Catalog Search Results
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 5
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates traces the roots of actors Brian Cox and Viola Davis-two people who overcame traumatic childhoods, revealing that they aren't the first in their families to face enormous odds. From workhouses in Scotland to slave plantations in South Carolina, long-lost records reveal the stories of ancestors who laid the groundwork for Brian and Viola's success by fighting so hard to survive.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 2
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates explores the family trees of Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Anita Hill, introducing two women who've made profound sacrifices for social justice to the ancestors who made sacrifices for them. Using DNA and the historical record, Gates rediscovers lost heroes, telling stories of African Americans who fought for their rights against enormous odds.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 3
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates explores the poignant roots of chef David Chang and actor Raúl Esparza-two men whose families fled their homelands to live in exile, never to return. From war-torn cities in North Korea to shark-infested waters off the shores of Cuba, Gates sets off to recover the stories of individuals who came to America against all odds and built a better life for themselves.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 9
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates introduces trail-blazing journalists Jim Acosta and Van Jones to the ancestors who blazed a trail for them. Exploring archives across Europe, America and the Caribbean, Gates takes his guests from cotton plantations in Arkansas to rural villages in Cuba, meeting runaway slaves and immigrant settlers who took enormous chances so that, one day, their descendants might thrive.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 8
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates reveals the unexpected roots of activist Angela Y. Davis and statesman Jeh Johnson, inspiring both to reconsider their understanding of the Black experience and their preconceptions of America's past. Using DNA and the historical record, Gates maps the deep histories of families that are more diverse-and far more complicated-than either of his guests ever expected.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 1
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates explores the remarkable roots of actors Edward Norton and Julia Roberts-using DNA analysis and genealogical detective work to travel generations into the past, tracing lineages that run from Northern Europe to the American South. Along the way, Norton and Roberts reimagine their family stories and discover their hidden connections to our nation's history-and each other.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 7
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates helps actors David Duchovny and Richard Kind trace their roots from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe and the Middle East to the United States. Telling stories of triumph and tragedy, Gates reveals how his guest's ancestors tested the limits of luck and familial love as they battled to escape oppression and build a better life for future generations.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 1
Language
English
Description
Their European immigrant ancestors blazed unconventional trails in America, from capturing British ships for the American Revolution to crossing racial barriers in slave-era Louisiana. Generations later, as children growing up in New Orleans, Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis found a deep and abiding friendship through their common love of jazz and of the city itself. In this hour, trace the turbulent and contradictory history of the city of...
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 6
Language
English
Description
Trace three guests' roots into the heart of slavery, revealing that there is no singular narrative and challenging preconceptions of an era that profoundly shaped our nation's sense of itself. Hip-hop artist Nas discovers a web of his slave ancestors and their intimate relationship with their slave master; award-winning actress Angela Bassett meets ancestors whose slave family tragedy is rivaled only by a triumphant emancipation story; and presidential...
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 2
Language
English
Description
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.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 7
Language
English
Description
In this episode we learn about the ancestors of three celebrated Americans who not only share a Jewish heritage but a history of perseverance in the face of withering opposition. Tony Kushner delves into the history of the Holocaust to discover his ancestors' fate; Carole King learns the origins of her family name and confronts the reality of the discrimination her ancestors faced in America; and Alan Dershowitz finds out that the first Hassidic synagogue...
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 1
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates uses DNA detective work to solve deep family mysteries for actor Rebecca Hall and producer/director Lee Daniels-uncovering close relatives whose names they had never heard before and revealing new aspects of their own identities. Along the way, Gates takes a nuanced look at the history of "passing"-shedding light on our nation's complex racial past.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 5
Language
English
Description
Three celebrity chefs who cook the food of their ancestors discover family members who have shaped their lives - and America's cuisine. Tom Colicchio of "Top Chef" learns the hardships his family endured (famine, bandits) living in a tiny town in Northern Italy and celebrates the courage of his original immigrant ancestor, a man who crossed the Atlantic many times to bring the Colicchios to the United States; Ming Tsai, the child of immigrants who...
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 3
Language
English
Description
Three iconic American storytellers have spent their lives chronicling the lives of others, while knowing almost nothing about their own family history. Ken Burns confronts the reality of his southern ancestors' role in the Civil War, including Confederate soldiers held captive and a slave-owning Virginian. Anderson Cooper, scion of one of America's most storied families, the Vanderbilts, longs to know more about his father's southern roots - including...
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 4
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates explores the family trees of pop star Cyndi Lauper and actors Jamie Chung and Danny Trejo, introducing them to ancestors whose stories were lost when their families immigrated to the United States. Drawing on long-lost records from Italy, Korea, Mexico, and Switzerland, Gates helps his guests to re-imagine their families and connect to history in a deeply personal way.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 1
Language
English
Description
Three guests know almost nothing about their fathers' past. Stephen King's father walked out on the family when Stephen was two years old and never returned; Courtney Vance's father was a foster child and never knew who his biological parents were - after his suicide, Courtney wants to learn more about his roots; and Gloria Reuben's father was 78 years old when she was born - he died when she was young, taking the secret of his ancestry with him....
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 5
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates explores the deep Mexican roots of talk show host Mario Lopez and comedian Melissa Villaseñor, uncovering ancestors stretching back to the 1500s. Weaving together stories of migratory farmers, Spanish Conquistadors and Native Americans, Gates conjures up personal histories of diverse, sometimes conflicting, elements.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 10
Language
English
Description
Deval Patrick is the first African-American governor of Massachusetts and Jessica Alba is an actress who proudly embraces her Mexican-American heritage. But cutting-edge DNA analysis reveals that the family trees contain a far more diverse range of cultures and races. Alba descends from Jewish and Mayan ancestors and the official cartographer of France's King Louis XIV. Deval Patrick's roots lead to a black homesteader in Colorado and a white master...
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 9
Language
English
Description
Henry Louis Gates explores the family trees of actor Regina King and writer/producer Damon Lindelof-the creative forces behind Watchmen, a visionary television series about America's tortured racial past. Though they come from very different backgrounds, King and Lindelof discover that they have more in common than meets the eye, encountering ancestors who overcame great traumas.
Author
Series
Finding Your Roots volume 3
Language
English
Description
What's in a name? Well, a lot, at least when it comes to piecing together family history. For former slaves, choosing a last name was one of their first acts of freedom. For Jewish immigrants, it was a way to fit in in their new country. Whatever the reason for a name change, it can make the process of learning about one's ancestors difficult, if not impossible. In this episode, Gates unearths missing links in the family histories of media legend...
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