In Search of Our Roots

How l9 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Reference, Genealogy, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, African-American Studies, History, Military
Cover of the book In Search of Our Roots by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Crown/Archetype
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. ISBN: 9780307409737
Publisher: Crown/Archetype Publication: January 27, 2009
Imprint: Crown Language: English
Author: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
ISBN: 9780307409737
Publisher: Crown/Archetype
Publication: January 27, 2009
Imprint: Crown
Language: English

Unlike most white Americans who, if they are so inclined, can search their ancestral records, identifying who among their forebears was the first to set foot on this country’s shores, most African Americans, in tracing their family’s past, encounter a series of daunting obstacles. Slavery was a brutally efficient nullifier of identity, willfully denying black men and women even their names. Yet, from that legacy of slavery, there have sprung generations who’ve struggled, thrived, and lived extraordinary lives.

For too long, African Americans’ family trees have been barren of branches, but, very recently, advanced genetic testing techniques, combined with archival research, have begun to fill in the gaps. Here, scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., backed by an elite team of geneticists and researchers, takes nineteen extraordinary African Americans on a once unimaginable journey, tracing family sagas through U.S. history and back to Africa.

Those whose recovered pasts collectively form an African American “people’s history” of the United States include celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Don Cheadle, Chris Tucker, Morgan Freeman, Tina Turner, and Quincy Jones; writers such as Maya Angelou and Bliss Broyard; leading thinkers such as Harvard divinity professor Peter Gomes, the Reverend T. D. Jakes, neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and sociologist Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot; and famous achievers such as astronaut Mae Jemison, media personality Tom Joyner, decathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Ebony and Jet publisher Linda Johnson Rice.

More than a work of history, In Search of Our Roots is a book of revelatory importance that, for the first time, brings to light the lives of ordinary men and women who, by courageous example, blazed a path for their famous descendants. For a reader, there is the stirring pleasure of witnessing long-forgotten struggles and triumphs–but there’s an enduring reward as well. In accompanying the nineteen contemporary achievers on their journey into the past and meeting their remarkable forebears, we come to know ourselves.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Unlike most white Americans who, if they are so inclined, can search their ancestral records, identifying who among their forebears was the first to set foot on this country’s shores, most African Americans, in tracing their family’s past, encounter a series of daunting obstacles. Slavery was a brutally efficient nullifier of identity, willfully denying black men and women even their names. Yet, from that legacy of slavery, there have sprung generations who’ve struggled, thrived, and lived extraordinary lives.

For too long, African Americans’ family trees have been barren of branches, but, very recently, advanced genetic testing techniques, combined with archival research, have begun to fill in the gaps. Here, scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., backed by an elite team of geneticists and researchers, takes nineteen extraordinary African Americans on a once unimaginable journey, tracing family sagas through U.S. history and back to Africa.

Those whose recovered pasts collectively form an African American “people’s history” of the United States include celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Don Cheadle, Chris Tucker, Morgan Freeman, Tina Turner, and Quincy Jones; writers such as Maya Angelou and Bliss Broyard; leading thinkers such as Harvard divinity professor Peter Gomes, the Reverend T. D. Jakes, neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and sociologist Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot; and famous achievers such as astronaut Mae Jemison, media personality Tom Joyner, decathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Ebony and Jet publisher Linda Johnson Rice.

More than a work of history, In Search of Our Roots is a book of revelatory importance that, for the first time, brings to light the lives of ordinary men and women who, by courageous example, blazed a path for their famous descendants. For a reader, there is the stirring pleasure of witnessing long-forgotten struggles and triumphs–but there’s an enduring reward as well. In accompanying the nineteen contemporary achievers on their journey into the past and meeting their remarkable forebears, we come to know ourselves.

More books from Military

Cover of the book Diary of Bergen-Belsen by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book Blood in My Coffee by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book Over the Beach: The Air War in Vietnam by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book EXPERIMENT “E” — A Report From An Extermination Laboratory by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book The Archivist by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book 22 gennaio 1944. Lo sbarco by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book Our Jack Goes West by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book NSA Secrets Declassified: Eavesdropping on Hell: Historical Guide to Western Communications Intelligence and the Holocaust 1939-1945 - Enigma, Codebreakers, World War II, Jewish Refugees, Nazi Gold by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book Rage of Ares by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book I Confess by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book No Way Out by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book Muerto en resaca by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book The German 1918 Offensives by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book Understanding Naval Warfare by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Cover of the book History of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Volume II: The Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Policy 1945 -1947 - Palestine, Berlin Crisis, Carrier Cancellation, NATO, Soviet Atomic Bomb, H-Bomb by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy