1001 People Who Made America

1001 People Who Made America does just that, highlighting the famous as well as the infamous, the virtuous as well as the notorious, from the nation's earliest days to the present. Serving up history in lively, accessible bits, the book presents a who's who of American politics, arts, science, business, religion, and pop culture, along with concise explanations of each figure's historical significance. Featured personalities range from Jesse James to Al Capone, Harriet Beecher Stowe to Betty Friedan, George Washington to George W. Bush, Harriet Tubman to Martin Luther King, Jr., Stephen Foster to Elvis, John L. Sullivan to Muhammad Ali, Edwin Booth to Marlon Brando, Washington Irving to Thomas Pynchon, Jacob Aster to Bill Gates.

Axelrod's writing is packed with information and insight, giving readers a deeper understanding of what it means to be an American. The appealing design and easy-to-read format invite browsing and make this book a great gift for history buffs and all thoughtful Americans.

Who are the pivotal figures in American history—the men and women who have helped shape who we are as a people and how we look at ourselves as Americans? In this companion to his popular 1001 Events That Made America, Alan Axelrod suggests we can answer this question only after we look with an open mind into all the areas of our collective past.

1001 People Who Made America does just that, highlighting the famous as well as the infamous, the virtuous as well as the notorious, from the nation's earliest days to the present. Serving up history in lively, accessible bits, the book presents a who's who of American politics, arts, science, business, religion, and pop culture, along with concise explanations of each figure's historical significance. Featured personalities range from Jesse James to Al Capone, Harriet Beecher Stowe to Betty Friedan, George Washington to George W. Bush, Harriet Tubman to Martin Luther King, Jr., Stephen Foster to Elvis, John L. Sullivan to Muhammad Ali, Edwin Booth to Marlon Brando, Washington Irving to Thomas Pynchon, Jacob Aster to Bill Gates.

Axelrod's writing is packed with information and insight, giving readers a deeper understanding of what it means to be an American. The appealing design and easy-to-read format invite browsing and make this book a great gift for history buffs and all thoughtful Americans.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School - Most of the individuals included here made positive contributions to the nation's development: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., but others are known for their negative impact: Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Leon Czolgosz. Axelrod highlights the famous and infamous in government, business, sports, entertainment, literature, art, and science. The entries are indeed brief, with Robert E. Lee getting as much space as anyone at three quarters of a page, or a little more than 200 words; many people receive only one or two sentences. The value of the collection is threefold. Students who are looking for subjects for term papers can skim quickly through the pages and find a wide variety of possibilities. Second, the book serves as a handy reference source to check the key facts on many Americans. And third, it is fun to browse. This title is not a necessary choice for any library, but it's a good one for those lacking compact sources on notable Americans.-Robert Saunderson, Berkeley Public Library, CA

Alan Axelrod is the author of two Business Week bestsellers about great leaders General George S. Patton and Queen Elizabeth I, as well as numerous other books on history, including 1001 Events That Made America, What Every American Should Know About American History, The Penguin Dictionary of American Folklore, and the Encyclopedia of the American West. A veteran of more than twenty years in publishing, he lives in Atlanta, Georgia.