Told more as stories than history lessons, the biographies in American National Biography Supplement I recount the tales of all the different people who shaped America--leaders, composers, entertainers, entrepreneurs, writers, scientists, and outlaws. Each one written by an expert in the field and masterfully woven together to present the most accurate and up-to-date information, the entries bring forth a powerful narrative of America's past and some of the most important figures that went into its formation. As the first in a series, ANB Supplement I extends the coverage from the original ANB to include notables who died prior to the end of 1999. This adds another four years of captivating history to the original 24-volume print edition's cutoff date of 1995. Among the biographies in the Supplement are articles first published in the ANB Online. The result is hour after absorbing hour spent exploring the dance of Gene Kelly and the music of Ella Fitzgerald along with the lives of Revolutionary War General Peter Gansevoort and literary scholar Fredson Bowers, among many, many others. With over 400 new listings, bibliographies after each entry, and a cumulative revised index of occupations and realms of renown, the Supplement continues the ANB tradition of bringing the people who have meant so much to this country to the forefront.

Includes cumulative subject index of the entire set. 1 v.

The thirteen-stripe, fifty-star flag is as familiar an American icon as any that has existed in the nation's history. Yet the history of the flag, especially its origins, is cloaked in myth and misinformation. Flag: An American Biography rectifies that situation by presenting a lively, comprehensive, illuminating look at the history of the American flag from its beginnings to today. Journalist and historian Marc Leepson uncovers scores of little-known, fascinating facts as he traces the evolution of the American flag from the colonial period to the twenty-first century. Flag sifts through the historical evidence to---among many other things---uncover the truth behind the Betsy Ross myth and to discover the true designer of the Stars and Stripes. It details the many colorful and influential Americans who shaped the history of the flag. "Flag," as the novelist Nelson DeMille says in his preface, "is not a book with an agenda or a subjective point of view. It is an objective history of the American flag, well researched, well presented, easy to read and understand, and very informative and entertaining." "Our love for the flag may be incomprehensible to others, but at least we now have a comprehensive guide to its unfolding." ---The Wall Street Journal "The fascination of history is in its details, and the author of Flag: An American Biography knows how to find them and turn them into compelling reading.... This book brings out the irony, humor, myth, and behind-the-scenes happenings that make our flag's 228-year history so fascinating." ---The Saturday Evening Post "Timely and insightful." ---The Dallas Morning News

The Harlem Renaissance is the best known and most widely studied cultural movement in African American history. Now, in Harlem Renaissance Lives, esteemed scholars Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham have selected 300 key biographical entries culled from the eight-volume African American National Biography, providing an authoritative who's who of this seminal period. Here readers will find engagingly written and authoritative articles on notable African Americans who made significant contributions to literature, drama, music, visual art, or dance, including such central figures as poet Langston Hughes, novelist Zora Neale Hurston, aviator Bessie Coleman, blues singer Ma Rainey, artist Romare Bearden, dancer Josephine Baker, jazzman Louis Armstrong, and the intellectual giant W. E. B. Du Bois. Also included are biographies of people like the Scottsboro Boys, who were not active within the movement but who nonetheless profoundly affected the artistic and political statements that came from Harlem Renaissance figures. The volume will also feature a preface by the editors, an introductory essay by historian Cary D. Wintz, and 75 illustrations.

The second edition of the African American National Biography. Each of the nearly 5,000 entries are written and signed by distinguished scholars under the direction of Editors in Chief Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. The African American National Biography is the most significant and expansive collection of black lives in print today. This essential scholarly reference work presents history through the lives of its people, profiling the famous, infamous, and little-known figures in African American history.