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The American Civil Liberties Union began as a small group of idealists and visionaries, including Helen Keller and Jane Addams. A century after its founding, the ACLU remains the nation’s premier defender of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
In collaboration with the ACLU, prize-winning authors Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman have curated an anthology of essays about landmark cases in the ACLU’s 100-year history. In Fight of the Century, bestselling and award-winning authors present unique literary takes on historic decisions like Brown v. Board of Education, the Scopes trial, Roe v. Wade, and more. Contributors include Geraldine Brooks, Michael Cunningham, Jennifer Egan, Dave Eggers, Louise Erdrich, Neil Gaiman, Lauren Groff, Marlon James, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Morgan Parker, Ann Patchett, Salman Rushdie, George Saunders, Elizabeth Strout, Jesmyn Ward, Meg Wolitzer, and more.
Fight of the Century shows how throughout American history, pivotal legal battles, fought primarily by underdogs and their lawyers, have advanced civil rights and social justice. The ACLU has been integral in this process. The essays range from personal memoir to narrative history, each shedding light on the work of one remarkable organization as it shaped a country.
Chabon and Waldman are donating their advance to the ACLU and the contributors are forgoing payment.
Viet Thanh Nguyen, Jacqueline Woodson, Michael Chabon, Ann Patchett, Brit Bennett, Steven Okazaki, Daniel Handler, Geraldine Brooks, Yaa Gyasi, Sergio De La Pava, Dave Eggers, Timothy Egan, Yiyun Li, Meg Wolitzer, Hector Tobar, Aleksandar Hemon, Elizabeth Strout, Nicole Adrian LeBlanc, Rabih Alameddine, Moriel Rothman-Zecher, Jonathan Lethem, Salman Rushdie, Lauren Groff, Ayelet Waldman, Jennifer Egan, Scott Turow, Morgan Parker, Victor LaValle, Michael Cunningham, Neil Gaiman, Jesmyn Ward, George Saunders, Marlon James, William Finnegan, Anthony Doerr, Charlie Jane Anders, Brenda J. Childs, Andrew, Sean Greer, Francisco Goldman, and Louise Erdrich.
A century after its founding, the ACLU remains the nation’s premier defender of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. In Fight of the Century, bestselling and award-winning authors—including Jennifer Egan, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Salman Rushdie, Jesmyn Ward, and more—present unique literary takes on historic decisions like Brown v. Board of Education, the Scopes trial, Roe v. Wade, and more. Fight of the Century shows how throughout American history, pivotal legal battles, fought primarily by underdogs and their lawyers, have advanced civil rights and social justice. The ACLU has been integral in this process. The essays range from personal memoir to narrative history, each shedding light on the work of one remarkable organization as it shaped a country.
Viet Thanh Nguyen, Jacqueline Woodson, Michael Chabon, Ann Patchett, Brit Bennett, Steven Okazaki, Daniel Handler, Geraldine Brooks, Yaa Gyasi, Sergio De La Pava, Dave Eggers, Timothy Egan, Yiyun Li, Meg Wolitzer, Héctor Tobar, Aleksandar Hemon, Elizabeth Strout, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Rabih Alameddine, Moriel Rothman-Zecher, Jonathan Lethem, Salman Rushdie, Lauren Groff, Ayelet Waldman, Jennifer Egan, Scott Turow, Morgan Parker, Victor LaValle, Michael Cunningham, Neil Gaiman, Jesmyn Ward, George Saunders, Marlon James, William Finnegan, Anthony Doerr, Charlie Jane Anders, Brenda J. Child, Andrew Sean Greer, Francisco Goldman, and Louise Erdrich.
Michael Chabon is the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of many books, including The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Gentlemen of the Road, Telegraph Avenue, Moonglow, Pops, and the picture book The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man. He is the editor, with Ayelet Waldman, of Kingdom of Olives and Ash: Writers Confront the Occupation.
Ayelet Waldman is the author of the memoir, A Really Good Day, as well as of novels including Love and Treasure, Red Hook Road, and Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. She is the editor of Inside This Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women’s Prisons, and with Michael Chabon, of Kingdom of Olives and Ash: Writers Confront the Occupation.
Chabon and Waldman are donating their advance to the ACLU and the contributors are forgoing payment.
