Books and reading have contributed to the success of generations of Americans, many of whom have had distinguished careers and have left their mark on history. While the accomplishments of these notable Americans are well known, their adventures with books and reading are less familiar. Some have struggled to gain access to books, while others were fortunate enough to be exposed to literature at an early age. This reference surveys the role books and reading have played in the lives of notable Americans from colonial times to the present.
Included are alphabetically arranged entries for 50 notable Americans from a range of historical periods, professions, and racial and ethnic backgrounds. Many are featured prominently in school and college texts, while others are a significant part of popular culture. Such diverse figures as Benjamin Franklin, Helen Keller, Willa Cather, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mark Twain, Oprah Winfrey, and Ronald Reagan are covered. Each entry includes a discussion of books and reading in the person's life, a chronology, and a brief bibliography.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Introduction
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Jane Addams
Arthur Ashe, Jr.
James Baldwin
Clara Barton
Humphrey Bogart
Andrew Carnegie
Rachel Carson
Willa Cather
Cesar Chavez
Shirley Chisholm
Sandra Cisneros
Eugene V. Debs
Cecil B. DeMille
Frederick Douglass
Bob Dylan
Thomas A. Edison
Albert Einstein
Benjamin Franklin
Bill Gates
Robert Goddard
Helen Hayes
Zora Neale Hurston
Thomas Jefferson
Helen Keller
John F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Stephen King
Robert E. Lee
Douglas MacArthur
Madonna
Horace Mann
Marilyn Monroe
Martina Navratilova
Georgia O'Keeffe
Frances Perkins
Jeannette Rankin
Ronald Reagan
Eleanor Roosevelt
Beverly Sills
Steven Spielberg
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harry S. Truman
Gene Tunney
Mark Twain
John Wanamaker
George Washington
Emma Willard
Oprah Winfrey