Born into slavery on a Louisiana plantation, John Roy Lynch (1847–1939) came to adulthood during the Reconstruction Era and lived a public-spirited life for over three decades. His political career began in 1869 with his appointment as justice of the peace. Within the year, he was elected to the Mississippi legislature and was later elected Speaker of the House. At age twenty-five, Lynch became the first African American from Mississippi to be elected to the United States Congress. He led the fight to secure passage of the Civil Rights Bill of 1875. In 1884, he was elected temporary chairman of the Eighth Republican National Convention and was the first black American to deliver the keynote address. His autobiography, Reminiscences of an Active Life, reflects Lynch's thoughtful and nuanced understanding of the past and of his own experience. The book, written when he was ninety, challenges a number of traditional arguments about Reconstruction. In his experience, African Americans in the South competed on an equal basis with whites; the state governments were responsive to the needs of the people; and race was not always a decisive factor in the politics of Reconstruction. The autobiography, which would not be published until 1970, provides rich material for the study of American politics and race relations during Reconstruction. It sheds light on presidential patronage, congressional deals, and personality conflicts among national political figures. Lynch's childhood reflections reveal new dimensions to our understanding of black experience during slavery and beyond. An introduction by John Hope Franklin puts Lynch's public and private lives in the context of his times and provides an overview of how Reminiscences of an Active Life came to be written.

In 1997, P. D. James, the much loved and internationally acclaimed author of mysteries, turned seventy-seven. Taking to heart Dr. Johnson's advice that at seventy-seven it is "time to be in earnest," she decided to undertake a book unlike any she had written before: a personal memoir in the form of a diary. This enchanting and highly original volume is the result. Structured as the diary of a single year, it roams back and forth through time, illuminating James's extraordinary, sometimes painful and sometimes joyful life. Here, interwoven with reflections on her writing career and the craft of crime novels, are vivid accounts of episodes in her own past — of school days in 1920s and 1930s Cambridge . . . of the war and the tragedy of her husband's madness . . . of her determined struggle to support a family alone. She tells about the birth of her second daughter in the midst of a German buzz-bomb attack; about becoming a civil servant (and laying the groundwork for her writing career by working in the criminal justice system); about her years of public service on such bodies as the Arts Council and the BBC's Board of Governors, culminating in entry to the House of Lords. Along the way, with warmth and authority, she offers views on everything from author tours to the problems of television adaptations, from book reviewing to her obsession with Jane Austen. Written with exceptional grace, this "fragment of autobiography" has already been received with enthusiasm by British reviewers and readers. The thousands of Americans who have enjoyed P. D. James's novels will be equally charmed. Diary or memoir or both, Time to Be in Earnest is a delight.

This book is an autobiography written by Sara Agnes Rice Pryor. She was an American writer and community activist in New York City. Born and reared in Virginia, she moved North after the American Civil War with her husband and family to rebuild their life. He was a former politician and Confederate general; together they became influential in New York society, which included numerous "Confederate carpetbaggers" after the war. After settling in New York, she and her husband both later renounced the Confederacy.

Franz Leichter’s Reminiscences: An Autobiography begins when he is smuggled out of Nazi-occupied Austria as his caretaker's son. Escaping the Holocaust, he arrived in the United States as a refugee at age ten with his father and older brother. His mother was murdered by the Nazis. The family had no means of support and spoke no English. Embracing his new country, Franz worked his way through Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School. He became politically active and was elected to the New York State Legislature with the backing of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Governor Herbert Lehman. As a Senator, Franz exposed the reemergence of sweatshops and sought their closure. He disclosed real estate moguls’ large contributions to New York City’s elected officials who voted on their projects. He sponsored New York’s groundbreaking abortion rights law in 1969 and fought for its passage in 1970, which was followed three years later by the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Roe v. Wade. Franz earned a reputation as a maverick and the conscience of the Legislature. During this time, he maintained an active law practice that took him to Europe, Asia, and South America. Later he was chosen by Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to be a Director of the Federal Housing Finance Board. Franz has lived in New York City since 1940. He has two children and four grandchildren.

Begins at a time when most blacks lived in slavery and were barred from the political process and ends with the influential era of the 1980's describing the effects of black members of the Congress. Includes: Ed Brooke, Shirley Chisholm, John Conyers, Ron Dellums, Mike Espy, William Gray, Augustus Hawkins, Barbara Jordan, Ralph Metcalfe, Kweisi Mfume, Robert Nix, Sr., Major Owens, Adam Clayton Powel, Jr., Charles Rangel, Gus Savage, Louis Stokes, Harold Washington, Andrew Young, Jr. and more. Photo or painting of each member.