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alexisgarcia's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
3.0
an amazing part of history that was unfortunately not written great imo. the writing was incredibly slow and it felt more like an information dump rather than an engaging read. still worth reading though for the history alone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Classism
campredwood's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
cadybooks's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, and Classism
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A really enjoyable read. Margot Lee Shetterly does an excellent job of placing the work being done at NASA within the broader contexts of the times, from the worker shortages of WWII to the Space Race panic of the early Cold War, and always threaded through with the current state of racism in the US. It's not just a book about moments in aeronautic and aerospace history; it's about a whole era of US consciousness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and War
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, and Pregnancy
tm400's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
my first true nonfiction book!!! and i’m super excited it was this one. this has been on my physical tbr for years & the biography prompt for the storygraph’s genre challenge was the perfect excuse to finally read !
hidden figures is a biography about a handful of black women who worked for NASA in the 50s and 60s, whose work is responsible for getting men into space & onto the moon during the space race. as a fellow female scientist, i loved this story so much! i thought there was a perfect mixture of information about the women, information about societal struggles/expectations/restrictions of the time, and information about the actual science behind space travel.
i think this biography was extremely well done; it was informative, captivating, and told in a way that appeals to a general audience.
highly recommend the read for anyone interested in space travel, the cold war from america’s perspective, civil rights era america & the us government’s affect on the space race, black history, the (black) american dream, and women’s history
i really hate slow paced books & nonfiction books are intrinsically slow paced to me so i’m docking points for that, and i wish it was just a little longer. 4.5/5 stars
(my copy had 254 pages of biography, including prologue)
hidden figures is a biography about a handful of black women who worked for NASA in the 50s and 60s, whose work is responsible for getting men into space & onto the moon during the space race. as a fellow female scientist, i loved this story so much! i thought there was a perfect mixture of information about the women, information about societal struggles/expectations/restrictions of the time, and information about the actual science behind space travel.
i think this biography was extremely well done; it was informative, captivating, and told in a way that appeals to a general audience.
highly recommend the read for anyone interested in space travel, the cold war from america’s perspective, civil rights era america & the us government’s affect on the space race, black history, the (black) american dream, and women’s history
i really hate slow paced books & nonfiction books are intrinsically slow paced to me so i’m docking points for that, and i wish it was just a little longer. 4.5/5 stars
(my copy had 254 pages of biography, including prologue)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
My rating on this book is much more about the way it was written, not the subject matter. I think this history is fascinating and I really would’ve appreciated some thing that stuck to its format. What I mean is, the author couldn’t seem to decide whether they wanted to have a chronological history, a character-centric history, or a subject-based history.
So, they did a little of everything. And as a result, the book felt really scattered and unstructured. I had a hard time following stories and often had to pause and rewind to figure out which of the many women and what time period they were talking about.
I still haven’t seen this movie, but I’ve been intending to for years. If I had to guess, I’d say the movie is probably more user-friendly than the book in this case.
So, they did a little of everything. And as a result, the book felt really scattered and unstructured. I had a hard time following stories and often had to pause and rewind to figure out which of the many women and what time period they were talking about.
I still haven’t seen this movie, but I’ve been intending to for years. If I had to guess, I’d say the movie is probably more user-friendly than the book in this case.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
Author and many principal characters in the book are Black.greatexpectations77's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
This story is extremely interesting, but perhaps the storytelling could have been a hair more engaging. I did especially like that the locations in the book were very familiar to me, which helped me connect with it a little bit more. I would love to see the movie, now that I have the whole story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Grief, and Alcohol
whenweplay1950's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
ymziegler's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
rainbowrachel's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
2.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Sexism