Overlooked: A Celebration of Remarkable, Underappreciated People Who Broke the Rules and Changed the World

An unforgettable collection of diverse, remarkable lives inspired by Overlooked, the groundbreaking New York Times series that publishes the obituaries of extraordinary people whose deaths went unreported in the newspaperfilled with nearly 200 full-color photos and new, never-before-published content Since 1851, The New York Times has published thousands of obituariesfor heads of state, celebrities, scientists, and athletes. Theres even one for the person who invented the sock puppet. But, until recently, only a fraction of the Timess obits chronicled the lives of women or people of color. The vast majority tell of the lives of menmostly white men. Started in 2018 as a series in the Obituary section, Overlooked has sought to rectify this, revisiting the Timess 170-year history to celebrate people who were left out. It seeks to correct past mistakes, establish a new precedent for equitable coverage of lives lost, and refocus societys lens on who is considered worthy of remembrance. Now, in the first book connected to the trailblazing series, Overlooked shares 66 extraordinary stories of women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA figures, and people with disabilities who have broken rules and overcome obstacles. Some achieved a measure of fame in their lifetime but were surprisingly omitted from the paper, including Ida B. Wells, Sylvia Plath, Alan Turing, and Major Taylor. Others were lesser-known, but noteworthy nonetheless, such as Katherine McHale Slaughterback, a farmer who found fame as Rattlesnake Kate; ngela Ruiz Robles, the inventor of an early e-reader; Terri Rogers, a transgender ventriloquist and magician; and Stella Young, a disabled comedian who rejected inspiration porn. These overlooked figures might have lived in different times, and had different experiences, but they were all ambitious and creative, and used their imaginations to invent, innovate, and change the world. Featuring stunning photographs, exclusive content about the process of writing obituaries, and contributions by writers such as Veronica Chambers, Jon Pareles, Amanda Hess, and more, this visually arresting book compels us to revisit who and what we value as a societyand reminds us that some of our most important stories are hidden among the lives of those who have been overlooked.