Essential Bios & Histories for Black History Month

This memoir from the most admired woman in America is touching, surprisingly intimate, and empowering. It’s a beguiling portrait of a uniquely American story: from an upbringing on Chicago’s Southside to life in the White House, she seems to have lived the epitome of the American Dream. But as she reveals, it hasn’t always been a fairytale.

This definitive biography of one of the most significant figures in American history is long overdue. A look at both the inner and the outer life of the famed abolitionist and orator, this well-written portrait draws on new information to provide the most well-rounded examination of Douglass yet.

Thanks to Shetterly’s blockbuster book, the black female mathematicians whose calculations were critical to winning the space race in a still-segregated America are a hidden history no more. A crucial story that challenges our preconceptions.