Robert Coles Popular Books

Robert Coles Biography & Facts

Robert Coles (born October 12, 1929) is an American author, child psychiatrist, and professor emeritus at Harvard University. Early life Martin Robert Coles was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 12, 1929, to Philip Coles, an immigrant from Leeds, England, United Kingdom, and Sandra Young Coles, originally from Sioux City, Iowa. Robert Coles attended Boston Latin School where he played tennis, ran track, and edited the school literary magazine. He entered Harvard College in 1946, where he studied English literature and helped to edit the undergraduate literary magazine, The Harvard Advocate. He graduated magna cum laude and earned Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1950.Coles originally intended to become a teacher or professor, but as part of his senior honors thesis, he interviewed the poet and physician William Carlos Williams, who promptly persuaded him to go into medicine. He studied medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating in 1954. After residency training at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois (the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine), Coles moved on to psychiatric residencies at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts (the two hospitals are affiliates of Harvard University and the Harvard University Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts).Knowing that he was to be called into the U.S. Armed Forces under the Doctor Draft, Coles joined the Air Force in 1958 and was assigned the rank of captain. His field of specialization was psychiatry, his intention eventually to sub-specialize in child psychiatry. He served as chief of neuropsychiatric services at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, and was honorably discharged in 1960. He returned to Boston and finished his child psychiatry training at the Children's Hospital. In July 1960, he was married to Jane Hollowell, and the couple moved to New Orleans. Ruby Bridges In New Orleans, Coles witnessed 6-year-old Ruby Bridges, protected by U.S. Federal marshals, "walking through a screaming mob to integrate a public school." He volunteered to support and counsel Ruby and her family during this difficult period. Coles wrote a series of articles for The Atlantic Monthly on Ruby and other black children, who, along with their white classmates and their families, were targets of daily public protests, intimidation, and even death threats during the desegregation of public schools in New Orleans. These articles led to his first book, Children of Crisis: A Study of Courage and Fear, and ultimately to his decision to develop that book into a series of books documenting how children and their parents deal with profound change, a series that won him the Pulitzer prize in 1973. In 1995 he returned to his original material and wrote The Story of Ruby Bridges, a popular children's book, published by Scholastic Corporation. Career In addition to working with children in New Orleans and Atlanta, Coles wrote non-technical articles for a number of national publications, including The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, Saturday Review, and The Times of London. By 1969, Coles wrote in-depth profiles for The New Yorker and contributed regular columns to The New Republic, New Oxford Review, America, and the American Poetry Review.At the urging of Erik Erikson, in 1963 Coles became affiliated with the University Health Services at Harvard as a research psychiatrist. Gradually, he began teaching in the Harvard Medical School, eventually becoming Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities in 1977. He taught courses in various schools across Harvard University, including the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Business School, the Law School, the Extension School, and the School of Education, where in 1995 he was given a newly established position as James Agee Professor of Social Ethics. He came to teach courses not only in the moral, spiritual, and social sensibilities of children but also in those phenomena generally, especially as expressed in stories, both literary fictions and oral narratives, and as affected by conditions of poverty and social injustice. As a longtime professor, Coles has influenced generations of Harvard undergraduates and graduate students. In 2007, Harvard University named an annual Call of Service lecture in honor of Coles.His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1971, a Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1973 for his series of books Children of Crisis, a MacArthur Award in 1981, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998, and the National Humanities Medal in 2001. He later co-founded the magazine DoubleTake, which documented the lives of ordinary people with photographs, articles, essays, poetry, and short stories. The magazine won several awards, including the 1998 National Magazine Award for Editorial Excellence in the category of General Excellence.Many of Coles' works draw heavily on quoted conversations with ordinary people, as well as insights from prominent thinkers and leaders — often people Coles has encountered personally in his career — such as William Carlos Williams, Dorothy Day, Walker Percy, William Shawn, Anna Freud, Paul Tillich, Erik Erikson, and Robert F. Kennedy. Starting with the Children of Crisis series, Coles's approach to his subjects involves a difficult balancing act at the heart of the documentary enterprise. His methods combine techniques of participant observation (tape recordings, field notes, drawings, etc.), clinical interpretation, academic social research, and literary narrative. Coles has never been diffident about the economic, social, and racial injustices he has observed in the field. He is a spokesperson for his subjects, a sounding board for their public voices. Coles describes his own literary methods and goals as an effort "to blend poetic insight with a craft and unite ultimately the rational and the intuitive, the aloof stance of the scholar with the passion and affection of the friend who cares and is moved." (The Mind's Fate, p. 10) In a 2003 review of Coles' book on musician Bruce Springsteen, music critic David Hajdu questioned the truthfulness and accuracy of Coles's reports of the opinions on Springsteen held by various people, suggesting that some source quotations may have been fabricated: The fact that William Carlos Williams and Walker Percy had such extensive conversations with Robert Coles on the subjects of the New Jersey pop singers Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen and that those discussions yielded insights so parallel and neatly suited to Coles's own take on Springsteen is incredible--utterly incredible. I was not there to overhear them, of course, and it is impossible to check with Williams and Percy, or with the late Erikson and Shawn, whom Coles's other deceased sources quotes in his book's opening sections. But I did ask W.... Discover the Robert Coles popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Robert Coles books.

Best Seller Robert Coles Books of 2024

  • Chasing Darkness synopsis, comments

    Chasing Darkness

    Robert Crais

    Private Investigator Elvis Cole learns that LA fires bring more than heat, they bring his old friend Joe Pike and the past. Cole’s fight to clear his name brings murder and corrupt...

  • Severed synopsis, comments

    Severed

    Simon Kernick

    An unputdownable, edgeofyourseat thriller full of twists and turns from Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Kernick the UK's answer to Harlan Coben. Guaranteed to keep you gripp...

  • Wild Side of the River synopsis, comments

    Wild Side of the River

    Michael Zimmer

    A son sets out to make things right and avenge his father’s death in this dark Western noir.Ethan Wilder has been off in the mountains hunting for the last several months. Upon his...

  • Denial synopsis, comments

    Denial

    Peter James

    Introducing policeman Glenn Branson...When actress Gloria Lamark takes her own life, her devoted son, Thomas, is heartbroken. Something must be wrong with a world in which such a t...

  • The Last Detective synopsis, comments

    The Last Detective

    Robert Crais

    With his acclaimed bestsellers, Hostage and Demolition Angel, Robert Crais drew raves for his unstoppable pacing, edgy characterizations, and cinematic prose. Now, Crais re...

  • Blonde Ice synopsis, comments

    Blonde Ice

    R. G. Belsky

    “Insightful and genuinely interesting characters, gritty atmospherics, and a wry sense of humor power the plot, which is filled with enough bombshell twists to keep readers guessin...

  • No Lovelier Death synopsis, comments

    No Lovelier Death

    Graham Hurley

    'There is no one writing better police procedurals today.' Daily TelegraphTwo murdered teenagers. Both sides of the law are looking for the killer.But who will get there first?A te...

  • Blue-Eyed Devil synopsis, comments

    Blue-Eyed Devil

    Robert B. Parker

    Once, Appaloosa law was Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. Now it's Amos Callico, a vindictive, powerhungry tin star with bigger aimsand he could use Cole and Hitch on his side. This t...

  • Deadline synopsis, comments

    Deadline

    Simon Kernick

    A captivating and taut thriller that will leave you holding your breath, from Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Kernick, the UK's answer to Harlan Coben.'The next time I see Si...

  • Die Alone synopsis, comments

    Die Alone

    Simon Kernick

    Hold on tight Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Kernick the UK's answer to Harlan Coben has done it again. This is a noholdsbarred, pulsepounding thriller which will have yo...

  • Racing the Light synopsis, comments

    Racing the Light

    Robert Crais

    On Reader's Digest's list of "30 new books we can't wait to read in 2022" Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, are back on the case in this brillian...

  • Lost or Found synopsis, comments

    Lost or Found

    Graham Ison

    A wedding ring, a missing woman, a bizarre disappearance...Brock and Poole have one of their most unusual cases to unravel'Devilishly engaging characters and authentic details of p...

  • NIV, The Grace and Truth Study Bible synopsis, comments

    NIV, The Grace and Truth Study Bible

    R. Albert Mohler Jr. & Zondervan

    Know this Grace: He loved you by name before all creation. Love this Truth: He’ll know you by name for all eternity.The NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible paints a stunning canva...

  • The Hanged Man synopsis, comments

    The Hanged Man

    Simon Kernick

    Fans of David Baldacci, Stuart MacBride and Peter James will devour this intensely addictive and adrenalinfuelled thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Kernick the U...

  • The Final Minute synopsis, comments

    The Final Minute

    Simon Kernick

    Simon Kernick, the UK's answer to Harlan Coben, has written a thriller jampacked withaction, tension and twists and turns. A heartstopping read from page one, this is perfect for f...

  • Suspect synopsis, comments

    Suspect

    Robert Crais

    From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series comes a thrilling novel featuring LAPD K9 Officer Scott James and his German shepherd, Magg...

  • Eagle Trap synopsis, comments

    Eagle Trap

    Geoffrey Archer

    Revenge is not a possibility, but a certainty.He was head of an international drugs ring, a kidnapper and a ruthless killer. One night British Sea Harriers reduced his Beirut headq...

  • The Last Portal synopsis, comments

    The Last Portal

    Robert Cole

    Severe weather patterns storms, floods and strong winds are sweeping across planet Earth. Against this backdrop, three high school students, known and tormented for their strange...

  • The Bone Field synopsis, comments

    The Bone Field

    Simon Kernick

    From Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Kernick the UK's answer to Harlan Coben The Bone Field is a blood pressure raising thriller: fastpaced, full of thrills, spills and unr...

  • I, Witness synopsis, comments

    I, Witness

    Niki Mackay

    'A cracking thriller and a great female protagonist.' C.J. Tudor, author of Sunday Times Bestseller The Chalk Man'I couldn't put I,Witness down, this is a 2018 mustread' Phoebe Mor...

  • The Witness synopsis, comments

    The Witness

    Simon Kernick

    This engrossing and unputdownable fastpaced thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Kernick, the UK's answer to Harlan Coben, is perfect for fans of David Baldacci, Stu...

  • The Watchman synopsis, comments

    The Watchman

    Robert Crais

    At last, the enigmatic partner of Elvis Cole (The Two Minute Rule) takes center stage in this pulseracing thriller. When Joe Pike is charged with safeguarding a wealthy heiress, he...

  • Dirty Little Lies synopsis, comments

    Dirty Little Lies

    John Macken

    This compelling and gripping novel by bestselling author John Macken takes the forensic thriller to the next level. Perfect for fans of Kathy Reichs, Karin Slaughter and Patricia C...

  • A Dangerous Man synopsis, comments

    A Dangerous Man

    Robert Crais

    A brilliant new crime novel from the beloved, bestselling, and awardwinning master of the genreand Joe Pike's most perilous case to date.Joe Pike didn't expect to rescue a woman th...

  • The Promise synopsis, comments

    The Promise

    Robert Crais

    Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are joined by Suspect heroes LAPD K9 Officer Scott James and his German shepherd, Maggie, in this heartstopping thriller from #1 New York Tim...

  • Home at Grasmere synopsis, comments

    Home at Grasmere

    Dorothy Wordsworth & William Wordsworth

    A continuous text made up of extracts from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal and a selection of her brother's poems. Dorothy Wordsworth kept her Journal 'because I shall give William pl...

  • A Demon in My View synopsis, comments

    A Demon in My View

    Ruth Rendell

    Arthur Johnson doesn't look like a murderous psychopath; he is a mildmannered man who has never known how to talk to women. Years of loneliness has warped his mind, turning his des...

  • The Wrong Child synopsis, comments

    The Wrong Child

    Barry Gornell

    How far would you go to protect your child?When tragedy strikes in a small Scottish village, everyone in the community is affected.Most people believe one child is to blame for wha...

  • Target synopsis, comments

    Target

    Simon Kernick

    Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Kernick, the UK's answer to Harlan Coben, brings us this spinetingling, compelling and captivating thriller that you won't be able to put down...

  • The Forgotten Man synopsis, comments

    The Forgotten Man

    Robert Crais

    “[A] riveting novel with a vivid sense of place . . . Anyone who enjoys a wellwritten, fastpaced, noirish thriller with a great aha! moment shouldn’t miss The Forgotten Man.”The Bo...

  • The Wanted synopsis, comments

    The Wanted

    Robert Crais

    THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERInvestigator Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike take on the deadliest case of their lives in the new masterpiece of suspense from #1 New York Timesbes...

  • Murder at Church Lodge synopsis, comments

    Murder at Church Lodge

    Greg Mosse

    'Maisie Cooper is a brilliant main character, an everyday Miss Marple!... I love cosy crime and I loved this book!' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Maisie Cooper is no detective, thank you ver...

  • Is There No Place on Earth for Me synopsis, comments

    Is There No Place on Earth for Me

    Susan Sheehan

    This renowned journalist's classic Pulitzer Prizewinning investigation of schizophrenianow reissued with a new postscriptfollows a flamboyant and fiercely intelligent young woman a...

  • Taken synopsis, comments

    Taken

    Robert Crais

    The search for a missing girl leads private investigators Elvis Cole and Joe Pike into the nightmarish world of human trafficking in this #1 New York Times bestseller from Robert C...