Explores the previously uncelebrated but pivotal contributions of NASA's African-American women mathematicians to America's space program, describing how Jim Crow laws segregated them from their white counterparts despite their groundbreaking successes. - (Baker & Taylor)

The uplifting, amazing true story&;a New York Times bestseller!

This edition of Margot Lee Shetterly&;s acclaimed book is perfect for young readers. It's the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program. 

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.

This book brings to life the stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, who lived through the Civil Rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the movement for gender equality, and whose work forever changed the face of NASA and the country.

Booklist Reviews

Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Christine Darden are names that have been largely forgotten. The four women worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in the mid-twentieth century. Each displayed early aptitude for math, sharp curiosity about the world around them, and marked confidence in the face of discrimination. They contributed to discoveries about space and to sending manned missions into orbit. Their life stories are the perfect impetus for discussion on a host of important historical themes germane to the 1950s, such as gender roles, racial prejudice and segregation, and scientific exploration. In any context, these women's contributions to science and aerospace technology would be impressive, but the obstacles imposed by the norms of their society make their achievements all the more impressive. Middle-schoolers will find their story, here in a young readers' edition of Shetterly's 2016 adult book (the basis of a current movie), engaging and inspirational. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

The talented black women working at NASA's Langley facility in the mid-twentieth century started as mathematics "human computers," but persisted through racism and sexism to make significant contributions as engineers, analysts, and programmers. Shetterly's outstanding young readers' edition of her similarly titled adult book highlights the intersecting worlds of educated, middle-class southern African Americans and Cold War space program scientists. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Copyright 2017 Horn Book Guide Reviews.