Research Catalog

Hidden figures : the American dream and the untold story of the Black women mathematicians who helped win the space race

Title
Hidden figures : the American dream and the untold story of the Black women mathematicians who helped win the space race / Margot Lee Shetterly.
Author
Shetterly, Margot Lee
Publication
  • New York, NY : William Morrow, [2016]
  • ©2016
Supplementary Content
Book website

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

2 Items

StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Request for On-site UseRequest Scan

Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.

TextUse in library Sc E 16-1988Schomburg Center - Research & Reference
Request for On-site UseRequest Scan

Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.

TextUse in library JBE 17-1456Schwarzman Building - General Research Room 315

Details

Description
xviii, 346 pages; 24 cm
Summary
"Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South's segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America's aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam's call, moving to Hampton, Virginia, and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Even as Virginia's Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley's all-black "West Computing" group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens." -- Publisher's description
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Biographies.
  • Biography.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-328) and index.
Awards (note)
  • New York Times Best Seller List.
Contents
A door opens -- Mobilization -- Past is prologue -- The double V -- Manifest destiny -- War birds -- The duration -- Those who move forward -- Breaking barriers -- Home by the sea -- The area rule -- Serendipity -- Turbulence -- Angle of attack -- Young, gifted, and black -- What a difference a day makes -- Outer space -- With all deliberate speed -- Model behavior -- Degrees of freedom -- Out of the past, the future -- America is for everybody -- To boldly go.
Call Number
JBE 17-1456
ISBN
  • 9780062363596
  • 006236359X
LCCN
  • 2016021050
  • 40026553076
  • 9780062363596
OCLC
950004289
Author
Shetterly, Margot Lee, author.
Title
Hidden figures : the American dream and the untold story of the Black women mathematicians who helped win the space race / Margot Lee Shetterly.
Publisher
New York, NY : William Morrow, [2016]
Copyright Date
©2016
Edition
First edition.
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Local Note
Schomburg copy with dust jacket.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-328) and index.
Awards
New York Times Best Seller List.
Connect to:
Book website
Local Subject
Black author.
Other Standard Identifier
40026553076
9780062363596 52799
Research Call Number
JBE 17-1456
Sc E 16-1988
View in Legacy Catalog