
Algo que es muy importante en un audiolibro (sobre todo, si es en un idioma extranjero) es la voz del narrador o narradora. En este caso, la narradora es Robin Miles. Ya había escuchado su voz en algún otro audiolibro hace algún tiempo y sabía que me iba encontrar, pero te puedo asegurar que no te defraudará. Es una voz muy nítida y que se entiene muy bien. Además, sigue un ritmo muy adecuado. Quizás, el único pero que le pondría a su voz es que es bastante aguda y hasta que te haces a ella, puede sonar un poco extraña los primeros minutos.
La relación calidad-precio de este audiolibro, atendiendo a su coste y características del producto, me parece muy buena.
Resumiendo... Un excelente audiolibro, tanto en calidad de la voz como de la historia. Sin duda, lo recomiendo totalmente.