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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and War
laurataylor's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
bookbrig's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
alicepaone's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
mandi4886's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
Minor: Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
brookey8888's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
cherryvillegirl's review against another edition
5.0
I tried to read it last year, but the state of the world flipped upside down and I fell into a reading slump. Unfortunately, this book was a victim to that slump and was placed back on my TBR for another year as I wasn't in the headspace to read a non-fiction.
However, I was sooooo glad I read it! It was such an informative read and way better than the movie (though that is also incredible). There was a much wider breadth of focus in the book vs. the movie and it was able to not only focus on getting John Glenn into space, but also set up the events that it possible, as well as continue the story all the way to the moon landing.
I learned so much, not just about the horrific racism of the time, but also of the growth in aeronautics and space technology throughout the 20th century. That was fascinating! I appreciated learning more about the motivation for getting to the moon, as I always viewed it as a big ego competition. Now that I realize what world events played into it, I understand it a lot more.
Additionally, it was so cool to see what all went into getting man into space. The calculations. The engineering. Everything. It was incredible.
Finally, I was blown away by the strength and dignity of these women. If it were me in their shoes, fighting against such hatred and barriers while also trying to get ahead in life and take care of my family, I would probably have laid down and rolled over. I know I would not have faced such challenges head on like they did, with their heads held high, and didn't stoop to the level of those pitted against them. But they pressed on, kept their gaze on what they wanted and didn't cower. I'm sure it was incredibly tough and I bet there were days where they wished they could just give up, but they didn't and I applaud them for that fact.
My only complaint is that there was a lot packed into this book and I think I'll have to reread it several times to really absorb the information given. There were a lot of names, events, and terminology thrown in and it was often hard to keep everything straight. That's okay, in my book, as I'm definitely planning on reading this one over and over!
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
Minor: Mental illness
margueritestjust's review against another edition
5.0
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.
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Police brutality and Antisemitism