Inspiring Biographies

... Read All Boys Aren't Blue Summary

This book is a memoir written by a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, Rick Bragg, who works for the New York Times. It describes the author’s childhood in rural Alabama,   the middle child of three brothers raised by an almost-always single mother in conditions of extreme poverty. His father was a veteran of the Korean War and an alcoholic, who abandoned his family for long periods of time.The book is dedicated “To my Momma and my brothers.” The author grows... Read All Over but the Shoutin' Summary

All Souls: A Family Story from Southie is a 1999 memoir by Michael MacDonald in which the author examines his experiences of growing up in the Old Colony neighborhood of South Boston, also known as Southie. The memoir contextualizes the MacDonald family’s personal tragedies amid the tumultuous historical events that took place in Boston during the 1970s, with a particular focus on the racist violence that occurred during the desegregation busing crisis. Michael Patrick MacDonald was... Read All Souls Summary

... Read All That She Carried Summary

... Read All the Beauty in the World Summary

... Read All You Can Ever Know Summary

... Read Almost American Girl Summary

Esmeralda’s family relocates from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn in 1961, when Esmeralda is 13 years old. On the cusp of womanhood, Esmeralda receives warnings from her family members, and especially her mother, Mami, to watch out for the many algos or dangers lurking in the city. Struggling to adjust to city life in Brooklyn, Esmeralda misses Puerto Rico, and she dreams of the day when she will return. Initially put into remedial classes because she... Read Almost a Woman Summary

A Long Way Home is a 2013 memoir by Saroo Brierley, an Indian-born author who was accidentally separated from his biological family at the age of five and adopted by an Australian couple. The memoir traces Saroo’s remarkable journey from India to Australia and back again 25 years later. The book inspired the 2016 film Lion and became a New York Times Best Seller after the film’s release. This guide refers to the 2015 edition published... Read A Long Way Home Summary

A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy, first published in Germany 2007, is author Thomas Buergenthal's account of his childhood during the Nazi Occupation. Buergenthal was 6 years old when forced to abandon his home and spend the rest of his childhood running from Nazis and struggling to survive the Holocaust. Buergenthal’s horrific journey took him through bombings, labor camps, concentration camps, and “death marches.” He lost most of his... Read A Lucky Child Summary

Always Running is the autobiography of Luis J. Rodriguez, a Mexican-American former gang member who grew up in dangerous East Los Angeles in the 1960s and 70s. Luis’ family moved to Los Angeles from Mexico after Luis’ father was accused of theft, and Luis spends his early years in Watts, a particularly crime-ridden LA neighborhood. Luis’ father struggles to find work, and the family struggles to find adequate shelter and food. After they are evicted... Read Always Running Summary

A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign, published in 2007, was written by Edward J. Larson, also known for Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion (1997). The book documents the US presidential election of 1800, a highly-contested political drama, preceded by what is considered the first political campaign in American history. The front-runners in the contest were widely considered to be... Read A Magnificent Catastrophe Summary

... Read A Mathematician's Apology Summary

America is in the Heart is a semi-autobiographical novel published in 1946 by the Filipino American author Carlos Bulosan. A coming of age narrative told in four parts, the story begins in the Philippines, ends in America, and spans decades. Scholars compare it to other social activism classics like John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, but America is in the Heart is unique in that it portrays the plight of Filipino immigrants in America during... Read America is in the Heart Summary

American Creation is a 2007 nonfiction book by Joseph Ellis that covers the successes and failures of the founders of the United States from 1775 to 1803. Ellis starts with the year and three months that set in motion the colonies’ declaration of independence and subsequent revolution. In this eventful year, the British played the worst possible hand they could, removing the possibility of reconciliation. The colonists included fiery and impetuous rebels such as Patrick... Read American Creation Summary

Zitkála-Šá’s 1921 book American Indian Stories gathers autobiographical chapters, historical fiction stories, and essays focused on the experiences of the Dakota Sioux and interactions between American Indians and White citizens of the United States. Zitkála-Šá’s works convey a strong sense of independence, pride in Sioux culture, and indignation at injustices committed against American Indians. This study guide references the 2019 Modern Library (Penguin Random House) edition of American Indian Stories.SummaryThe collection begins with an autobiographical... Read American Indian Stories Summary

... Read Americanized Summary

American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures (2018) is an essay collection edited by actress and activist America Ferrera with E. Cayce Dumont. The collection contains essays from notable individuals in movie and TV entertainment, food, publishing, public service, comedy, music, and self-help content creation. These first-person accounts all address the often troublesome question of what it means to be American, especially when growing up between different cultures. American Like Me is a New... Read American Like Me Summary

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House is a Pulitzer Prize–winning biography of President Andrew Jackson written in 2008 by historian Jon Meacham. The book focuses on Jackson’s transformative and often controversial time in the White House, exploring themes of democracy, the Expansion of Executive Power, leadership, and the interaction of the personal and public, including the Impact of Personal Character on Public Duty and the Intersection of Private Lives and Public Roles. Meacham... Read American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House Summary

... Read American Prometheus Summary