American Women Biographies

The revealing story of the multigenerational relationship between the British royals (the Windsors) and the closest thing the U.S. has to royalty (the Kennedys)—exploring the surprising ways the two families echoed, imitated, and inspired each other throughout the 20th century and how those...

“This singular memoir stunned me. With a poet’s precision, Rachel Eliza Griffiths renders two interwoven tragedies few others could have lived through, much less written about with such clear-eyed candor.”—Mary Karr, New York Times bestselling author of The Liars’ Club On September 24...

How did Oprah Winfrey do to become the world's most well-known female personality as well as a successful entrepreneur? It turns out it was not just all luck. Her mantra, "Turn Your Wounds Into Wisdom," served her well from an early age, especially after tragically losing her first child and later when she worked to turn her life dreams into reality.

An accessible and entertaining biography of our nation’s greatest public servant and original political maverick John Quincy Adams, from the bassist of the Grammy-nominated band the Avett Brothers. During the tumultuous period between the era of the Founding Fathers and the disunion of the...

A showstopping portrait of Whitney Houston as we’ve never seen her before—a woman in her full power, a musician who knew the impact of her gift, and a fulcrum of Black celebrity—by leading culture critic and professor of Black art Emily Lordi. We remember Whitney Houston for her soaring...

With Virginia Woolf as a guide, the stories of eight radical 20th century women--wanderers, rebels, explorers, mentors--who made a life for themselves in spite of everything. Everything that changed in the 20th century changed more dramatically for women. Her Own Voice tells the stories of eight...

This probing memoir follows Choi through her many former homes, from a crumbling Chinatown tenement to a haunted museum in Georgia. Connections emerge, between her curious trajectory and idiosyncratic Korean identity narratives: a mystical Korean dog breed, pro golfers, modern Korean cults, the four pillars of destiny, and Korean American art. One question lingers throughout her search: What might be gained from living in residence with uncertainty?

Nadine Cohodas's biography of the passionate, talented and difficult, but ultimately lovable, Nina Simone is an object lesson in American life. With thorough interviews and research, much new material and information that has never before come to light, Nadine tells the story of Eunice Wayman, born in Tryon NC in 1933, with a stunning musical talent that was spotted early by family and friends.

'In my dreams, I was always in some vast landscape on a long, straight road. Driving. Always driving.' Gwenda had always loved the open road, but her home town of Newcastle didn't really offer the sort of adventure she longed for. So, in 1957, with friend and fellow nurse Pat in tow, she left the dismal British winter behind and embarked on an amazing American adventure.

1775: Overlooked Heroines focuses entirely on ordinary women who broke away from their social constraints to become soldiers, spies, and heroines in the American Revolutionary War. These women physically fought for America to be free from colonial imperialism, but yet society fails to recant their names. 1775: Overlooked Heroines fills in the gaps of history and places these women back into the historical narrative, whose names are less celebrated and are overshadowed or misattributed simply because they are women.

For much of American history, women were second-class citizens in the sense they could not vote or run for office and had few property rights. However, women were often able to overcome social restrictions and forcefully affect the world around them, sometimes nationally. This took a real force of character, determination, and sometimes bravery. Women activists focused on issues such as temperance, women’s property rights, improvident or violent husbands, women’s suffrage, cruelty to animals, concern for child labor, and more. This is the story of five such women.

The 20th century was a golden age during which women had ground-breaking impact in many fields including acting. Of these, three women stood out in particular. Doris Day, Lucille Ball, and Shirley Temple were just ahead of their time in many ways and created ripples as A-list actresses who resonate with us even today. These highly accomplished women connected with their audiences in a profound way, their work related with the everyday experiences of people, and they won numerous awards during their careers.

Anna May Wong remains one of Hollywood’s best-known Chinese American actors. Between 1919 and 1960, Anna May Wong starred in over fifty movies, sharing billing with stars such as Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Ramon Novarro, and Warner Oland. Her life, though, is the prototypical story of an immigrant’s difficult path through the prejudices of American culture. In a narrative that recalls the pathos of life in LA's Chinese neighborhoods and the glamour of Hollywood’s pleasure palaces, Graham Russell Gao Hodges recovers the life of a Hollywood legend.

Shaking up New York and national politics by becoming the first African American congresswoman and, later, the first Black major-party presidential candidate, Shirley Chisholm left an indelible mark as an "unbought and unbossed" firebrand and a leader in politics for meaningful change. Chisholm spent her formative years moving between Barbados and Brooklyn, and the development of her political orientation did not follow the standard narratives of the civil rights or feminist establishments.

When Ohio newspapers published the story of Alice Chenoweth's affair with a married man, she changed her name to Helen Hamilton Gardener, moved to New York, and devoted her life to championing women's rights and decrying the sexual double standard. She became one of the most sought-after speakers on the 19th-century lecture circuit, published seven books and countless essays, supported herself, hobnobbed with the most interesting thinkers of her era, visited 22 countries, and was celebrated for her audacious ideas and keen wit.

Award-winning Civil Rights advocate Mary Frances Berry sheds new light on the fight for reparations. Callie House, an ex-slave who led the fight, founded the Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty, and Pension Association in 1899. Defying conventions of race, class, and gender, Callie led the organization in an attempt to petition the government for the pension promised them as freedmen.

In her senior year of college, asha bandele and a group of other writers went to a prison to read their works for a Black History Month program. There, she met Rashid, a man who was serving 20 to life for murder, a man who spoke softly and wisely, a man who would become asha’s soul mate. This is her account of a relationship that has thrived despite terrific odds.

While the household was buffeted by the coach's tumultuous firings and hirings, which periodically propelled the family to a new city, Jennifer dreamed of being the first female quarterback in the NFL. But as she grew, she yearned mostly to be someone that her father would notice. In a world where only football mattered, what could she strive for, who could she become?

In the midst of her groundbreaking twenty-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm once declared, “Everyone—with the exception of the black woman herself—has been interpreting the black woman.” Edited and introduced by Zinga A. Fraser, Shirley Chisholm in Her Own Words gives listeners a rare opportunity to engage with the congresswoman’s powerful ideas in her own voice.

“I am opposed to heart disease and cancer the way one is opposed to sin.” With that as her battle cry, health activist and philanthropist Mary Woodard Lasker had a singular goal: saving lives by increasing medical research. Together with her husband, advertising genius Albert, they created the Lasker Foundation, bestowing the Lasker Awards. But the real increase in medical research funding occurred when Mary discovered a revolutionary source: the federal government. “I’m just a catalytic agent,” she would insist, while she tirelessly lobbied Congress and presidents alike.