Summary and Analysis of Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race: Based on the Book by Margot Lee Shetterly

By Worth Books

So much to read, so little time? Get an overview of Hidden Figures, the true story about the African American female mathematicians who helped NASA win the space race.
 
Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures tells the incredible real-life account of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden—who, in a time when black women faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles, went to work as “calculators” at NASA. With pencils, paper, and slide rules, they transformed airplane, rocket, and satellite designs—and ensured a World War II victory.
 
Despite the social and political climate at the height of Jim Crow, these women rose up and became integral to the project that put the first man on the moon. From World War II to the Cold War to the civil rights movement to the space race, Hidden Figures tells the story of four remarkable women whose contributions to science led to some of NASA’s greatest successes.
 
The book has become a New York Times bestseller as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award–winning and Academy Award–nominated picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner.
 
With historical context, important quotes, fascinating trivia, a glossary of terms, and other features, this summary and analysis of Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race is intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Dec 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504043410

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Book preview

Contents

Context

Overview

Summary

Timeline

Cast of Characters

Direct Quotes and Analysis

Trivia

What’s That Word?

Critical Response

About Margot Lee Shetterly

For Your Information

Bibliography

Copyright

Context

Hidden Figures was published in 2016, following years of research by Margot Lee Shetterly. As a Hampton Roads native whose father worked for NASA, Shetterly was already intimately connected to the story of these forgotten American heroes. With Hidden Figures, she aimed to break down the historical silos that divide our nation’s history and honor the achievements of the African American women in the space program who, despite outrageous obstacles, contributed so much to America’s domination of the heavens.

In addition to telling the story of NASA’s female mathematicians, Hidden Figures recounts America’s civil rights movement from the 1940s to the 1970s. It describes the landmark cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, the March on Washington, the pay disparities that were systemic and sanctioned between whites and blacks (and especially between women of color and white women), and what it was like for women who sought higher education in mathematics and sciences and who wanted to pursue careers beyond teaching—which were few and far between. The space race—and America’s need to beat the Soviet Union during the Cold War era—brought the women in this story, and women in general, to the forefront of math and science careers. Without them, America’s journey to the moon, and stars, would not have been the same.

Author’s Note on Language Used in the Book

While common parlance would replace the formerly used word Negroes with African Americans, Margot Lee Shetterly has opted to use the following terms throughout the book: Negro and black. Though it may be jarring to modern-day readers, this summary and analysis honors her choice of language.

Overview

In the early 1940s, America was in the thick of World War II. The only hope to fend off the aggressive German forces was to increase America’s capabilities in the sky. Langley, Virginia, was home to the leading research facility dedicated to developing aircraft advancements—making planes faster and deadlier than ever. Yet they had a problem with their workforce: they simply couldn’t find enough qualified mathematicians to keep their engineers working at top speed. So they started recruiting women. Women were already working industrial jobs as part of the war effort, but this was one of the first occasions in American history that women were sought for technical and skilled positions.

At first, only white women were considered. But when

Reviews for Summary and Analysis of Hidden Figures

[somethingblanc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting summary. Each chapter is summarised and the important points are noted. Excellent reading of a book in the shortest time frame possible.

[bemislibrary · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The unofficial summary and analysis of Margot Lee Shetterly’s book “Hidden Figures” does not do the book justice. The author does an okay job of describing the book. The one-paragraph summary of each chapter does capture the theme for the chapter. The analysis is only a few sentences that mentions a topic but lack any sort of scrutiny. The acronym guide consists of ten acronym found in the book’s index. Two of the seven thought provoking questions were whether a first-time author should attempt writing about this and what was the author’s motivation. LibraryThing Member Giveaway randomly chose me to receive this book. Although encouraged, I was under no obligation to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.