Author Description

The first book to cover the entirety of disability history, from pre-1492 to the present By placing the experiences of people with disabilities at the center of the American story, A Disability History of the United States fundamentally reinterprets how we view our nation’s past. Throughout the book Kim Nielsen illustrates how concepts of disability have deeply shaped the American experience€”from deciding who was allowed to immigrate to establishing labor laws and justifying slavery and gender discrimination. The book abounds with compelling stories pulled from primary documents and social histories to retell American history through the eyes, words, and impressions of the people who lived it. Included are absorbing€”at times horrific€”narratives of blinded slaves being thrown overboard and women being involuntarily sterilized, as well as triumphant accounts of miners organizing strikes and disability rights activists marching on Was