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margueritestjust's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
This book is fascinating because it covers such a large chunk of history. Rather than delivering a laser-focused approach on the lives of the women that she covers, Shetterly also brings life to the context of the world around them. The accomplishments of Dorothy Vaughn, Katherine G. Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden, are incredible.
It's fascinating to also see how it translated to the screen, as the movie largely centered on Katherine Johnson's work on John Glenn's orbital spaceflight (although it also certainly notes Mary Jackson attending classes to become one of the first Black female engineers at NASA and Dorothy Vaughn's work to become an early computer programmer), whereas this book spans decades. (For context, John Glenn's orbital flight and Katherine Johnson's work on it is covered within the last 60 pages or so of the book.) As a consequence, a lot of their earlier work (particularly during World War II and post-war America) is expanded upon in the book, and Shetterly also covers NASA's beginnings as NACA (the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which began during World War I) and covers how the Black civil rights movement had a major impact on NACA/NASA as a whole.
A. Phillip Randolph (who I am fascinated by and definitely want to learn more about) who was a lifelong advocate for civil rights led a push to ban discrimination in the defense industries (which was carried out during World War II), and Black journalists and advocates argued for the integration of schools during the height of the Space Race, capitalizing on the American fear of Soviet cosmological supremacy to argue that segregation could be preventing Black mathematicians and engineers from helping the US win against the Soviets. It does away with the disjointed history that we sometimes think of and shows how much historical events and movements impacted each other.
There's obviously a great deal of discussion about the racism and sexism against the time, but there's also mentions of the Red Scare and the anti-semitism of the period, and these are all examined as part of the context of this book. For only 265 pages, Shetterly packs as much in as she can, and it's a fascinating read that anyone and everyone should read. I'd especially recommend it to history nerds, space nerds (hello fellow space nerds!), and anyone looking to read about Black excellence. It's a dense read, but incredibly worthwhile.
It's fascinating to also see how it translated to the screen, as the movie largely centered on Katherine Johnson's work on John Glenn's orbital spaceflight (although it also certainly notes Mary Jackson attending classes to become one of the first Black female engineers at NASA and Dorothy Vaughn's work to become an early computer programmer), whereas this book spans decades. (For context, John Glenn's orbital flight and Katherine Johnson's work on it is covered within the last 60 pages or so of the book.) As a consequence, a lot of their earlier work (particularly during World War II and post-war America) is expanded upon in the book, and Shetterly also covers NASA's beginnings as NACA (the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which began during World War I) and covers how the Black civil rights movement had a major impact on NACA/NASA as a whole.
A. Phillip Randolph (who I am fascinated by and definitely want to learn more about) who was a lifelong advocate for civil rights led a push to ban discrimination in the defense industries (which was carried out during World War II), and Black journalists and advocates argued for the integration of schools during the height of the Space Race, capitalizing on the American fear of Soviet cosmological supremacy to argue that segregation could be preventing Black mathematicians and engineers from helping the US win against the Soviets. It does away with the disjointed history that we sometimes think of and shows how much historical events and movements impacted each other.
There's obviously a great deal of discussion about the racism and sexism against the time, but there's also mentions of the Red Scare and the anti-semitism of the period, and these are all examined as part of the context of this book. For only 265 pages, Shetterly packs as much in as she can, and it's a fascinating read that anyone and everyone should read. I'd especially recommend it to history nerds, space nerds (hello fellow space nerds!), and anyone looking to read about Black excellence. It's a dense read, but incredibly worthwhile.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Police brutality and Antisemitism