Margot Lee Shetterly – författare

The #1 New York Times bestseller

The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner.

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.

Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country’s future.

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.

Esta es la verdadera historia, nunca antes contada, de las mujeres afroamericanas de la NASA expertas en matemáticas, que desempeñaron un papel crucial en el programa espacial de Estados Unidos, y cuyas contribuciones han permanecido anónimas… hasta ahora.

La fenomenal historia de mujeres matemáticas afroamericanas de la NASA en la vanguardia del movimiento feminista y de derechos civiles, cuyos cálculos impulsaron uno de los mayores logros espaciales de Estados Unidos. Ahora una gran película protagonizada por Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, y Kevin Costner.

Antes de que John Glenn girara en órbita alrededor de la Tierra, o Neil Armstrong caminara en la luna, un grupo de mujeres profesionales en el área de las matemáticas conocidas como «computadoras humanas» usaron lápices, reglas de cálculo, máquinas de sumar para escribir las ecuaciones base para el lanzamiento de cohetes y astronautas al espacio. Entre ellas se encuentran un grupo de mujeres afroamericanas excepcionalmente talentosas, algunas de las mentes más brillantes de su generación. Originalmente relegadas a enseñar matemáticas en escuelas públicas segregadas del sur, fueron llamadas a servir durante la escasez laboral de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, cuando la industria aeronáutica de Estados Unidos se encontraba en extrema necesidad de alguien con conocimientos.

Repentinamente, estas profesionales tenían acceso a un empleo digno de sus habilidades y respondieron al llamado del Tío Sam, se mudaron a Hampton, Virginia, y al fascinante mundo del Laboratorio Aeronáutico Langley Memorial. A pesar de que las leyes Jim Crow de Virginia les obligaba a estar separadas de sus homólogos blancos, el grupo de mujeres afroamericanas «Computadoras del oeste» ayudó a Estados Unidos a alcanzar una de las metas más deseadas: una victoria decisiva sobre la Unión Soviética durante la Guerra Fría, y el dominio completo de los cielos.

Iniciando en la Segunda Guerra Mundial y hasta la Guerra Fría, el Movimiento de los derechos civiles y la carrera espacial, Figuras ocultas entrelaza las historias de Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson y Christine Darden, cuatro mujeres afroamericanas que participaron en algunos de los mayores éxitos de la NASA. Es la crónica de sus carreras a lo largo de casi tres décadas en las que enfrentaron desafíos, alianzas y utilizaron su intelecto para cambiar sus vidas y el futuro de su país.

Now major motion picture starring Golden Globe–winner Taraji P. Henson and Academy Award–winners Octavia Spencer and Kevin Costner.

Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space program—and whose contributions have been unheralded, until now.