158th out of 3,074 books
—
3,457 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou” as Want to Read:
The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou
by
Maya Angelou
NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLER
This Modern Library edition contains I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in My Name, Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas, The Heart of a Woman, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes, and A Song Flung Up to Heaven .
When I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published to widespread acclaim in 1969, Maya Angelou garnere ...more
This Modern Library edition contains I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in My Name, Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas, The Heart of a Woman, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes, and A Song Flung Up to Heaven .
When I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published to widespread acclaim in 1969, Maya Angelou garnere ...more
Hardcover
,
1184 pages
Published
September 21st 2004
by Modern Library
(first published September 21st 1995)
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou
,
please sign up
.
Recent Questions
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,349)
I've read a lot of books and this one had more impact than almost any other. This is an amazing collection that literally changed my life (or at least my way of thinking about the world). I had previously read her best known works, but this included several pieces about her earlier life that were completely amazing. Did you know Maya Angelou was at different times homeless, a lounge singer, a pimp, a mistress, a single mother? Me neither. She's very open and honest about her triumphs and mistake
...more
A Song Flung Up to Heaven is the final volume of the six in
The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou
. I reviewed the other five autobiographies under their own book titles, but I will review
A Song Flung Up to Heaven
as part of the six volume set.
A Song Flung Up to Heaven picks up Maya’s story as she is returning from Ghana to the United States to work with Malcolm X. She is plagued by the guilt of leaving her son, Guy, in Ghana, and she is almost immediately assaulted with the news of the ...more
A Song Flung Up to Heaven picks up Maya’s story as she is returning from Ghana to the United States to work with Malcolm X. She is plagued by the guilt of leaving her son, Guy, in Ghana, and she is almost immediately assaulted with the news of the ...more
de eerste drie titels van deze autobiografie heb ik gelezen. Nummer 1 en 2 heb ik wel van genoten, de derde vond ik een stuk minder.
Maya Angelou beschrijft haar leven vanaf ongeveer haar derde jaar toen ze met haar 4-jarig broertje op de trein werd gezet naar haar oma in Arkansas. hier werden de negers nog meer dan in Noord-Amerika gediscrimineerd. Alleen al het lachen van een zwarte man naar een blanke vrouw kon een lynchpartij opleveren. Oma leert haar kleinkinderen om trots te zijn op hun ras ...more
Maya Angelou beschrijft haar leven vanaf ongeveer haar derde jaar toen ze met haar 4-jarig broertje op de trein werd gezet naar haar oma in Arkansas. hier werden de negers nog meer dan in Noord-Amerika gediscrimineerd. Alleen al het lachen van een zwarte man naar een blanke vrouw kon een lynchpartij opleveren. Oma leert haar kleinkinderen om trots te zijn op hun ras ...more
I highly recommend this collection which contains all six of Ms. Angelou's autobiographies from 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' to 'A Song Flung Up to Heaven'. When read like this, these six books make up chapters in her story that runs from her birth during the Depression through the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Aside from the amazing life and story of Ms. Angelou, it gives us an up close and personal view of the American Black experience during those years. The book left me hungr
...more
Maya Angelou's five autobiographies flow like a story. Her attitude and tone come across as personal and genuine, like an old friend reminiscing her years on the couch with you. However, her narrative is not a juicy, gossipy diary confession. She discusses the people she has worked with, lived with, disagreed with, loved with, etc. in a respectful manner, being honest but not loose with details. Her identity as an African descendant in America, and also as a Black American in Africa during the c
...more
I'm on page 380. Zipped through I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, almost finished with Gather Together in My Name. Maya Angelou is now only 19 and has lived more than many in a lifetime. She is a vivid writer and very readable. Such a page turner! Next up, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' a Merry Christmas.
Update, still a page turner...almost done with the fourth book now, page 780-ish. 8/18/14
She's still in her 30's. Starting Book 5, Swing Low Sweet Chariot...she's in Africa , we'll see where s ...more
Update, still a page turner...almost done with the fourth book now, page 780-ish. 8/18/14
She's still in her 30's. Starting Book 5, Swing Low Sweet Chariot...she's in Africa , we'll see where s ...more
Maya Angelou really is quite the woman! After hearing that she passed away, I knew I had to read her autobiographies. I read I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings years ago, but it never occurred to me to pick up her other ones. I really am sad that I didn't read them earlier.
I'm actually glad I went with her collected autobiographies, because she did so much, and I felt like her life story flowed a lot better being able to read all of her autobiographies as a collective whole.
I loved seeing her life ...more
I'm actually glad I went with her collected autobiographies, because she did so much, and I felt like her life story flowed a lot better being able to read all of her autobiographies as a collective whole.
I loved seeing her life ...more
What can be said about all the Autobiographies of Maya in one tome. It is witty, beautiful written, soul stirring and humors all at once. I had previously read Caged Bird and All God's Children, but to read them all together marvelous. The many twist and turns her life took, she was a Women Phenomenal.
I loved discovering the back story behind this woman of great wisdom. Her past becomes the bedrock upon which her wisdom was constructed. Behind every great person is a messy story that shapes who they become. Her stories give me hope!
This is definitely a book worth reading, especially if one's interested in the history of racism in America and the civil right's movement. It was a long read, but I learned greatly from Maya Angelou's life experiences. Her writing is thought provoking. There were many lines in the book that I read several times because of the powerful message they conveyed and the elegance with which it was expressed.
The first half of the book (especially where she talks about her childhood) was truly interesti ...more
The first half of the book (especially where she talks about her childhood) was truly interesti ...more
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
― Maya Angelou
Interesting narrative of a life spent in many places around the world - it was tedious in some parts but what life doesn't have those moments? Ms. Angelous has a quite interesting life story to share and I found it enjoyable, humorous, and wise.
This collection was beyond amazing. Truly a phenomenal woman, and she opened my eyes to many things. I am humbled and inspired by her story.
Her attitude toward the men in her life was very frustrating, for me. I understand that she is a child of an earlier generation, and also a remarkable survivor. But often I wanted to shake her young self and scream "WHY DO YOU LET THEM SPEAK TO YOU THAT WAY?" So many of the black men in her stories seemed to want Dr. Du Bois's strength, but not his courtesy, and had forgotten (or never read) his exhortation to stop treating their mothers and sisters like servants and whores. "A Song Flung Up to
...more
view 1 comment
Maya is an inspiration and a role model. Every female should read these books.
Maya is an amazing writer! She is poetically beautiful and rich in experience. I love her blunt innocence and desire for life. She really captures her memories of childhood traumas and takes you there to where you feel compassion for both victim and perpetrator. It’s a hard read but I'm just taking it slow and really enjoying her literature. So far I have finished “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” and started “Gather in My Name”. It’s been a great history lesson for me of real segregation in the
...more
7/16/14
RIP Ms. Maya - I will miss your wisdom.
4/17/14
I think I want to read this again. Got it on my Nook so not so bulky to carry around. Love Ms. Maya - and love reading about her life.
10/25/12
Finished "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" - will read "Heart of a Woman" next - but want to read something else in between...
9/22/12
I've read these several times before and am in the mood to read them again. This volume is actually all of them - I'm reading them one at a time - started "I Know Why the C ...more
RIP Ms. Maya - I will miss your wisdom.
4/17/14
I think I want to read this again. Got it on my Nook so not so bulky to carry around. Love Ms. Maya - and love reading about her life.
10/25/12
Finished "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" - will read "Heart of a Woman" next - but want to read something else in between...
9/22/12
I've read these several times before and am in the mood to read them again. This volume is actually all of them - I'm reading them one at a time - started "I Know Why the C ...more
Maya Angelou is a fantastic story teller and now I see why. Her engagement with life in 1950s and 60s America is an incredible journey. Her love affair with Africa and her experiences as part of the Civil Rights movement- in her engagement with Dr King and Malcolm X provide a fantastic insight into life at that time and the very real struggles that a black woman, as a lone parent with incredible self made opportunities faced.
A really uplifting read for all women.
A really uplifting read for all women.
I was initially hesitant, being a huge fan of her work, but knowing that the book was not written by her. The authors did a wonderful job of allowing the reader to trace Dr. Angelou's life from a perspective not available via her autobiographies. I read this as I was on a flight to Ghana, for the first time, and truly enjoyed seeing the images in the book from her time spent in the city. A quick and fun read.
I loved each of these - and was so happy they were in one collection so that I could just read straight through. I am not sure how I got through life this far without having read any Angelou, but I had. I had no idea what her life had been like - or how she had lived so many varied experiences! Truly amazing.
I used to teach I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and was perpetually moved and inspired by it--and by the way my students reacted to it. Eventually, I decided to get off (or on?) my ass and read the rest of her autobiographies. Holy shit!!! This woman is whacked--in an awesome way. Did you know she used to pimp lesbian whores? These books are fascinating.
Very good read.Enjoyed reading every word of it.
I decided to read this collection after Maya Angelou died, and I realized I knew nothing about her. She was truly a woman to be reckoned with. She did everything. And, I do mean everything! I was surprised over and over again.
I was so excited to get all the autobiographies together!
Her words are incredibly inspiring to me, and I have loaned this book out to many of my students to get them interested in reading.
Her words are incredibly inspiring to me, and I have loaned this book out to many of my students to get them interested in reading.
I have read these books separately over a few years, and I really enjoyed reading them together in one compilation. What an amazing life, what an amazing story and what an amazing woman!
I loved this collection, I can't believe I had not read them before. It was a massive book when they are all together but I couldn't put it down, and I didn't want it to end.
This book is a fascinating account of African history from the great depression to the eighties. Along my journey with Maya Angelou, I met movers and shakers of an era.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, was an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. Maya Angelou is known for her series of six autobiographies, starting with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, (1969 which was n
...more
More about Maya Angelou...
“the true nature of the human heart is as whimsical as spring weather. All signals may aim toward a fall of rain when suddenly the skies will clear.”
—
2 likes
“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. It impels mighty ambitions and dangerous capers. We amass great fortunes at the cost of our souls, or risk our lives in drug dens from London’s Soho, to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury. We shout in Baptist churches, wear yarmulkes and wigs and argue even the tiniest points in the Torah, or worship the sun and refuse to kill cows for the starving. Hoping that by doing these things, home will find us acceptable or failing that, that we will forget our awful yearning for it.”
—
0 likes
More quotes…
