Book Review: 'Hidden Figures' by Margot Lee Shetterly

✰✰✰✰ In the era of segregation, the numbers didn’t lie. Math was math, as the professionals at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia knew. Long before machines crunched the numbers for space flights, there were female mathematicians who were known as “human computers.” They answered Uncle Sam’s call for duty to serve their country as only they could do by performing thousands of calculations with paper, pencils, slide rules, and adding machines.

When the pool of qualified white, female applicants dwindled, gifted African American women were encouraged to apply. These women came to the job with as much education and experience as their white counterparts, perhaps even more. At a time when Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required the human computers to be segregated, the “West Computers” held their own in the face of discrimination. The West Computers proved themselves time and again by producing outstanding work.

This book takes a look at nearly three decades of forgotten history starting in World War II. The author takes the reader through the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the race into space, and Star Trek. This little known piece of history follows these amazing women as they served their country, changed their lives, and helped future generations follow in their footsteps.

The Bottom Line: With a focus on women in science and empowerment, this quick read is highly recommended for high school and college students and their parents. This is an excellent choice for Black History month as well. This inspirational read is filled with lots of informational gems. This forgotten piece of American history is well worth the read.

Book Club Notes: This book was well received by the group. Members enjoyed reading about a little known facet of American history that was interwoven with the stories of these fascinating and intelligent women. At times the book was a little technical, and a few of us got bogged down in names and name changes, but overall this book was a gem. It gave us an inside view of how complicated things were during the Civil Rights Movement. We appreciated the vast amount of research the author put into this book. On a scale of 1 – 5, with 5 being the highest, we gave it an average of 4.25 stars.

Additionally, many of us had watched the movie as well and thought it was well done. For insights into the topic of human computers, be sure to watch the scene extras that come with the DVD.

Books clubs looking for discussion questions can find them at HarperCollins and Techbridge Girls. For additional information to supplement your discussion, take a look at these documents on the Mesa Community College Book Club page. Finally, for those discussing the movie, here's the Hidden Figures Family Discussion Guide from Twentieth Century Fox.

Details: Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly. Paperback published by William Morrow in 2016. 368 p. ISBN: 978-0-06-236360-2