Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson Reprint

&;This rich volume is a national treasure.&; &;Kirkus Reviews (starred review) &;Captivating, informative, and inspiring&;Easy to follow and hard to put down.&; &;School Library Journal (starred review) The inspiring autobiography of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, who helped launch Apollo 11.As a young girl, Katherine Johnson showed an exceptional aptitude for math. In school she quickly skipped ahead several grades and was soon studying complex equations with the support of a professor who saw great promise in her. But ability and opportunity did not always go hand in hand. As an African American and a girl growing up in an era of brutal racism and sexism, Katherine faced daily challenges. Still, she lived her life with her father&;s words in mind: &;You are no better than anyone else, and nobody else is better than you.&; In the early 1950s, Katherine was thrilled to join the organization that would become NASA. She worked on many of NASA&;s biggest projects including the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first men on the moon. Katherine Johnson&;s story was made famous in the bestselling book and Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures. Now in Reaching for the Moon she tells her own story for the first time, in a lively autobiography that will inspire young readers everywhere.