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Hidden Figures

Margot Lee Shetterly

Start date: August 1, 2018

Finish date: August 31, 2018

Discussion: Books of the Month 2019

Why we're reading this: August 2018 Book of the Month
Non-Fiction
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Non-Fiction

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Books of the Month 2019

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What Members Thought

Jul 22, 2019 ☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ rated it it was amazing

A fascinating subject. An inspiring story. Peppered through with facts and fiction and more facts. Of course, some of the things must have been embellished (or not! or yes?), still, the inspiration is there!

All the 'segregation' and 'women can't do this or that job' is such damn bullshit! That seemingly sensible and not senile people managed to actually believe in it will probably never stop trumping me. I just can't wrap my mind around it.

The departmental policy's probably a bit skewed? I've no A fascinating subject. An inspiring story. Peppered through with facts and fiction and more facts. Of course, some of the things must have been embellished (or not! or yes?), still, the inspiration is there!

All the 'segregation' and 'women can't do this or that job' is such damn bullshit! That seemingly sensible and not senile people managed to actually believe in it will probably never stop trumping me. I just can't wrap my mind around it.

The departmental policy's probably a bit skewed? I've no idea how it actually was but it feels to be that way. Foe example:
Q:
Katherine and Al Hamer had already started thinking about what it would take to plot a course to Mars; their colleagues Marge Hannah and John Young would look even farther into the cosmos, dreaming up a “grand tour” of the outer planets. (c) I'm pretty sure this is just unfortunate phrasing which makes it sound like there were 2 (4?) people doing the 'thinking'. There must have been many more, we're just making these one visible, since they are the subject of the book.
Still, this is not making the book any worse, it's a really difficult task to pinpoint how large groups of people work. And anyway, the readers probably wouldn't have appreciated the thing: just how interesting can it get listening to dull day-to-day departmental meetings? I guess, not too interesting to anyone but an efficiency consultant.

I also find that 1 of the girls was, well, not too African American (she was of fair complexion and everything) isn't taking anything from the story. Just imagine being a fair African American: it would definitely be an issue, still, from all sides. This is not a fun position to be in, maths or no maths.

The heroes were independent and well-rounded and idealistic which got balanced by a plethora of researched details and non-fiction style. More's the power to the book, had it not been that way, I probably wouldn't have even believed a word from this book.

Q:
Even if the tale had begun and ended with the first five black women who went to work at Langley’s segregated west side in May 1943—the women later known as the “West Computers”—I still would have committed myself to recording the facts and circumstances of their lives. Just as islands—isolated places with unique, rich biodiversity—have relevance for the ecosystems everywhere, so does studying seemingly isolated or overlooked people and events from the past turn up unexpected connections and insights to modern life. The idea that black women had been recruited to work as mathematicians at the NASA installation in the South during the days of segregation defies our expectations and challenges much of what we think we know about American history. It’s a great story, and that alone makes it worth telling.(c) Totally great.
Q:
There was something in her bearing that transcended her soft voice and diminutive stature. Her eyes dominated her lovely, caramel-hued face—almond-shaped, wide-set, intense eyes that seemed to see everything. Education topped her list of ideals; it was the surest hedge against a world that would require more of her children than white children, and attempt to give them less in return. (c)
Q:
No one knew better than Katherine Johnson that luck favored the prepared. (c) ...more

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Feb 11, 2017 Ayse_ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews

I liked this book very much. It covers an important time in history when things were changing fast and for the better. It is a product of thorough research and is full of events and anecdotes that make us re-live the tough times black women had to endure during 50s and 60s. The efforts of many courageous people that paved the road of social freedom for women and black people are amazing. It is also very interesting to read about this era; since the kids of today are born with an ipad; but before ...more

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Sep 19, 2019 Kim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I am using this book for the #ReadHarder prompt 6: A book by an AOC set in or about space.
While space is not much of a character is this book it is the story that made any space travel possible.

This is an incredible story well written and wonderfully narrated.
These human computers were amazing women with crazy smarts who did unbelievable work - all behind the scenes while the white male engineers stood front and centre stage.

Not only did these women overcome sexism and racism, they were also br ...more

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Apr 15, 2019 Kally rated it liked it

I learned a lot of interesting things from this but it did get a bit technical at times. It would have been harder to get through if I wasn't listening to it instead of reading. ...more

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