This was such an extraordinary, exhilarating and important story to tell, but the writing was so dry, repetitive and full of platitudes that it began to dull the edges of this sharp tale. I really hope that the author was able to get through some revisions to work out some of the weaknesses in the writing because the story is so important -- it's about African-American women in the South who, because of the war, are temporarily able to secure jobs as 'human computers' at NACA -- which later becomes NASA. The convergence / overlap of the lives of these women with the collective dreams of the nation and its obsessive space race are fraught with contradiction and celebration. It's really exciting to see how the Langley Research Institute continues to grow and expand over the arch of the story, and to see how the laws transform during the course of these women's careers. Yet the tone is at times so flowery and glib that the women become caricatured heroes as opposed to complex women in extraordinary times. I wish the writing was more creative, narrative-driven and sensory to give us a real sense of who they really were as opposed to casting them as emblematic symbols of a people and a nation. I am actually excited in this case that there's a major motion picture b/c I think it'll bring the narrative structure into clearer relief -- the lives of the main characters -- Dorothy, Katherine and Mary -- are so intertwined and overlapping that it's hard to keep track of whose story is being told at any given moment. The author bounces around and, combined with the intensive technical language, whole passages are muddled with confusion. Still, it's a fascinating moment in US history and these women's stories are truly remarkable.