Ainissa Ramirez—North, South, East, and Gladys West: How a Mathematician Helped Shape GPS

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover of the book North, South, East, and Gladys West, showing a woman over top of the globe, with a satellite orbiting them both and mathematical equations around them.
North, South, East, and Gladys West
NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, AND GLADYS WEST:
HOW A MATHEMATICIAN HELPED SHAPE GPS
Ainissa Ramirez
MIT Kids Press/Candlewick, 11/10/2026
Price of Hardcover: $19.99
Price of ebook: $26.99
ISBN: 978-1536225310

Ramirez reports:

The scene of African American women mathematicians walking down a hallway in the movie Hidden Figures touched me because it was the first time I saw so many Black women working in a technical field. This put me on a path to find other hidden figures.

I was lucky to find some. The first was Jim West, the African American inventor behind the microphone. I wrote about him in my children’s picture book called Spark. Soon, I began to look for Black women innovators and was fortunate to stumble onto one.

Portrait of Ainissa Ramirez
Ainissa Ramirez
In 2020, Gladys West published her autobiography. West was a mathematician and a pioneer behind GPS. Her research was key to determining the shape of the earth, also known as the geoid. This information helps GPS pinpoint where we are. Gladys’s role was to collect the height measurements from early satellites and write the software to calculate these measurements. Because of her work, we now know that the geoid looks like a lumpy potato.

Getting Gladys West’s story required interviewing her. Admittedly, her work was out of my expertise, so I also had to speak to several geodesists and mathematicians to learn what West achieved. Over time, I became more astonished with how West did this important research in newly-desegregated work environments.

In the end, I wrote a children’s book about Gladys called North, South, East, and Gladys West. The route to publishing this book was a bit different from books for older audiences. My book proposal was a draft of the book. But what I wrote back then does not resemble the book that was published today. I had lots of help in fashioning the book so that it resonated with kids. Help came from critique groups, writing groups, and my wonderful editor at Candlewick.

All in all, this was a challenging book to write. But the journey from there to here was so worth it because it fulfills my mission to highlight another hidden figure and ensure Gladys West’s legacy.

Contact info:

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Promote it by submitting your report for Advance Copy.

Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you began working on your book or what you might have done differently.

See https://www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines. NASW member login required.

View Advance Copy archives at https://www.nasw.org/member-article/advance-copy.

Thinking of writing a book? If you are a NASW member, you may access a list of more than 200 books and online resources to help you craft your book proposal, find an agent and funding sources, negotiate your contract, learn about self-publishing, publicize and market your book, and more at https://www.nasw.org/article/write-book.

View the recording of a recent Virtual Skills Chat presented by NASW’s Freelance Committee The existential challenges of self-promotion. NASW member login required.

View the recording of a recent Virtual Skills Chat presented by NASW’s Freelance Committee Using Generative A.I. as Writers and Editors. NASW member login required.

View the recording of a recent Virtual Skills Chat presented by NASW’s Editing Committee How to Break into Editing. NASW member login required.

View the recording of a Virtual Business Chat presented by NASW’s Freelance Committee and Advance Copy column Writing Wikipedia Profiles. NASW member login required.

View the recording of an Advance Copy Virtual Business Chat, A Primer for Authors on Book Publicity. NASW member login required.

Send book info and questions about book publishing to Sarah Scoles, NASW book editor, sarah.scoles@gmail.com.

Banner image adapted from original photo by Ainissa Ramirez.

NASW invites publishers and publicists to purchase NASW website ads to promote their authors and books via NASW’s self-service purchasing portal.

Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

October 2026 update: Lamberg now serves as NASW’s book editor emerita. A team of volunteer interim editors currently produces Advance Copy reports. The editor’s name appears at the end of each report.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.

ADVERTISEMENT