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allyoop 's review for:
Yuck.
To me, it is nearly invaluable that someone took the initiative to track down the surviving JPL 'human computers' and get their stories. That's something that isn't on record anywhere, and that history, particularly various anecdotes they may have from that time period, is very intriguing.
But, yeesh. The way it was put together and the items the author chose to highlight drove me insane. I gave it two stars only because there are, in fact, good bits of information to be found. I do have to applaud the author for getting these women together again. But most of it felt like such a waste of a golden opportunity.
The author spends the majority of the book talking about whichever "rocket girl" is being focused on and her hair, her clothes, her boyfriend/husband, her children, her troubles at home, etc. I'm sure that plays a part, but I really would have liked that to take more of a backseat. The interesting info about JPL felt more like asterisks at the bottom of the page.
I majored in engineering, and I've worked for NASA. I've been the only female in many situations. I support giving these ladies a spotlight. I just think this book is so busy hamming up their gender that it forgets to fully illuminate their accomplishments. The idea isn't to say, "Look, we're girls!" The idea is to say, "Yeah. We're awesome."
(Another book released recently, [b:The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars|29496512|The Glass Universe How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars|Dava Sobel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465672020s/29496512.jpg|49782569] does a much better job of this, for anyone interested. Though I warn it hits the other extreme for any not really keen on the subject. It is quite information and background heavy.)
To me, it is nearly invaluable that someone took the initiative to track down the surviving JPL 'human computers' and get their stories. That's something that isn't on record anywhere, and that history, particularly various anecdotes they may have from that time period, is very intriguing.
But, yeesh. The way it was put together and the items the author chose to highlight drove me insane. I gave it two stars only because there are, in fact, good bits of information to be found. I do have to applaud the author for getting these women together again. But most of it felt like such a waste of a golden opportunity.
The author spends the majority of the book talking about whichever "rocket girl" is being focused on and her hair, her clothes, her boyfriend/husband, her children, her troubles at home, etc. I'm sure that plays a part, but I really would have liked that to take more of a backseat. The interesting info about JPL felt more like asterisks at the bottom of the page.
I majored in engineering, and I've worked for NASA. I've been the only female in many situations. I support giving these ladies a spotlight. I just think this book is so busy hamming up their gender that it forgets to fully illuminate their accomplishments. The idea isn't to say, "Look, we're girls!" The idea is to say, "Yeah. We're awesome."
(Another book released recently, [b:The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars|29496512|The Glass Universe How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars|Dava Sobel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465672020s/29496512.jpg|49782569] does a much better job of this, for anyone interested. Though I warn it hits the other extreme for any not really keen on the subject. It is quite information and background heavy.)