Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathe

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Item specifics

Condition
Very Good: A book that has been read and does not look new, but is in excellent condition. No ...
ISBN
9780062363596
Category

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
HarperCollins
ISBN-10
006236359X
ISBN-13
9780062363596
eBay Product ID (ePID)
11038206376

Product Key Features

Book Title
Hidden Figures : The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
Number of Pages
368 Pages
Language
English
Topic
United States / 20th Century, Public Affairs & Administration, Life Sciences / General, Space Science, Women's Studies, Aeronautics & Astronautics, Science & Technology, Ethnic Studies / African American Studies
Publication Year
2016
Genre
Political Science, Technology & Engineering, Social Science, Science, Biography & Autobiography, History
Author
Margot Lee Shetterly
Format
Hardcover

Dimensions

Item Height
1.2 in
Item Weight
0.7 Oz
Item Length
9 in
Item Width
6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2016-021050
Reviews
"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, 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., 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., "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
Dewey Edition
23
Dewey Decimal
629.408996073
Synopsis
Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and the civil rights movement, Hidden Figures is the never-before-told story of NASA's African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America's space program--and whose contributions have been unheralded, until now. Before John Glenn orbited the Earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of professionals worked as "Human Computers," calculating the flight paths that would enable these historic achievements. Among these were a coterie of bright, talented African-American women. Segregated from their white counterparts by Jim Crow laws, these "colored computers," as they were known, used slide rules, adding machines, and pencil and paper to support America's fledgling aeronautics industry, and helped write the equations that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Freshman Common Read: University of Mary Washington, MIT, Cedar Crest College, University of Houston, SUNY Oneonta, University of West Virginia, College of William and Mary, Lafayette College, Palm Beach State College, Lone Star College--among others, 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.
LC Classification Number
QA27.5.L44 2016

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4.9
21 product ratings
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Most relevant reviews

See all 19 reviews
  • by snoopy81
    30 Jan, 2019Most favourable review

    A most amazing story!

    IT TOOK WAY TOO LONG TO TELL THIS AMAZING STORY! I worked at the Kennedy Space Center for 22 years on the Space Shuttle Program. I learned so much about the process from launch to landing and in between, an enormous amount of history of the Space Program taught to me by those who started out working on the Apollo Program. It was thrilling to be behind the scenes. But, I was never told about these incredible women! Knowing what is done to ready every part for launch, and all the data coming from computers, it was stunning to learn how this work was done before computers by civil service women. The book goes into detail about what was told in the movie, a truly amazing story!

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: thrift.books

  • by bshu5787
    13 Dec, 2017Most critical review

    disappointed having seen the Movie first

    If you like science, politics, history, and have an interest in desegregation, a lot of work was put into this book. Read the book. If you want more insight into the lives of the woman portrayed in the movie, well..., I don't know how they pulled that movie from this book. To me the book reads like a sermon on racisim ( which truly has been/is a blight on humankind ) but not what I purchased the book for. In fairness, I did learn a little more background about some of the woman. The book does give you insight into exactly what the "human" computers were figuring out, and you don't get that much insight from the movie. Loved the movie!

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: clickgoodwillbooks

  • by bugsyjo
    15 Feb, 2018

    An excellent read. If I were still teaching, it would be required reading.

    Pleasant style. The author's voice is compelling. She is articulate, comprehensive, compassionate, appreciative and very timely.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: NewSold by: ink-spiration

  • by pasgreg
    28 Jun, 2018

    One of the best reads ever.

    Had watched the movie at school and had to have the book. It gives much more about the women's stories as the movie only starts with the space program and not back in helping win WW2 with the P51 and B29. This book shows the deep prejudice that these women overcame through their faith in God and pure grit. One of the best reads ever and that's a lot.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: thrift.books

  • by alabamldy1048
    02 Oct, 2024

    Book in great condition. Really enjoyed...

    Book in great condition. Really enjoyed reading this book! Very interesting information about those ladies.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: second.sale

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