The World's Best Book Summaries
How did guardianship laws allow people to commit theft? What role did they play in the Osage Reign of Terror? Guardianship laws declared some adult Osage Tribe members incompetent so that “guardians” could control their money. This arrangement ultimately played a role in an unthinkable tragedy. Read more to learn about guardianship laws and the Osage murders.
How were Jim Crow segregation laws felt by the employees of NASA in the pre-Civil Rights era? How did the women of Hidden Figures work to enact change? In Hidden Figures, not even the brilliant mathematicians at NASA were spared from Jim Crow segregation. In the middle of the segregated south, the women of Hidden Figures worked to solve the problems of space exploration, and spent their lives advocating for change both at and outside of NASA.
What was the Friendship 7 mission, and what was its significance? Did the women of Hidden Figures have anything to do with the Friendship 7 launch? Katherine Johnson was a part of the Space Task Force, which was responsible for the Friendship 7 Mission. In fact, John Glenn, Friendship 7 astronaut, personally relied on Katherine’s mathematical skills to ensure his safety. Read more about the Friendship 7 Mission and Katherine Johnson’s contributions.
What’s the history of the forced assimilation of Native Americans? Did it play a role in the Osage murders of the 1920s? Forced assimilation was a system that stripped Native Americans of their lands and culture. The practice contributed to the conspiracy to rob the Osage of their material wealth, and it ultimately led to many murders. Continue reading to learn about the forced assimilation of the Osage people.
What was the Space Task Group? What role did it play in the first manned space missions, and in getting to the moon? The Space Task Group was formed in 1958 and was a working group with the goal of achieving human spaceflight. Singularly focused on its goal, the Space Task Group included many brilliant minds, including Katherine Johnson of Hidden Figures. Keep reading to find out more about the Space Task Group, and Katherine Johnson’s contributions.
What is gender discrimination in the workplace? What kind of gender discrimination did the women of Hidden Figures face, and what did they do to fight against it? The book Hidden Figures focuses on the lives and careers of three black women who worked at NASA during the Jim Crow era. The women fought to overcome both racial and gender discrimination in the workplace, and their fight for equality created a legacy for women everywhere.
Who was Katherine Johnson? What is Katherine Johnson’s life story? Where did she go to school, and how did she work her way toward a career as a NASA mathematician? Katherine Johnson is well-known for being one of the main characters in the book Hidden Figures. Katherine spent her career as a mathematician at NACA, later NASA, and was essential in multiple space missions, including the first Earth orbit. Keep reading to find out about Katherine’s early life, how she started a career at NASA, and her life outside her work.
Who was Blackie Thompson? How did he help solve the Osage murders? Blackie Thompson was a bank robber who was recruited as an informant for the FBI to work on the Osage murder cases. While his work as an informant initially failed, he ultimately provided information that led to a break in the case. Read more to learn about this intriguing figure in American history.
What were the Osage murders, and when did they take place? How big was the conspiracy? The Osage murders took place in Osage County, Oklahoma, in the 1920s. Members of the Osage tribe were murdered as part of a plot to steal the money they made from oil on their land. Local law enforcement failed in their investigation, and the FBI intervened to bring the killers to justice. Continue reading to find out about the Osage murders in this tragic “reign of terror.”
How did women contribute to the war effort during World War II? What role did NASA play in these efforts? NASA, then known as NACA, was responsible for science and technology that helped build planes and other machinery. The work had real-life, high-stakes implications. It was also an opportunity. You probably know that women were a huge part of the war effort during World War II. But how did women contribute to the war effort at NACA? Keep reading to find out.