Hidden Figures tells the stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, four African-American women who blazed the trail for others to follow in the fields of mathematics and engineering at NASA.

NASA, originally known as NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) began hiring women during WWII as female computers. These women essentially did the work of mathematicians but were labeled as subprofessionals in order to be paid less. In 1943 there was a push to hire qualified black women because the demand could not be satisfied with white employees only.

I particularly enjoyed how this book focused on the individual stories of each woman. I was so inspired by the sacrifice, determination, and intelligence of these ladies. The book incorporates the history that coincides with the stories moving from WWII and aviation research to the Cold War and the Space Race. The book focuses a lot on the Civil Rights Movement and the push to end school segregation. At the onset of the story, the black mathematicians are forced to work on the west side of the Langley campus until the 60s when integration occurs. One quote from the Chicago Defender that stood out to me follows: "While we were forming mobs to drive Autherine Lucy (the black woman who integrated the University of Alabama in 1956) from the Alabama campus, the Russians were compelling ALL children to attend the best possible schools." It's disheartening to imagine all the brilliant minds that never realized their potentials because of factors like race, gender, and income.

My favorite anecdote was when the astronauts didn't quite trust the calculations of the electric IBM computers. In one instance John Glenn requested that Katherine Johnson (referred to as "the girl" ) personally double check the numbers for the trajectories of the orbital mission.

Great nonfiction read, particularly recommend for females interested in STEM.