Biography as History

by Stephen B. Oates

Dr. Stephen Oates, the twelfth Edmondson Lecturer, presents new insights into one of the most important forms of published history--biography. Lecture I argues that biography is "history with a difference"--honoring carefully documented facts, but also honoring character and personality. Lecture II reflects on the difficulties and challenges of writing about a figure of the magnitude of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Paperback

First published May 13, 2014

About the author

An expert on 18th century U.S. history, Stephen B. Oates was professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he taught from 1969 until his retirement in 1997. Oates received his BA (1958), MA (1960), and Ph.D. (1969) from the University of Texas.

Oates wrote 16 books during his career, including biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Clara Barton, and John Brown, and an account of Nat Turner's slave rebellion. His Portrait of America, a compilation of essays about United States history, is widely used in advanced high school and undergraduate university American history courses. His two "Voices of the Storm" books are compilations of monologues of key individuals in events leading up to and during the American Civil War. He also appeared in the well-known Ken Burns PBS documentary on the war.

Oates received the Nevins-Freeman Award of the Chicago Civil War Round Table for his historical work on the American Civil War.