Henry Wiencek

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Henry Wiencek (1952— ) is a prominent American historian and editor whose work has encompased the founding fathers, various topics relating to slavery, and the Lego company. In 1999, The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White, which chronicles the history of the racially intertwined Hairston clan, won the National Book Critics Circle Award[1] for biography and autobiography. Wiencek has come to be particularly associated with his work on Washington and slavery as a result of his most recent book, An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America, which earned him the Los Angeles Times Book Award for history[2].

[edit] Background

Wiencek was born and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He attended Boston College High School, where he was valedictorian. He earned an undergraduate degree from Yale University in 1974 with a double major in Russian Literature and Literary Theory. Soon after graduating, Wiencek moved to New York City, where he worked for Time-Life, editing and writing for its publications.

[edit] Personal life

Wiencek is married to Donna M. Lucey, who is also an American historian. Wiencek has resided in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he works in his home, since 1992.

[edit] Books

  • An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America, 2003 (A review of the book can be found in [3])
  • The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White, 2000
  • National Geographic Guide to Americas Great Houses (National Geographic Guide to America's Great Houses), 1999
  • Virginia & the Capital Region Smithsonian Guides (Smithsonian Guides to Historic America), 1998
  • Smithsonian Guides to Historic America: Southern New England - Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island (Smithsonian Guides to Historic America), 1998
  • Old Houses, 1995
  • Plantations of the Old South (Great American Homes), 1990
  • The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America Southern New England (The Smithsonian guide to historic America), 1989
  • The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America Southern New England (The Smithsonian guide to historic America), 1989
  • World of Lego Toys, 1987
  • The Lords of Japan (Treasures of The World), 1982