Back in the day of the Jim Crow South, NASA was desperate to find mathematicians to work for them. ‘Hidden Figures’ is the true story of the many female African-American mathematicians who worked in the space program. They were known as “colored computers”.
‘Hidden Figures’ is the story of 5 of them, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, and Gloria Champine. Their story is told through interviews, documents, correspondence, etc.
Until I found out about this book, I had no idea that NASA had so many female African American Mathematicians working for them. Hell, back in the 50’s and 60’s that not only would hav3e been considered “men’s work” but also almost exclusive to white men, especially in the south! So, when I found out about ‘hidden Figures’ and the history it tells, I jumped to the opportunity to read you.
You may think because it is non-fiction that it is a dry account of what happened but you would be wrong. Margot Lee Shetterly wrote about both the private and public lives of these women which made it a more personal touch and a riveting read. ‘Hidden Figures’ is truly a hidden gem. If you like history in general, the space race, women’s history, or African American history, this is a must read!
I received a free print copy of this book.
5/5
About Margot Lee Shetterly
Margot Lee Shetterly grew up in Hampton, Virginia, where she knew many of the women in her book Hidden Figures. She is an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow and the recipient of a Virginia Foundation for the Humanities grant for her research on women in computing. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Thanks Lauren Weber of Doubleday Marketing, I am giving away one print copy of Al Capone by Deirdre Bair.
Description of Al Capone by Deirdre Bair
From a National Book Award-winning biographer, the first complete life of legendary gangster Al Capone to be produced with the cooperation of his family, who provided the author with exclusive access to personal testimony and archival documents.
Born in 1899 in Brooklyn, New York, to poor, Italian immigrant parents, Al Capone went on to become the most infamous gangster in American history. In 1925, during the height of Prohibition, Capone’s multi-million-dollar Chicago bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling operation dominated the organized-crime scene. His competition with rival gangs was brutally violent, a long-running war that crested with the shocking St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929. Through it all, and despite the best efforts of law enforcement and the media elite, Capone remained above the fray. Federal income-tax evasion was the strongest charge that could be made to stick, and in 1931 he was sentenced to eleven years in federal prison. After serving six-and-a-half years, mostly in Alcatraz, a severely impaired Capone, badly damaged by neurosyphillis, was released to live out his final years with his family in Miami. From his heyday to the present moment, Al Capone’s life has gripped the public imagination, and his gangster persona has been immortalized in the countless movies and books inspired by his exploits.
But who was the man behind the legend? Capone loved to tell tall tales that perpetuated his mystique; newspapers loved him and frequently embellished or fabricated stories about him to sell copies. While some remember him as fundamentally kind and good, others speak of how frightening he was, a vicious, cold-blooded killer. Was Al really such a quotable wit? Did he really shower the poor with hundred-dollar bills and silver dollars from the window of his bulletproof car? Did he really keep a bevy of mistresses ensconced in his hotel headquarters in Chicago? Writing with exclusive access to Capone’s descendants, Deirdre Bair finally gets at the truth behind this eternally fascinating man, who was equal parts charismatic mobster, doting father, and calculating monster.
Praise for Al Capone by Deirdre Bair
“Deirdre Bair’s enticing new gangster biography knocks it out of the park. In the hands of a master life-storyteller, Al Capone’s brief, explosive career seems as all-American as apple pie and sawed-off shotguns. Fans of The Godfather, The Sopranos, or Boardwalk Empire are sure to find the book addictive.”—Marion Meade, author of Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin
“Beautifully researched and immensely readable, Al Capone peels away layers to reveal a consistently surprising and exquisitely complex portrait of the man behind the legend.”—Karen Abbott, author of Sin in the Second City
“A definitive biography of ‘Public Enemy #1’ … Bair has written perhaps the last word on Capone. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal
DEIRDRE BAIR received the National Book Award for Samuel Beckett: A Biography. Her biographies of Simone de Beauvoir and Carl Jung were finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Simone de Beauvoir biography was chosen by The New York Times as a Best Book of the Year. Her biography of Anaïs Nin and her most recent book, Saul Steinberg: A Biography, were bothNew York Times Notable Books.
Giveaway of Al Capone by Deirdre Bair
This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on November 11, 2016 midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
Thanks to Sarah-Beth Watkins of Chronos Books, I am giving away one print copy or ebook copy of James Fenimore Cooper: A Life by Nick Louras.
Description of James Fenimore Cooper: A Life by Nick Louras
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was America s first novelist, celebrated for his masterpiece, /The Last of the Mohicans/. Over a prolific career he created a national mythology that endures to this day.
According to Daniel Webster, We may read the nation s history in his life. Yet Cooper was also a provocative figure, ultimately disillusioned with American democracy. He spent his boyhood in the wilds of the frontier, served as a merchant sailor and naval officer, traveled the courts of Europe in an age of upheaval and returned home to scandal and controversy. He conquered the literary world only to fall victim to his own fame. In the first popular biography of Cooper in a generation, historian Nick Louras brings the man and his age vividly to life.
Giveaway of James Fenimore Cooper: A Life by Nick Louras
This giveaway is open to worldwide for ebook however, print copy is restricted to the U.S. and UK only. This giveaway ends on June 10, 2016 at midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Al Capone by Deirdre Bair
James Fenimore Cooper: A Life by Nick Louras