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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race in Books

Oct 27, 2017 (Updated Oct 27, 2017)  
Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race
Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race
Margot Lee Shetterly | 2017 | History & Politics
9
8.7 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
So much more than the film
I'm so glad that I watched the film first, otherwise it would have been a total disappointment. The book is extensive, and the story of the film seems quite different to the truth. The bare bones are the same: a trio of remarkable women broke boundaries in both gender and race to be part of one of the most historic events in US and even world history - the space race.

Before John Glenn made it to space, a group of professionals worked as ‘Human Computers’, calculating the flight paths by hand that would enable these historic achievements. Among these were a coterie of bright, talented African-American women. Forget Silicon Valley's misogynistic climate - women were the original engineers and mathematicians.

The book is awash with interesting stories of extraordinary people working in a time of segregation and all pervasive racism. It has multiple layers that delve into each character, and gives a comprehensive context into these women's lives. It basically fills in the gaps of the film, but also changes the timeline considerably as Katherine Johnson was much younger than her colleague Dorothy Vaughan. Nevertheless, an extraordinary read and a great tribute to these invisible women.
  
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Caitlin Ann Cherniak (85 KP) rated The Dragon Queen in Books

Oct 20, 2018  
The Dragon Queen
The Dragon Queen
William Andrews | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A very strong and intelligent female protagonist (2 more)
The Korean history
Rich detail
Mr. Simon bits (1 more)
The king is so weak!
Taken from my review on Goodreads: I won this book during a Kindle giveaway, and I'm very happy I was one of the lucky winners of this book. For a book that almost has five stars on this forum, it definitely deserves its ranking. This book not only tells a legend to an ignorant American government official, it tells the story of how a shy girl became a queen that sparked a revolution between the Koreans and the Japanese in the late 1800's. Honestly, the present day parts didn't add much except for why Anna is telling the story in the first place, which I guess adds some relevance, but the core of the story is the story of Ja-young, who should count as a princess Disney will never write about considering how sexist and violent her situation got throughout the entire novel. My greatest advice for encountering this book is skip the beginning and go straight to Ja-young's story. Waaaaaaaaaaay more influential than listening to a white man ramble about North and South Korean issues any day of the week.