Over the centuries, untold numbers of black men and women in America have achieved great things against the odds. Pathfindersis a collective biography of sixteen diverse American men and women of African descent who made their mark on American history in the 18th to 20th centuries.

Award-winning author Tonya Bolden’s books have garnered much praise and earned countless starred reviews. Her books have been won the James Madison Book Award and have been named the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, YALSA Best Book of the Year, and CCBC Best Book of the Year. Bolden’s works were twice nominated for an NAACP award, for her books Searching for Sarah Rector and Beautiful Moon. She won a Coretta Scott King Honor Award for Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl. Bolden’s acclaimed works include Capital Days: Michael Shiner’s Journal and the Growth of Our Nation’s Capital; Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty; 12 Days of New York; George Washington Carver; M.L.K.: Journey Of A King; Tell All the Children Our Story: Memories and Mementos of Being Young and Black in America; and Wake Up Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists.