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heidi_mcj's review
4.0
Fascinating look at the contributions of women and black women in particular to the space program. My 1st-3rd graders enjoyed it.
alannahjrpurslow's review
3.0
Well written, but some parts of the book were very factual for me and I didn’t relate because because I’m not an aficionado of Maths and science. I’ve heard the film adaption of this book is amazing, so I’m excited to see it.
myriadreads's review
4.0
I have mixed feelings about this one! Obviously a powerful and necessary book. You won't see these women in the index of most books about the space race, for sure. The "computers" who ensured American success in WWII and in the space race inspire me to be greater--they let nothing get in their way. That said, I would have preferred more humanity and story in this book. I found it dry reading, overloaded with facts. I feel like putting some of the details into an addendum might have made the book more enjoyable and readable. Still, I feel empowered and thoughtful after reading it, and I find myself analyzing so many of the stories and history that we take for granted and asking myself what's missing from the picture. I'll look forward to watching the film, which I've heard is fantastic and sticks to the facts, while also bringing the human stories to the fore.
gutlessw's review
2.0
To be honest , it’s a great story but the book is so much information and not much to grasp on. It was kinda boring for my taste. I read it before I watched the movie and I don’t say this much but the movie was better in my opinion it had a nice charming gleam that was inspiring and entertaining.
oihanesaez's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.5
I really loved reading about these inspiring women. These type of books really motivates me to keep going in my scientific career because I really love it and if these women did it so can I!
Please remember their names: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Christine Darden. Mathematicians, engineers and activists. Women and black. Working in a field of men, succeeding in a field of men, they will always be an icon for other women, for other black people that dream to become like them.
It was really interesting to read how 70 years ago there were barely any women working as engineers and nowadays that gap is still huge. Society's view on women's roles have conditioned entire generations to not pursue scientific careers. Still today we can see the effects of that conditioning.
In the 1950s we can see some brilliant women quit their promising careers because they got married and had kids and they didn't even think of what their life would look like, it was a distant dream, something not real and it really pains me to think that still happens today. It is harder for women to succeed in these fields. More women realise STEM degrees at university but the higher we go in the academic levels the fewer women we can see. That is the harsh reality. Still today we struggle to reach leadership positions.
I went into this book expecting a different way of telling the story and I found out that this is written in a textbook like way so be aware of that. It’s probably the only thing that I didn't enjoy from the book. And it made it a bit hard and heavy to finish the book because of that.
However, the story itself was fascinating and inspiring for me personally and makes me want to follow in the footsteps of these women myself.
Please remember their names: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Christine Darden. Mathematicians, engineers and activists. Women and black. Working in a field of men, succeeding in a field of men, they will always be an icon for other women, for other black people that dream to become like them.
It was really interesting to read how 70 years ago there were barely any women working as engineers and nowadays that gap is still huge. Society's view on women's roles have conditioned entire generations to not pursue scientific careers. Still today we can see the effects of that conditioning.
In the 1950s we can see some brilliant women quit their promising careers because they got married and had kids and they didn't even think of what their life would look like, it was a distant dream, something not real and it really pains me to think that still happens today. It is harder for women to succeed in these fields. More women realise STEM degrees at university but the higher we go in the academic levels the fewer women we can see. That is the harsh reality. Still today we struggle to reach leadership positions.
I went into this book expecting a different way of telling the story and I found out that this is written in a textbook like way so be aware of that. It’s probably the only thing that I didn't enjoy from the book. And it made it a bit hard and heavy to finish the book because of that.
However, the story itself was fascinating and inspiring for me personally and makes me want to follow in the footsteps of these women myself.
"Katherine Johnson knew: once you took the first step, anything was possible."