Children of Crisis: A Study of Courage and Fear

Robert Coles (born 1929) is an American child psychiatrist, author, and professor emeritus at Harvard University, renowned for his studies of children's moral and social lives amid crisis. He gained fame with his Pulitzer Prize-winning five-volume Children of Crisis series (1967-1977), documenting children facing poverty, segregation, and cultural upheaval, such as Ruby Bridges during school desegregation. Coles authored over 80 books and 1,300 articles, taught across Harvard's schools, and received awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1998) and National Humanities Medal (2001).