American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama [Paperback]

A remarkable history of First Lady Michelle Obama’s mixed ancestry,American Tapestryby Rachel L. Swarns is nothing less than a breathtaking and expansive portrait of America itself.

In this extraordinary feat of genealogical research—in the tradition ofThe Hemmingses of MonticelloandSlaves in the Family—author Swarns, a respected Washington-based reporter for theNew York Times, tells the fascinating and hitherto untold story of Ms. Obama’s black, white, and multiracial ancestors; a history that the First Lady herself did not know.

At once epic, provocative, and inspiring,American Tapestryis more than a true family saga; it is an illuminating mirror in which we may all see ourselves.

Michelle Obama's family saga is a remarkable, quintessentially American story—a journey from slavery to the White House in five generations. In this prodigiously researched epic,New York Timescorrespondent Rachel L. Swarns traces that complex and fascinating tale—from the men who fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, to the mothers and fathers who endured the horrors of slavery and the indignities of segregation to build a better future for their children—uncovering details about Mrs. Obama's black, white, and multiracial forebears that even the First Lady herself did not know.

Though an intimate family history,American Tapestryis also the collective chronicle of our changing nation, a beautifully rendered and singularly inspiring story with resonance for us all.

A grand, important book that shows how American bloodlines are rarely wholly black or purely white, neither one race nor another. Nowhere is that more true than inAmerican Tapestry,an eloquent history of the First Ladys family. -James McBride, author of the New York Times bestseller The Color of Water

Rachel Swarns has not only excavated, with painstakingl2