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Hidden Figures

the American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
Jun 21, 2017PimaLib_NormS rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The first sentence of the epilogue of Margot Lee Shetterly’s “Hidden Figures” is: “It’s the question that comes up most often when I tell people about the black women who worked as mathematicians at NASA: Why haven’t I heard this story before?” That is exactly what I was thinking as I read this book. It is truly an amazing story. During World War II, many women entered the work force to replace the men who went off to fight. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) desperately needed computers, not the electronic kind (it was the 1940’s after all), but the human kind. They had to figure out the complex, mathematical equations required to help the engineers build the fastest, most powerful and maneuverable aircraft. Winning the air war was crucial to the Allies plan for victory. This work took place in Virginia where segregation was still legal, but NACA realized that exigent circumstances demanded the best and the brightest, no matter the skin color or gender. The work did not end with WWII, as the Cold War with the Russians kept them all very busy. In 1958 NACA became NASA as focus shifted to the burgeoning space race with the Russians. These women were vital cogs in the vast machine that won WWII, fought the Cold War, and put men on the moon and brought them back safely. That this story did not become widely known until now is really unfathomable. These brilliant, brave women were double pioneers. They trailblazed the way for women and African-Americans.