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Taylor Branch

テイラー・ブランチ

Teiraa Buranchi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1947-01-14 （Atlanta, Georgia, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Atlanta, Georgia, United States → Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Career

Occupations
Author, Historian
Active Years
1970-
Influenced By
Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, Leaders of the civil rights movement
Influenced
Contemporary historians of the civil rights movement

Education

The Westminster Schools
Degree: High school diploma
Period: 〜1964
Year of Graduation: 1964
Country: United States
Secondary education, graduated 1964
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Liberal Arts
Degree: BA
Period: 1964–1968
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States
Received Morehead Scholarship
Princeton University (Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs)
Public and International Affairs
Degree: MPA
Period: 1968–1970
Year of Graduation: 1970
Country: United States
Earned an M.P.A.

Awards

MacArthur Fellowship
1991
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Humanities Medal
1999
Organization: United States (awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities/President)
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for History
1989
Work: Parting the Waters
Category: History
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 受賞
Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Lifetime Achievement)
2008
Organization: Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Result: 受賞（生涯業績）
BIO Award (Biographers International Organization)
2015
Organization: Biographers International Organization
Result: 受賞
Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize (Nonfiction)
2006
Work: At Canaan's Edge
Category: Nonfiction
Organization: Chicago Tribune
Result: 受賞
American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award
1999
Work: Pillar of Fire
Organization: American Bar Association
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954–1963

1988 Nonfiction (History)

A detailed historical narrative based on primary sources and interviews chronicling Martin Luther King Jr. and the early years of the civil rights movement. Volume 1 of a trilogy.

Civil rights movementLeadership biographyNonviolent protest

Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963–1965

1998 Nonfiction (History)

The second volume of the trilogy, covering major events and political shifts in the civil rights movement from 1963 to 1965.

Legislation and political changeExpansion of the movement

At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965–1968

2006 Nonfiction (History)

Final volume of the trilogy, covering the later years of King and the concluding phase of the movement (1965–1968).

Leader conflictsDecline and legacy of the movement

The King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement

2013 Nonfiction (History, abridgment)

An abridged edition summarizing key moments from the trilogy, used often in educational contexts.

Historical summaryEducational use

The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President

2009 Nonfiction (oral history, interviews)

Based on recorded interviews with President Bill Clinton, the book organizes events and perspectives from his administration.

Presidential historyOral history

The Cartel: Inside the Rise and Imminent Fall of the NCAA

2011 Nonfiction (sports history/investigative)

Investigates the NCAA's structure and issues, critiquing commercialization and ethics in college sports. Co-produced the documentary 'Schooled: The Price of College Sports' (2013).

Commercialization of sportsEducation and ethics
Adaptations
  • [Documentary film] Schooled: The Price of College Sports (2013)

The Empire Blues

1981 Fiction

A work of fiction; one of Branch's few novels.

PowerSocial critique

Bibliography

  • Blowing the Whistle: Dissent in the Public Interest (with Charles Peters)
  • Second Wind (with Bill Russell)
  • Labyrinth (with Eugene M. Propper)
  • The Empire Blues
  • Parting the Waters
  • Pillar of Fire
  • At Canaan's Edge
  • The Clinton Tapes
  • The Cartel
  • The King Years (abridgment)

Adaptations

  • Schooled: The Price of College Sports (documentary, 2013)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative nonfiction grounded in extensive primary sources and interviewsBiographical, character-centered approach
Recurring Motifs
The civil rights movement and leadership portraitsConflicts of power and ethics

Legacy

Taylor Branch is highly regarded for his three-volume chronicle of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement, which has significantly influenced contemporary scholarship and public memory of the era. He has received numerous awards and is seen as a leading practitioner of narrative history.

Academic Societies

  • American Historical Association
  • Biographers International Organization (BIO)

Archives

  • Taylor Branch Papers (Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

In Popular Culture

  • The trilogy is frequently cited in documentaries and educational programs

Trivia

  • He shared an apartment in Austin in the 1970s with Bill Clinton and has maintained a long friendship with him.
  • Authored 'The Clinton Tapes' based on recorded interviews with Bill Clinton.