American Women Biographies

American Isis is the first Plath biography benefiting from the new Ted Hughes archive at the British Library, which includes 41 letters between Plath and Hughes as well as a host of unpublished papers. The Sylvia Plath that Carl Rollyson brings to us in American Isis is no shrinking violet overshadowed by Ted Hughes; she is a modern-day Isis, a powerful force that embraced high and low culture to establish herself in the literary firmament.

Stuckey's, a roadside oasis for generations of travelers along America's highways, fell into disrepair after decades of outside ownership. When Stephanie Stuckey, granddaughter of Stuckey's founder, is offered the chance to buy the business, she takes it, seeing something that isn't apparent in the bleak financial statements: an emotional connection that she and generations of road trippers had with the brand.

The life of Joan Crawford is one of the most famous Hollywood rags-to-riches tales. While it is common to think of Hollywood as a land offering great opportunity to hardworking actresses, the Horatio Alger myth rarely applies in reality, but it applied almost perfectly to Joan Crawford. Joan Crawford's life and career also shed light on the treatment of women in pop culture and in cinema during the early 20th century. Her career was not only limited to film acting, as she acted in musical revues and was previously an unabashed flapper during the Roaring Twenties.

In the early 1960s, most middle-class American women in their twenties had their lives laid out for them: Marriage, children, and life in the suburbs. Most, but not all. Breathless is the story of a girl who represents those who rebelled against conventional expectations. Paris was a magnet for those eager to resist domesticity, and like many young women of the decade, Nancy K. Miller was enamored of everything French - from perfume and Herms scarves to the writing of Simone de Beauvoir and the New Wave films of Jeanne Moreau.

Ruth Painter Randall’s brilliant biography of Mary and Abraham Lincoln sheds new light upon their marriage and dispels the myths that have surrounded it. This audiobook rehabilitates the reputation of Mary Lincoln and deserves to be listen to by all those who wish to find the truth about the remarkable relationship between Mary and her husband and the impact that she made on him throughout his years in office.

This memoir, written by Chuong and her daughter, Mayly Tao, pays homage to the arduous journey faced by millions of immigrants who arrive in the United States annually—penniless, without an education, and unable to speak English. Chuong Lee recounts her journey of homelessness, malnutrition, and labor enslavement in Cambodia. Upon arriving in America, Chuong found herself a part of donut royalty as she married into the family of the Donut King, Ted Ngoy, who opened up hundreds of donut shops for Khmer refugees.

Betsy Ross is one of the few women in American history whose name is known to every American, but that is not the only reason she's such a unique figure. Indeed, Betsy Ross is a true rarity in that she has been turned into a mythological heroine. Every country has legends, and tales that grow out of its founding, but given that the United States is a relatively young country, there is ample historical information on the lives and exploits of its Founders.

During the early 20th century, groundbreaking technology revolutionized transportation both on the ground and in the sky, with new motors making automobiles and airplanes a reality in the 1910s. Around that same time, the feminist movement was underway in the United States, spearheaded by women seeking the right to vote, lobbying for the temperance movement, and trying to make their voices heard.

"I believe that it is as much a right and duty for women to do something with their lives as for men and we are not going to be satisfied with such frivolous parts as you give us." - Louisa May Alcott, Rose in Bloom Louisa May Alcott (1832 - 1888) was one of the best authors of her day, but even though she's remembered primarily for being a late 19th century novelist, she was also a progressive Transcendentalist.

Considering that her film career lasted just six years, it would seem as though the reputation of Grace Kelly far outweighs her actual output. From the time of her arrival in Hollywood in 1951, through her final film, High Society, in 1956, Kelly acted in just 11 films. Viewers were left to wonder whether Kelly was still in the beginning of her career, or whether High Society was a proper culmination to an extraordinarily brief stay in the film industry.

The dark-eyed woman in the long, black gown was first seen in the 1970s, standing near a fireplace. She was sad and translucent, present and absent at once. Strange things began to happen in the Santa Fe hotel where she was seen. Gas fireplaces turned off and on without anyone touching a switch. Glasses flew off shelves. And in one second-floor suite with a canopy bed and arched windows looking out to the mountains, guests reported alarming events.

Shirley Temple remains the most famous child star of all time, but even this designation fails to reflect the magnitude of her popularity during the era in which she worked. While it is true that she was not the first child actor to reach Hollywood fame, she was the first - and to this day, perhaps the only - star who rose to the very pinnacle of the Hollywood elite before she even turned 10 years of age. For this reason, it is no exaggeration to view Shirley as the progenitor for all of the child actors that succeeded her.

In many ways, Judy Garland's rise to fame seems almost predestined. Not only was she a national sensation at a young age, but her parents and sisters were all vaudeville entertainers. On top of that, Garland's parents owned and operated a movie theater, making it all the easier to draw the conclusion that singing and acting were simply professions which she was born into by virtue of her pedigree.

"A long time ago, when all the grandfathers and grandmothers of today were little boys and little girls or very small babies, or perhaps not even born, Pa and Ma and Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie left their little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin." So begins the first of a series of primarily autobiographical books for children that would give 20th century America a look at what it was like when the country was still young and the West was a largely empty, untamed wilderness.

Born in rural Michigan during the Jim Crow era, the bold and irrepressible Merze Tate (1905-1996) refused to limit her intellectual ambitions, despite living in what she called a "sex and race discriminating world." Against all odds, the brilliant and hardworking Tate earned degrees in international relations from Oxford University in 1935 and a doctorate in government from Harvard in 1941. She then joined the faculty of Howard University, where she taught for three decades of her long life spanning the tumultuous twentieth century.

Who said women can’t go to space? Who said African American women can’t? Mae Jamison challenged society when she decided to become an astronaut. Learn about her inspiring story through this amazing book for third graders. Go ahead and grab a copy for your child to listen to today. 

Hepburn acted in some capacity from the start of the 1930s through the early-1990s, and it is important to view how the nature of Hepburn's roles changed from her youth to old age. Aside from being one of the most recognized and acclaimed actresses in history, Hepburn's career is also of great importance because she forced Americans to reevaluate their expectations for female behavior, both in films themselves and off the movie set as well.

Rosa Parks is one of the most famous women in American history, and an instantly recognizable name among Americans of all ages, thanks to the events of December 1, 1955. That afternoon, on her way home from work, Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white person in defiance of Montgomery’s segregated bus policies. Within days of her arrest, Montgomery’s civil rights activists had organized a wide-scale boycott of Montgomery’s buses by blacks.

When Americans are asked who the best actress in the world is today, many of them will name Meryl Streep first, and with good reason. Though her career on screen has not yet spanned 40 years, she has been nominated for 18 Oscars and 28 Golden Globes, which are both records for highest number of nominations. Her Oscar nomination count dwarfs even Katharine Hepburn, who has the second most with 12.

American Legends: The Life and Legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis details the fame and fashion of the famous first lady, while also examining her legacy during and after her years in the White House. Until her death in 1994, even in her 60s she continued to be the subject of popular interest and intense tabloid and paparazzi coverage. You will learn about Jackie O like you never have before, in no time at all.