Finding Your Roots

Finding Your Roots will guide readers along the path of discovery as they learn about their ancestors and create a livin... (more)

Finding Your Roots will guide readers along the path of discovery as they learn about their ancestors and create a living document of family history to pass on to future generations. (less)

"A librarian and authority on genealogical research offers advice and encouragement to those who are eager to uncover th... (more)

"A librarian and authority on genealogical research offers advice and encouragement to those who are eager to uncover their family history in this guidebook. Getting started, research techniques, interviewing tips, and effective use of the library and internet are all discussed in detail in this book that is ideal for beginners and novices. The benefits and importance of genealogical research are also explored. Also included is a discussion on how a person's own identity is linked to their ancestors, and knowledge of forebearers can contribute to a sense of security and family pride that is missing in many mobile and disjointed modern families. Showing how a soundly researched family history can also enhance an individual's understanding of war, hardship, and larger historical events, this work grants insight into the personality traits and health issues of one's descendants"--Provided by publisher. (less)

Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people identify relatives hidden for generations. Professor Gate... (more)

Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people identify relatives hidden for generations. Professor Gates employs a team of genealogists and the world's leading geneticists to uncover the origins of a diverse group of 30 guests. Each of the 10 episodes will feature three guests bound together by an intimate, sometimes hidden, link, as Gates treks through layers of ancestral history, uncovers secrets and surprises, and shares life-altering discoveries. (less)

In the second season of FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., Professor Gates continues that journey, utilizin... (more)

In the second season of FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., Professor Gates continues that journey, utilizing a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world's leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears. Each of the 10 episodes highlights celebrity guests, as Gates guides them through layers of ancestral history, uncovering secrets and surprises of their family trees and sharing life-altering discoveries. (less)

The third season of the FINDING YOUR ROOTS series continues to explore how diverse racial, religious, and ethnic backgro... (more)

The third season of the FINDING YOUR ROOTS series continues to explore how diverse racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds challenge many of our long-held national myths. Hosted and written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the series is filled with emotional moments that enrich our national discussion on race, ethnicity, and identity. Gates traces the ancestral trails of 28 new guests including Maya Rudolph, Sir Richard Branson, Gloria Steinem, Bill Hader, Mia Farrow, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Senator John McCain, Norman Lear, Shonda Rhimes, and more. Each of their stories illuminates the vast patchwork of culture, race, and experience that make up the fabric of America. (less)

Renowned scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. returns for a new season of FINDING YOUR ROOTS. Using genealogical detective wo... (more)

Renowned scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. returns for a new season of FINDING YOUR ROOTS. Using genealogical detective work and cutting-edge DNA analysis, Gates guides twenty-one influential guests deep into the branches of their family trees, revealing surprising stories of love, hardship, and triumph that transcend borders and merge to form an American root system fortified by its diversity. (less)

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. finds out who we are and where we come from. (more)

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. finds out who we are and where we come from. (less)

Professor Gates' journey continues as a weekly series that will look at an ever-widening spectrum of our nation's fascin... (more)

Professor Gates' journey continues as a weekly series that will look at an ever-widening spectrum of our nation's fascinating ethnic mixture. (less)

Discover the unsolved mysteries behind the family stories of political organizer Donna Brazile, actor Ty Burrell and art... (more)

Discover the unsolved mysteries behind the family stories of political organizer Donna Brazile, actor Ty Burrell and artist Kara Walker as they learn how the legacy of slavery has shaped their identities. (less)

Explore the shared Irish ancestry of Soledad O'Brien, Bill O'Reilly and Bill Maher and how they have been deeply influen... (more)

Explore the shared Irish ancestry of Soledad O'Brien, Bill O'Reilly and Bill Maher and how they have been deeply influenced by their Irish roots. (less)

Learn how the ancestors of Maya Rudolph, Shonda Rhimes and Keenen Ivory Wayans struggled for freedom, and how each of th... (more)

Learn how the ancestors of Maya Rudolph, Shonda Rhimes and Keenen Ivory Wayans struggled for freedom, and how each of these cultural trailblazers gain a new understanding of how they fit into this proud trajectory. (less)

Uncover a history of tragedies and triumphs in the families of three of America's funniest men--Jimmy Kimmel, Norman Lea... (more)

Uncover a history of tragedies and triumphs in the families of three of America's funniest men--Jimmy Kimmel, Norman Lear and Bill Hader-as they learn how comedy truly has its place in all aspects of life. (less)

Discover how the ancestors of business mogul Richard Branson and architects Maya Lin and Frank Gehry took audacious risk... (more)

Discover how the ancestors of business mogul Richard Branson and architects Maya Lin and Frank Gehry took audacious risks to create opportunities, and how their luck, ingenuity and chutzpah was passed on to these three visionaries. (less)

Uncover a long history of military service in the families of Patricia Arquette, Julianne Moore and John McCain, and how... (more)

Uncover a long history of military service in the families of Patricia Arquette, Julianne Moore and John McCain, and how this has instilled in each of them an enduring spirit of strength and integrity. (less)

Uncover family mysteries about two legends of hip hop, Sean Combs and LL Cool J, through the use of DNA technology that ... (more)

Uncover family mysteries about two legends of hip hop, Sean Combs and LL Cool J, through the use of DNA technology that reveals information that shakes their very foundations. (less)

Discover how Neil Patrick Harris, Gloria Steinem and Sandra Cisneros are connected to pioneers who broke new ground and ... (more)

Discover how Neil Patrick Harris, Gloria Steinem and Sandra Cisneros are connected to pioneers who broke new ground and paved the way for their modern day descendants to continue shaping our culture. (less)

Discover how actress Julianna Marguiles, author Azar Nafisi and chef Lidia Bastianich are bound together by their ancest... (more)

Discover how actress Julianna Marguiles, author Azar Nafisi and chef Lidia Bastianich are bound together by their ancestors' singular and deeply human desire to preserve their most cherished traditions. (less)

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Larry David discovers his German heritage by way of ancestors who settled in Mobile, Alabama in the mid-19th century - i... (more)

Larry David discovers his German heritage by way of ancestors who settled in Mobile, Alabama in the mid-19th century - including one who became a slaveholding Confederate; Bernie Sanders gains greater understanding of his father's dangerous childhood in Austrian Galicia during World War I. Both guests discover what happened to the family members who were still in Europe during the Holocaust. (less)

Actors Fred Armisen and Christopher Walken and musician Carly Simon each learn about a grandparent whose real identity a... (more)

Actors Fred Armisen and Christopher Walken and musician Carly Simon each learn about a grandparent whose real identity and background had been a mystery to them -- redefining how they see themselves. (less)

Actors Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and William H. Macy trace their nonconformist ancestors through American conflicts -... (more)

Actors Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and William H. Macy trace their nonconformist ancestors through American conflicts -- the Civil War and the American Revolution, all the way back to the Puritan establishment. (less)

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, and author and activist Janet Mock see their basic assumptions about th... (more)

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, and author and activist Janet Mock see their basic assumptions about their families challenged, placing their ancestors of all colors into the greater context of black history. (less)

Actors Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd and John Turturro, all with immigrant parents, gain greater understanding of the un... (more)

Actors Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd and John Turturro, all with immigrant parents, gain greater understanding of the unique challenges their ancestors faced by way of prejudice and poverty at home and abroad. (less)

Bryant Gumbel, Tonya Lewis-Lee and Suzanne Malveaux discover a tapestry of the unexpected in their ancestry, revealing s... (more)

Bryant Gumbel, Tonya Lewis-Lee and Suzanne Malveaux discover a tapestry of the unexpected in their ancestry, revealing slaves and free people of color, Civil War legacies and forgotten European origins. (less)

Lupita Nyong'o, Carmelo Anthony and Ana Navarro investigate the political choices of their fathers, discovering sometime... (more)

Lupita Nyong'o, Carmelo Anthony and Ana Navarro investigate the political choices of their fathers, discovering sometimes unexpected heritage as they trace their ancestry further back. (less)

Actresses Tea Leoni and Gaby Hoffmann's lives have been shaped by family mysteries. They are introduced to the identitie... (more)

Actresses Tea Leoni and Gaby Hoffmann's lives have been shaped by family mysteries. They are introduced to the identities and life stories of their biological ancestors, thanks to DNA detective work. (less)

Three guests of disparate Southern backgrounds, DJ and producer Questlove, talk show host Dr. Phil and journalist Charla... (more)

Three guests of disparate Southern backgrounds, DJ and producer Questlove, talk show host Dr. Phil and journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, find astonishing tales of bondage in their family histories. (less)

Comedic guests Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari and Maya Rudolph take a serious look at their family trees, learning contrasting... (more)

Comedic guests Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari and Maya Rudolph take a serious look at their family trees, learning contrasting stories of assimilation, independence, hardship and success all over the globe. (less)