Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

"Even as a professional in an integrated world, I had been the only black woman in enough drawing rooms and boardrooms to have an inkling of the chutzpah it took for an African American woman in a segregated southern workplace to tell her bosses she was sure her calculations would put a man on the Moon. These women's paths set the stage for mine; immersing myself in their stories helped me understand my own."
                 -the author from the Prologue

At first I thought I wouldn't like this book, in fact had it not been a book club selection I might have given up on it.  However I did finish and found much to like although I could not call it a page turner. I would rate it a 2 for enjoyment: I'm not that fond of nonfiction to start with plus this book includes  much technical jargon and description that is over my head---reminded me of The Martian in that way. My rating for the sheer talent of the writer is a 4. I was awed by the amount of research, time and energy that the writing must have taken! So my average is 3.

I think the subtitle of the book, "The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race," is a down and dirty summary of the book's theme. It encompasses the stories of mainly four women: Dorothy Vaughn, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Christine Darden though a number of other women are secondary characters. The setting is Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton ,VA, beginning near the end of WWII and continuing through the Cold War, the civil rights movement and into the Space Race.

I found it interesting when the Marshall Space Flight Center was mentioned; it is in Huntsville, AL which I consider my hometown. Both my father and my father-in-law were involved in the space industry there. We grew up hearing about Werner Von Braun whose name appears a few times. Also Huntsville has long been called Rocket City while the author gives Hampton, VA, the nickname of Spacetown USA.

I learned a lot about the civil rights movement from a different perspective. First, the idea of a "double victory" originated from James Thompson in a letter to the Pittsburgh Courier: "Let colored Americans adopt the double VV for a double victory; the first V for victory over our enemies from without, the second V for victory over our enemies within. For surely those who perpetrate these ugly prejudices here are seeking to destroy our democratic form of government just as surely as the Axis forces." The author mentions Double V frequently. Another notable quote is "the Negro theorem: the need to be twice as good to get half as far." Also it is suggested that for a woman featured in the book to succeed she'd have to "think like a man, work like a dog and act like a lady." I wonder if some professional women today think it is still the same! I grew up in the south---Tennessee, Texas and Alabama---and lived through a lot of the civil rights movement but never realized what a hard line Virginia took against integration.

All in all, I am glad I read Hidden Figures. At the very least it was informative and inspiring. These women must have been very brilliant, determined and resilient---unsung heroes until Shetterly's book and the motion picture made the scene! I REALLY want to see the movie now!

More after the Page Turners meeting...

Our group had a wonderful meeting, a special one commemorating our 10th anniversary!  We met in a member's lovely home, discussed the book, Hidden Figures, had a pot luck luncheon and then had the opportunity to watch the video based on the book. We had an interesting discussion, with some of our women members who retired from technological fields relating personal experiences they had facing and/or overcoming gender bias. The group's average rating was 3.4 with most agreeing it was not an easy read but giving much credit to the author for her amazing research and efforts to bring the work of these heroic women to light. I believe we were all highly impressed with the accomplishments of these "Hidden Figures." The majority of participants had seen the movie before reading the book and thought it made the reading easier.

The movie was delightful---much more enjoyable than the book. It greatly abbreviated the story----perhaps a third of the book was depicted. Certain episodes were played up and many left out altogether. For examples, the journey made to find a "colored" restroom was repeated but most of the book up to Yuri Gregarin's space flight was omitted. The film included a good bit of humor and even some romance---made us laugh, perhaps cry a little, and much of the obvious stereotyping and prejudice made us sigh or seethe. Only three of the four women were featured in the film and were portrayed very well by the actresses who made Dorothy, Katherine and Mary come alive. Kevin Costner's character was very interesting, changing for the better during the course of the film.

I would strongly recommend seeing the movie. After that, MAYBE you would want to read the book. Our group agreed that the movie would surely reach a much greater audience, uncovering some history of which many are unaware, particularly younger folks. But it is important to note: Without Shetterly's book there would have been no movie and likely the amazing contributions of these women would still be obscured.