tracybabler's review against another edition
2.0
Whew! This one was difficult to get through. Not so much a story as a long series of facts.
bak8382's review against another edition
4.0
Hidden Figures tells the story of four African American women who worked at a government facility as "computers" or mathematicians, and helped do all the calculations that eventually launched a man into space. The young readers' edition is a quick read, and totally accessible to middle school and high school students. There's not a lot of focus on the 4th woman Christine, and I couldn't tell if that was because it was the young readers edition or not, but she was also left out of the movie. I really enjoyed this, especially being able to see where the movie took its inspiration and where it took many liberties.
kelz31's review against another edition
3.0
Had to give this three because even though I absolutely loved the story and find the arcs of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson incredibly inspiring, the format and flow of the book made it hard to follow. I frequently had a difficult time remembering which characters had which distinctions, and also keeping the timeline straight. However, the content itself is important and truly hidden from our collective history, so I'm happy to have read and begun to appreciate how amazing these women were in shaping change in both science and society.
author_d_r_oestreicher's review against another edition
5.0
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly "inspired" the eponymous motion picture. The "inspired" is important because a movie tells a story while this book reports the story. The book reports three interesting and important stories: (1) the Jim Crow era, (2) the space race, and (3) the West Computers.
The Jim Crow era is covered from the depression through the Civil Rights Act. During the Jim Crow era, the south, and much of the rest of the country was segregated into white schools, stores, restaurants, service stations, and substandard or non-existent facilities for blacks. Even federal government research labs segregated their offices, cafeterias, and restrooms. For example:
"...in response, the state of Virginia set up a tuition reimbursement fund, subsidizing the graduate education of black students in any place but Virginia, a policy that continued until 1950."
"In Prince Edward County [Virginia], however, segregationists would not be moved: they defunded the entire county school system...rather than integrate. ...schools would remain closed 1959 through 1964."
The space race began with the Soviet sputnik satellite in 1957 and went through the moon landing by Neil Armstrong in 1969. Though on television, NASA looked like a sea of white men, women provided significant support. Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt tells the story of predominantly white women in Califonia, and this book reports on the black women in Virginia.
The West Computers were a segregated group of black women who performed complex mathematical calculation on desk calculators, first during World War II for the design of jets, and later during the space race in support of the Mercury and Apollo programs. These are the ladies that star in the movie.
This is a well-researched documentation of a problematic period of American history. It provides an important perspective on the events which lead to our conflicted race relations today. Well written and worth reading.
For some more: details http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2017/01/hidden-figures-by-margot-lee-shetterly.html
The Jim Crow era is covered from the depression through the Civil Rights Act. During the Jim Crow era, the south, and much of the rest of the country was segregated into white schools, stores, restaurants, service stations, and substandard or non-existent facilities for blacks. Even federal government research labs segregated their offices, cafeterias, and restrooms. For example:
"...in response, the state of Virginia set up a tuition reimbursement fund, subsidizing the graduate education of black students in any place but Virginia, a policy that continued until 1950."
"In Prince Edward County [Virginia], however, segregationists would not be moved: they defunded the entire county school system...rather than integrate. ...schools would remain closed 1959 through 1964."
The space race began with the Soviet sputnik satellite in 1957 and went through the moon landing by Neil Armstrong in 1969. Though on television, NASA looked like a sea of white men, women provided significant support. Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt tells the story of predominantly white women in Califonia, and this book reports on the black women in Virginia.
The West Computers were a segregated group of black women who performed complex mathematical calculation on desk calculators, first during World War II for the design of jets, and later during the space race in support of the Mercury and Apollo programs. These are the ladies that star in the movie.
This is a well-researched documentation of a problematic period of American history. It provides an important perspective on the events which lead to our conflicted race relations today. Well written and worth reading.
For some more: details http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2017/01/hidden-figures-by-margot-lee-shetterly.html
amlagunas's review against another edition
4.0
Great story about American history, loved that it focused not on what these women were not allowed to do, but what theyfood anyway.
myacluff's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the coverage of such an important part of American history that was kept un-represented for too long. The interweaving of NASA history and general civil rights history was the strongest part of the book. But only four stars because the main characters were hard to differentiate.
proudlocks's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm.. I have mixed feelings on this.
The topic of the book is history, black history, black female history so of course it’s important. I was so excited to read it.
Now I’ve read it.. yes i know all the facts, but it was boring. One boring, endless drawl basically listening dates and names, over and over and never.
I’m glad I’ve read it, I’m glad I know not about the NACA and NASA, but i wouldn’t read it again. It felt like I was revising for a test I had to cram so many relevant dates and names into my mind as fast as I could.
Not enjoyable.
The topic of the book is history, black history, black female history so of course it’s important. I was so excited to read it.
Now I’ve read it.. yes i know all the facts, but it was boring. One boring, endless drawl basically listening dates and names, over and over and never.
I’m glad I’ve read it, I’m glad I know not about the NACA and NASA, but i wouldn’t read it again. It felt like I was revising for a test I had to cram so many relevant dates and names into my mind as fast as I could.
Not enjoyable.
_nerdy_fantasy_reader1313's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I loved the Hidden Figures movie and had been waiting to read the book forever. When I found it at my local library I checked it out immediately. While I don't normally read nonfiction, I think this book is amazing. There is so much information (in a good way) and it is presented in an easy to understand fashion.
The only thing I had a problem with was the POVs. I feel like it could have been presented smoother. Sometimes I had no idea who they were describing and it would get confusing. Overall it wasn't really an issue, it just had me rereading a bunch of paragraphs.
If you are super into activism, female empowerment, civil rights history, and/or space READ THIS BOOK!!!
The only thing I had a problem with was the POVs. I feel like it could have been presented smoother. Sometimes I had no idea who they were describing and it would get confusing. Overall it wasn't really an issue, it just had me rereading a bunch of paragraphs.
If you are super into activism, female empowerment, civil rights history, and/or space READ THIS BOOK!!!
amymck05's review against another edition
3.0
This one was a hard one for me. I do not regret reading it. l learned a lot, but it read a lot like textbook- maybe because it's the young reader's edition . I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.