Mathematician Katherine Johnson pens her autobiography detailing her life as a girl of color in a time of racial violence and gender discrimination and discussing her pivotal work with NASA's Apollo 11 program.

"The story of Katherine Johnson, an African American mathematician whose work was critical to the first US space flight"--

Meet Katherine Johnson, a brilliant mathematician who worked at NASA in the early 1950s until retiring in 1986. Katherine's unparalleled calculations (done by hand) helped plan the trajectories for NASA's Mercury and Apollo missions (including the Apollo 11 moon landing). She is said to be one of the greatest American minds of all time.

Contains a biography for young readers about NASA mathematician, Katherine Johnson, who was able to calculate complex mathematical formulas for rocket flight without the use of a computer.

"NASA computer scientist Katherine Johnson and her two daughters tell the story of how she overcame racial barriers to play an integral role during the American space program's early days"--

In the pioneer days of space exploration, African American women took on the role of 'Human Computer.' These 'Human Computers' measured the complicated equations by hand, designing complex mathematical and integrated calculations that enabled America to champion the success of USA's Space Program introduced by President John F. Kennedy. The African American women 'Computers' provided a critical role in advancing NASA and its mandate. Margot Lee Shetterly,...