Review: Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story behind the movie. Hidden Figures is the true story of the black women who worked in the West Computing area of NACA / NASA's Langley Research Center starting in the 1940s. These women persevered during an age when women in the workforce were only essential due to the war effort and black women in mathematics and engineering roles were unheard of. This book is not just about these women human computers who help John Glenn reach the moon, but about Civil Rights in the Jim Crow south in the 40s-60s.

Well written and well researched, Shetterly captures the spirit of these women and the bond they developed charting unknown territory. It is a short book that I think could have been expanded, but is a nice overview of these inspirational women.

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Review: No ordinary time : Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt : the home front in World War II

No ordinary time : Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt : the home front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent, very well researched and written account of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in the years leading up to WWII and follows through to their deaths. Goodwin concentrates on life in the US during these years, touching on subjects like civil rights, Japanese internment, worker's rights, and women in the workplace. While the book was dense, it was very readable. It was exhaustive and entertaining. It is also a very raw and personal look into the personal lives of the Roosevelts. Franklin was a proud and concerned President who spent over 3 terms in office working toward winning the war through to his dying day. Eleanor was a hardworking advocate of the people working toward human rights at home and throughout the world. Although they had much love for each other, they were separate, individual people whose work seemed to compliment each other. Yet they were not without their flaws and Goodwin captured warts and all.

Although it was a heavy read, it was very engaging. I feel like I have had a very personal peek into the lives of Franklin and Eleanor.

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