Tagged Biography & Autobiography
At These Crossroads: The Legacies of Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois
Like others of their generations, and ours, Frederick Douglass and W. E. B. Du Bois found themselves at the crossroads of belonging and not, of loving their nation and feeling rejected by it, of being both black and American. This…
Mark Kram Jr. | Smokin’ Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier
In conversation with Steve Ross Mark Kram Jr. won the 2013 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing for Like Any Normal Day , the tragic story of two brothers bonded but separated by a devastating sports injury. He formerly wrote for…
George Packer | Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century
George Packer won the 2013 National Book Award for The Unwinding , a biographical examination of the seismic shifts in economics and politics over the past three decades that have brought the United States to the brink. A longtime New…
Lorene Cary | Ladysitting: My Year with Nana at the End of Her Century
“A powerful storyteller, frankly sensual [and] mortally funny" ( New York Times ), Lorene Cary is the author of the novels Pride , The Price of a Child , If Sons, Then Heirs , and the memoir Black Ice . A senior lecturer in…
Nicole Weisensee Egan | Chasing Cosby: The Downfall of America’s Dad
In conversation with Annette John-Hall, cohost and producer of The Why on WHYY A 14-year veteran crime reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News , Nicole Weisensee Egan was the first journalist to delve into Andrea Constand’s 2005…
Through this Lens: African American Photographers
This exhibition of books and other materials from the collections of the Art Department offers a look at the camera work of African American artists from the earliest days of photography to today. In addition to photographers like…
Melinda Gates | The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World
In conversation with John Green
AUDITORIUM SOLD OUT; SIMULCAST SEATS AVAILABLE Couples Ticket Ranked by Forbes as the third most powerful woman in the world, Melinda Gates has been on a 20-year mission to solve some of the world’s most pressing…
Famous Asian Americans
Biographies and collective biographies on Asian Americans.
LGBTQ - Biographies and Autobiographies
Biographies and Autobiographies of important and influential members of LGBTQ community.
Memoirs and Reminiscences by African American Authors
Autobiographical selections.
Research in Context *
Discover reliable and trusted information on a variety of topics to support middle school student research for government, U.S and world history, geography, literature, sciences, and social issues. Research In Context offers…
LitFinder *
Discover literature content from more than 150,000 full-text poems, 840,000 poem citations and excerpts, 7,100 full-text short stories and novels, 3,800 full-text essays published in the 16th-20th centuries, 2,400 full-text speeches, and…
Literature Criticism Online
This extensive compilation of literary commentary represents a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras, and genres. Covers Children’s, Classical, Contemporary, Drama, Poetry, Shakespearean,…
Kids InfoBits *
Elementary students in kindergarten through grade five will find age-appropriate content covering a broad range of educational topics such as animals, arts, geography, health, literature, people, social studies, technology, etc. Kids…
Gale Literary Sources (formerly Artemis)
Cross-search all of Gale’s literature databases from a single digital space to find biographies, primary sources, contextual reference, and criticism. Includes Dictionary of Literary Biography, Something About the Author, LitFinder,…
Books & Authors *
Discover fiction and non-fiction books that match your interests! Books and Authors (powered by Gale's popular What Do I Read Next? series) is for readers from every level of reading proficiency and enables users to explore the endless…
Biography in Context
Comprehensive online biographical reference database in the areas of literature,science,multicultural studies,business,entertainment,politics,sports,government,history,arts and newsmakers from around the world and throughout history.
AskART
Janny Scott | The Beneficiary: Fortune, Misfortune, and the Story of My Father
In conversation with Bruce Weber, former obituary writer for the New York Times and author of the books As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires and Life is A Wheel: Memoirs of a Bike-Riding Obituarist . Janny Scott, a…
Mary Norris | Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen
“A rollicking adventure into the origins of the apostrophe, the proliferation of profanity in American culture, and everything in between” ( San Francisco Chronicle ), Mary Norris’s bestselling Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma…
Patricia Marx and Roz Chast | Why Don't You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It?: A Mother's Suggestions
A 30-year contributor to The New Yorker , Patricia Marx is the author of several books including Starting From Happy and Him Her Him Again the End of Him , both of which were Thurber Prize finalists. A former writer for Saturday Night…
Kwame Onwuachi | Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir
In conversation with Chef Elijah Milligan A former Top Chef star, the executive chef at Washington D.C.’s popular Kith and Kin, and a Forbes and Zagat’s 30 Under 30 honoree, Kwame Onwuachi is one of America’s most acclaimed young…
Richard Blanco | How to Love a Country: Poems
Richard Blanco made history four times at Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration: He was the first immigrant, the first Latino, the youngest person, and the first openly gay person to be the U.S. inaugural poet. Exploring…
Robert A. Caro | Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing
In conversation with Dick Polman , "Writer in Residence" at the University of Pennsylvania, national political columnist at WHYY News and contributor to The Atlantic Standing at “the summit of American historical writing” ( Washington…
Dave Barry | Lessons from Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog
A 30-year writer at the Miami Herald whose column was syndicated in more than 500 newspapers, humorist Dave Barry won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1988. His more than 30 New York Times bestselling books include I’ll Mature When…
Michael Dobbs | The Unwanted: America, Auschwitz, and a Village Caught In Between
A longtime foreign correspondent for The Washington Post , Michael Dobbs reported on some of the most important events of our time. His many books include Down with Big Brother: The Fall of the Soviet Empire , Saboteurs: The Nazi Raid…
Valerie Jarrett | Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward
In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition “The ultimate Obama insider” ( New York Times ), Valerie Jarrett was the longest serving advisor in the 44th President’s administration. Born in Iran and…
Barry Lopez | Horizon
Barry Lopez won the National Book Award for Arctic Dreams , a “rich, abundant, vigorously composed” ( Boston Globe ) meditation on his travels in the barren but beautiful far North. His other work includes Of Wolves and Men , Crow and…
Cecile Richards | Make Trouble: Stand Up, Speak Out, and Find the Courage to Lead—My Life Story
In conversation with Tamala Edwards , anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition A “heroine of the resistance” ( Vogue ), Cecile Richards was the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund…
Albert Woodfox | Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solitary Confinement. My Story of Transformation and Hope
In conversation with award-winning journalist Tracey Matisak. Falsely accused and convicted of a 1972 robbery in which a white guard was killed, Albert Woodfox served more than four decades in solitary confinement in Louisiana’s…
Carolyn Forché | What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance
In conversation with Beth Kephart, the award-winning author of twenty-four books, including Going Over , Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir , and Flow: The Life and Times of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River . “An unflinching…
Lidia Bastianich | My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food
Renowned chef and restaurateur Lidia Bastianich is the owner and co-owner of celebrated Italian restaurants in Manhattan, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City. The author of a baker’s dozen cookbooks, a judge on Masterchef Jr. Italy , and a…
Brittney Cooper | Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower with Rebecca Traister | Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger
In converation with Rebecca Traister , author of Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger Examining the intersections of race, gender, and politics in a popular monthly Cosmo column, Brittney Cooper is also a professor of…
Pete Buttigieg | Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future
In conversation with Tamala Edwards , anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition The multifaceted, 36-year-old progressive mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg is a Rhodes Scholar and Harvard graduate. Nearly a decade ago he left…
Bernard-Henri Lévy | The Empire and the Five Kings: America’s Abdication and the Fate of the World
In conversation with Carlin Romano , Critic-at-Large, The Chronicle of Higher Education , former literary critic The Philadelphia Inquirer and author of America the Philosophical . “Perhaps the most prominent intellectual in France…
Howard Schultz | From the Ground Up: My Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America
In conversation with William Kristol, founder and former editor-at-large of The Weekly Standard . The former chairman and CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz led the java giant from eleven cafes in the Seattle area to more than 28,000…
Chris Wilson | The Master Plan: My Journey from Life in Prison to a Life of Purpose
In conversation with State Representative Jordan A. Harris Convicted of murder at 18 and sentenced to life in prison with no hope of release, Chris Wilson began to improve himself through study, physical fitness, and even started a…
Feminista Jones | Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets with DaMaris B. Hill | A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing
Social worker, public speaker, community activist, and blogger Feminista Jones is the author of the novel Push the Button and the poetry collection The Secret of Sugar Water . She was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in…