Biography

In the tradition of Schulz and Peanuts, an epic and revelatory biography of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman that explores the turbulent time and place from which he emerged--and the deep secret he explored through his art.The creator of the greatest...

Prominent African American scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., traced Oprah's roots and shares the lessons of her ancestors--the legacy one generation bequeaths another, how who we are is influenced by the paths our ancestor have trod, and the extraordinary...

The British comedian of Nigerian heritage and co-executive producer and writer of the CBS hit series Bob Hearts Abishola chronicles her odyssey to get to America and break into Hollywood in this lively and humorous memoir. According to family...

"This is a book of stories," writes Henry Louis Gates, "and all might be described as 'narratives of ascent.'" As some remarkable men talk about their lives, many perspectives on race and gender emerge. For the notion of the unitary black man, Gates...

Madam C. J. Walker is an American rags-to-riches icon. Born to former slaves in Louisiana in 1867, she went on to become a prominent African American businesswoman and the first female self-made millionaire in U.S. history. The story of her...

Saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter has not only left his footprints on our musical terrain, he has created a body of work that is a monument to artistic imagination. Throughout Shorter's extraordinary fifty-year career, his compositions have helped...

A landmark biography by two prizewinning Washington Post reporters that reveals how systemic racism shaped George Floyd's life and legacy--from his family's roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina, to ongoing inequality in housing, education,...

This is a story about a Kenya woman set in during the latter half of the twentieth century until present-day Kenya. Throughout her life and the other characters, she is forced to deal with forced marriage, wife inheritance, gender norms, and the...

Discover the simple, revolutionary practice behind the against-the-odds success story of Dr. Myron L. Rolle: NFL football player, Rhodes Scholar, and neurosurgery resident at Harvard-Massachusetts General Hospital.Dr. Myron L. Rolle has led a remarkable...

One of Rolling Stone's Best Music Books of 2015From Geto Boys legend and renowned storyteller Scarface, comes a passionate memoir about how hip-hop changed the life of a kid from the south side of Houston, and how he rose to the top-and ushered in a new...

From the New York Times bestselling author of River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic, the stirring story of one of the great feats of exploration of all time, and its complicated legacy For millennia the location of the Nile River's headwaters was...

Maceo Parker's signature style became the lynchpin of James Brown's band when he and his brother Melvin joined the Hardest Working Man in Show Business in 1964. That style helped define Brown's brand of funk, and the phrase "Maceo, I want you to blow!"...