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Hidden Figures LP: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
Hidden Figures LP: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race | Margot Lee Shetterly
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."
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mh930121

“They weren‘t just figures. They were hidden heroes, who overcame all obstacles to take humanity to the stars.”

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mh930121

This story celebrates the power of perseverance, teamwork, and courage in the face of adversity. It shows young readers that everyone‘s contributions matter and that diversity in STEM fields can lead to groundbreaking achievements.

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mh930121
Pickpick

“Hidden Figures“ tells the inspiring true story of four African American women mathematicians—Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden—who worked as “human computers” at NASA during a time of segregation and inequality. Despite facing racial and gender barriers, these talented women played crucial roles in America‘s space program, helping to send astronauts into space and ensure safe returns.

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TheSpineView
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Catsandbooks 👏🏼🐦‍⬛💙 1mo
40 likes1 comment
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Kshakal
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Eggs Perfect 🤩 10mo
28 likes1 stack add1 comment
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TheSpineView
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Eggs Great choice! 10mo
55 likes2 comments
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Gissy
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#NewYearNewBooks Day 14 #WomanInScience

I read this book 3 years ago. I need to know more about these amazing women.

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Eggs An excellent book 👏🏻👏🏻 10mo
37 likes1 comment
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JacintaMCarter
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Pickpick
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SlytherinBookLady
Panpan

It was and ok book like I think it would have a fantastic storyline if done right… it was bogged down with heavy scientific information though and read more like a text book that mmmm anything. I almost put it down but I did finish and I wouldn‘t pick it up again. I‘d just go watch the movie instead

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SlytherinBookLady
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Panpan

It was and ok book like I think it would have a fantastic storyline if done right… it was bogged down with heavy scientific information though and read more like a text book that mmmm anything. I almost put it down but I did finish and I wouldn‘t pick it up again. I‘d just go watch the movie instead

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Cjloftus
Pickpick

Hidden Figures is the true story of four African-American women involved in the space race. The illustrated edition of this book is a classroom essential in my opinion. This book is a great way to talk about the contributions that African-Americans were making in a time when they were still being segregated and mistreated.

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PurpleyPumpkin
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Pickpick

Well, it took me about 7 months, but I FINALLY finished this book! Not sure why it took me so long. I found this to be highly readable and very interesting. Learned a lot about the start of the NACA/NASA and the women that contributed so much to make it all successful. Now to watch the movie! 5/5⭐️
(March 27, 2023)

MemoirsForMe Yay! Another one off your TBR! I loved the movie, but for some reason could not get into the book. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y
PurpleyPumpkin @UwannaPublishme I‘ve heard the movie was good! I enjoyed the book when I read it, but seemed to have a hard time getting back to it! Glad I stuck with it and glad it‘s off my TBR. 😅 2y
44 likes2 comments
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TheSpineView
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Eggs Excellent! I loved this! 2y
TheSpineView @Eggs Me too!🤩😍👍 2y
57 likes2 comments
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keepingupwiththepenguins
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Panpan

A disappointingly dry read. It *should* be a good story, but it's told largely in the abstract with a lot of unnecessary “context” (i.e., extraneous detail). The voice is very detached from the women supposedly at the heart of the story. The rare glimpses Shetterly offers into their personalities and private lives are the most engaging and interesting parts. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/hidden-figures-margot-lee-shetterly/

50 likes1 stack add
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BookKenz
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Which of these should I prioritize in the new year?

Sharpeipup The other Einstein 2y
Andrew65 My top 3 :

The Underground Railroad
Sing, Unburied, Sing
All The Light We Cannot See
2y
CBee All the Light is amazing! 2y
mom_of_4 All the light 2y
BookKenz @Sharpeipup @Andrew65 @CBee @mom_of_4 Thanks guys! I'll definitely move those to the top of my list! 2y
43 likes5 comments
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emileescengie

“Their goal wasn‘t to stand out because of their differences m, it was to fit in because of their talent”

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emileescengie

I like that it uses kid friendly language

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Gracehake

This book discusses the hardships these women faced, and how they were among the first women to work as “human computers” for NASA. This book discusses very important historical context such as the space race

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Gracehake
Mehso-so

This book includes biographies on the three African American women who worked with NASA. They are Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson.

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emileescengie
Pickpick

This book teaches children about the space race and does a great job with illustrations to make it more real for children to understand.

3 likes1 stack add
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TheSpineView
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#AlphabetGame #LetterH @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Hidden Figures is my favorite "H" book. However, The House in the Cerulean Sea is right up there too.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I need to read this!! 2y
Nikki_E I loved both too (edited) 2y
66 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Ericalambbrown
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Pickpick

What a wonderful book! I‘ve seen some criticism that the book dwells too much on the mathematical/technical aspects of the job these women did, but to me that is rather the point - these fiercely intelligent women comprehended calculations that are beyond what many a brain can begin to negotiate. And they had to put up with segregation while doing so. Extraordinary. I‘m so glad our FOTL book club chose this so I had to take from my TBR list!

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melissajayne
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My selections for April 2022 #roll100

PuddleJumper Oo nice mix there! 3y
22 likes1 comment
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OriginalCyn620
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Pickpick

Enjoyed it, though at times the writing seemed a little dry. Such important stories so I‘m glad they were told! I did see the movie and I really enjoyed it.

#bookspinbingo - free space
#pop22 - an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3y
49 likes1 comment
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BayouGirl85
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Pickpick

It was very interesting to hear how these ladies worked there way into some amazing professions and their contribution to the space race...mind-blowing. Kathleen Johnson was truly incredible.

February Book 7/25 #LitsyLove #bookspinbingo

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bookishnerd
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Pickpick

According to Amazon, I bought this book in 2016. So, I am happy to finally take it off my TBR! And, it was a great read, so that also helps. I love non-fiction about women making advances or being the first to do something. I also love books about space. So, it was an all around good pick for me. I am glad this story was finally told. We watched the movie after and I also thought it was good.

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OutsmartYourShelf
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Mehso-so

These stories should have been fascinating & I'm not sure if it is just how the book is written, but it was quite difficult to get through as it was rather dry. At the end I didn't feel that I knew anything really about the different women, very little personality came through on the page. It's a real shame as their stories deserve to be told. I may try watching the film instead. 3⭐

Full review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1760301355

BkClubCare I hadn‘t read the book; the film is great. Definitely shows personality. I would recommend. 3y
Sharpeipup I thought the same thing about the book. 3y
AmyK1 I bailed on the book for the same reasons but the movie is excellent. Definitely recommend watching it. 3y
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CogsOfEncouragement I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it. I was able to borrow it from my library and listened while driving. 3y
OutsmartYourShelf @BkClubCare 👍🏻 I‘ve put it on my list of films to watch in 2022. 3y
OutsmartYourShelf @Sharpeipup Glad to know it wasn‘t just me. 3y
OutsmartYourShelf @AmyK1 The film does look good from clips I‘ve seen. 3y
OutsmartYourShelf @CogsOfEncouragement Maybe a better way to get through it but I can‘t do audiobooks unfortunately due to a hearing issue 🙁 3y
30 likes8 comments
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Book_Lust
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Digging in to Hidden Figures with my heated blanket and homemade latte!

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Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick
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Yet again, #two4tuesday on Wednesday 🤦‍♀️Thanks @katy4peas

Hidden Figures🎧 and These Violent Delights 📖

I like that HF is a true story about black women but the sameness of their individual stories makes it a bit tedious to listen to.
TVD has a few gory scenes with a monster, but otherwise it's feeling a bit long winded. I'm barely 25% through it though so my opinion could change.

@TheSpineView

TheSpineView Wednesday is a good day! Thanks for playing! 3y
katy4peas 😊 3y
36 likes2 comments
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shortsarahrose
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Sidewalk sale days at Newbo/Czech Village of Cedar Rapids and actually nice weather meant there was plenty of reason to do a bit of shopping. A couple books from Next Page Books (the bookseller and I talked about how we had both seen the movie Hidden Figures but not read the book yet), a mug and sticker from Raygun, a couple tops from a consignment store, and a cute bowl from an antique store. April needs to investigate everything new that enters.

21 likes1 stack add1 comment
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bookseller_cate
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Pickpick

The content was fantastic, but the writing style often got in the way. Long convoluted sentences where several short ones would have been better. Giving it a “pick”, but it only scraped by.

Up next in #spaceracereading is a much more conventional book about the Mercury 7, The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe.

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bookseller_cate
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Made it to Page Two of “Books Read in 2021”! On track for 50 books this year, which I feel is quite respectable, considering my course load. #bulletjournal

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Ast_Arslan
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I am posting one book per day from my to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it. Some will be old, some will be new - don't judge me, I have a lot of books.

Day 48th

Join the fun if you want!

#tbrpile

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TheSpineView
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mavey Absolutely love it!!💕 3y
RachelAmphlett Loved the film - I should really read the book! 3y
Eggs Brilliant 👏🏻📚👍🏼 3y
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Zoes_Human @RachelAmphlett You really should in this particular case. The movie changes several things, including changes that give a white man credit for work done by black women for themselves. 3y
RachelAmphlett @Zoes_Human omg. I will for sure now. Thank you! 3y
MayJasper Great choice 😊👍 3y
Zoes_Human @RachelAmphlett You‘re welcome! 3y
68 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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hhockenberry
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This Coretta Scott King award winner(biography) is based off of the true story of four black women who helped launch men into space. These women contributed to the great success of NASA by using their wonderful minds. This illustrated book tells the inspiring tale of overcoming gender and racial barriers in a STEM based career. #ucflae3414sp21

9 likes2 comments
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Gissy
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Pickpick

I found fascinated the contribution to these 4 women to science and history, I will like to read more about their lives independently but based on the book, Mary Jackson was a character during that time👍All of them have my admiration. This is a valuable book since it has an extensive list of references to consult all these facts. But I have some problems on how the story was integrated, maybe it was me. 3.85⭐️

Gissy I finished this book yesterday
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaOfBooks
#womenMonth
#Goals2021 read nonfiction boon
(edited) 4y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 4y
39 likes2 comments
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Kshakal
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TheKidUpstairs Yes! ❤💗❤💗 4y
DarkMina Good Choice! 4y
40 likes2 comments
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yvo_about_books
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Starting my current TBR jar pick, which means it's time to draw a new title! There are so many papers that they hardly fit in the jar. 🙈😂

19 likes1 stack add
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Smarkies
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Pickpick

Between a pick and a so-so. Read this for #booked2021 #nonfictionsciencewrittenbyawoman prompt.
Had picked up this book when the movie had come out as I wanted to read more deeply into the story of the women. The story starts off with Dorothy Vaughan and her introduction to NACA (before it became NASA). The movie is alot more condensed and "flashy" but the book does give a more gradual view of how things actually settled in at NASA.
?

Smarkies I wish that the book had focused more on certain stories instead of trying to perhaps spread itself thin by trying to cover a little too much but all in all it is still an inspiring story of how America did launch itself into space and the women behind it. @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft 4y
sisilia I just watched this on Netflix. I love the story of strong, smart women from that era 4y
Cinfhen I agree, book wasn‘t as good as film. I had a hard time getting through it 4y
32 likes3 comments
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Kelsyereadsbooks
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 I loved reading about the accomplishments of these important black women in the space race. I felt like it was super wordy and it lost me in a lot of technical talk. But make no mistake: we should absolutely be celebrating these incredible women.

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audraelizabeth
Pickpick

I loved this one.

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ChasingOm
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I think that this #ScienceSeptember is as good a time as any to FINALLY read this book and watch the movie! 👩🏾‍🏫 🚀 🧮

#IntegrateYourShelf

(Also, I realized that I haven't been tagging folks in prompts forever! If you're not tagged here and want to be each Sunday, please let me know.)

24 likes4 comments
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K.Wielechowski
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Pickpick

Fantastic!
This is the story of not only Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Katherine G. Johnson, it is the story of all Black women who worked as computers for NACA (later renamed NASA) during WWII, the space race, and into the 70s. These incredible women ran calculations for some of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century and proved they were just as brilliant, fighting their way from the west pool into engineering positions and beyond.

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DaveGreen7777
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Thank you for this #SundayFunday @ozma.of.oz and thank you for the tag @Branwen 😊

1. So many great books to choose from... “Leviathan Wakes”, “Lost Stars”, “Children of Time” “Shoot The Messenger”, but for my favorite, I think I‘ll have to go with the “Saga” series by Brian K. Vaughan. 🚀

2. Tagged! 👩🏾‍🚀

3. Saturn! I love the rings and I think more science fiction should take place there! 🪐

Tagging the out-of-this-world @Meaw_catlady

sharread Doesn't Saturn have a storm on the top or is that Jupiter? 😁 4y
Branwen Awesome picks, my friend! 😀💕📚 4y
BookmarkTavern Hidden Figures is great! I hope you like it! Thanks for posting! 4y
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DaveGreen7777 @sharread oooh, I‘m not sure about Saturn. 🤔 Jupiter has that red spot on its surface with all the storms, I believe! 4y
DaveGreen7777 @Branwen Thank you! 😁 4y
DaveGreen7777 @ozma.of.oz Good to know about “Hidden Figures”! Thank you! 😀 4y
Meaw_catlady Saga !!! Lost stars ! 🥰🥰 I believe you sent me shoot the messenger ! I‘ll have to read it soon! Thanks for the tag my friend !! You‘re out of this world amazing ! 4y
DaveGreen7777 @Meaw_catlady Rachel, it takes an entire universe to contain all your awesomeness! 😸😸😸 4y
44 likes8 comments
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jmtrivera
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Pickpick

If I'm being honest, I found the science behind the story a bit dry, but the women's stories were fascinating. It was amazing to see how despite the segregation of the time, these women didn't just make a place for themselves in developing flight & space travel, but they made names & reputations for themselves-if only in their own offices. Their accomplishments were moving and inspiring. This is a story I'd share w/my daughter in the future.

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jmtrivera
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I finally caught up on posting all my reviews from previous months and now I feel like I need to read faster! There is no winning. 😄

emz711 It's wonderful! 4y
38 likes1 comment