Ernest Hemingway is one of the most important twentieth-century American fiction writers. Hemingway was born in Chicago in 1899.

After graduating from high school, he worked for the Kansas City 'Star' newspaper. This first job helped him to develop his simple, clear writing style. Hemingway traveled widely and many of his real-life experiences inspired his works. During World War I, he volunteered as a Red Cross ambulance driver in Europe. His novel 'A Farewell to Arms' recalls this time period. The writer also traveled to Europe in the 1930s to cover the Spanish Civil War as an international correspondent. His critically acclaimed novel ' For Whom the Bell Tolls ' is based on his experience in Spain. Throughout his life, Hemingway loved fishing and hunting. His passion for this influenced many of his later works, notably ' The Old Man and the Sea .' This novel won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. Hemingway remains an influential figure in contemporary literature.l

Contempory writer Paul Auster is widely respected by critics and readers alike. Born in New Jersey in 1947, Auster writes on the theme of personal identity in his books. His characters often face a major crisis . Auster himself had an unhappy childhood. He loved reading from an early age, and he began writing when he was a teenager. While studying Literature at Columbia University, he published articles on books and films in newspapers. He completed a Masters degree in Literature. Auster has written poems and essays, but is best known for his novels such as ' Mr. Vertigo .' In this story, published in 1994, he uses the myth of a street urchin who can levitate to illustrate how people can learn to find the unexpected in everyday life. More recently, Auster has developed an interest in film. He worked with director Wayne Wang on two movies released in 1996: 'Smoke' and 'Blue in the Face.' He even wrote and directed a movie himself. This movie, ' Lulu on the Bridge ' was released in 1998. Auster makes important contributions to American literature today.

Elvis Presley was the most successful American singer of all time. Elvis, better-known as 'the King,' was discovered in the early 1950s, and started recording for Sun Records . He was not an immediate success for Sun, but his unique style of music won many admirers. Blending blues, country and Tin Pan Alley ballads, his music became known as ' rockabilly .' Colonel Tom Parker , who usually managed country musicians , became Elvis' manager in 1955, and made him a star. Elvis became an icon for America's youth, and dominated the charts. When he was drafted into the army in 1958, a nation believed it had lost its favorite star. His return in 1960 proved this wrong. He continued hitting the charts , and made more than thirty movies! He defied the critics with a final No. 1 hit, ' Suspicious Minds ,' in 1969. Elvis died in 1977, but his legend lives on, and his following is as large as ever! He remains one of the largest influences on modern music.

Martin Luther King Jr. changed the history of African Americans. Born in 1929, King led the Civil Rights Movement which helped to put an end to the segregation of African Americans in the U.S. Like his father and maternal grandfather, he became a Baptist preacher . He obtained a doctorate in Theology at age twenty-six. His thesis was about the importance of faith. He believed that

African Americans should use non-violent methods to obtain equality . He was influenced by the pacifist philosophy of Indian Prime Minister, Mohandas Gandhi. In 1963, King led a large march to Washington, D.C., to protest against racism . Here, he gave his famous 'I have a dream' speech, where he expressed his hopes for the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically assassinated in 1968. In 1986, the U.S. Congress declared the third Monday in January a national holiday to commemorate King's birthday. King died young at thirty-nine, but his work has had a lasting impact on American society.

Every year, on the fourth Thursday of November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. On this public holiday, families eat turkey with cranberry sauce , followed by pumpkin pie . This tradition comes from the first settlers in America. In 1609, a group called the ' Pilgrims ' left England where they were being persecuted for their religious beliefs. Their first stop was Holland, but they later decided to move to the New World . In 1620, the Pilgrims set sail on the ' Mayflower ' ship. Upon arriving in present-day Massachusetts, they named their new settlement Plymouth . Here, the Pilgrims ' first winter was extremely difficult. They had not yet made contact with the Natives. However, in 1621, an American Indian entered the Plymouth settlement and welcomed the Pilgrims . He even taught them how to farm the land. After a successful October harvest, the Pilgrim governor declared a day of Thanksgiving . No one knows what was served at the first Thanksgiving

, but nowadays, Americans remember their origins over a turkey dinner!

Celebrated every October 31st, Halloween is definitely the spookiest American holiday! With black cats and witches, ghosts and vampires, it's quite surprising that parents let their children go outside on such a night! However, a closer look will show that the monsters and werewolves knocking on your door are actually children in disguise ! This tradition started with the Celts in Northern Europe over 2,000 years ago. They believed that on the night before Samhain (the Celtic New Year celebrated on November 1st), the spirits of the dead came back in search of living bodies to inhabit . To confuse the spirits and protect themselves, people dressed up as demons, too. Many things have changed since then, including the name Samhain which was changed to Halloween after the Catholic holiday, All Hallows Eve . Nowadays, children don't dress up to scare off spirits , but rather to get candy by going from door to door saying ' Trick or treat

The Boston Tea Party was an 18th-century American act of rebellion against the British. In 1773, the British passed The Tea Act . This act declared that only the British could bring tea into the colonies and only the British East India Company could sell it. The colonists saw this as a blatant insult to their right to self-rule . As a protest, the people of Boston made the British ships carrying tea turn around and leave the colonies . In response to this, the British received an order to force the tea to the shore under military escort on December 17th. The American patriots heard about this and on the night of December 16th, 1773, disguised as Native Americans , secretly boarded a British ship. They then dumped the ship's cargo of tea into the harbor. Thus, this event has since been called the Boston Tea Party ! It was the single most important event leading up to the American Revolution .

!'Independence Day, on July 4th, celebrates the birth of the United States. This patriotic day is usually celebrated with fireworks , parades , pageants and speeches. People all across America gather for family picnics and outings. In Washington , D.C., the National Independence Day parade attracts over four million people a year! Independence was declared on July 4th, 1776. In Philadelphia , Pennsylvania,

Congress declared, in the Declaration of Independence , that the thirteen colonies were free of British rule. A year later, the first anniversary was celebrated with bonfires all across Philadelphia . Church bells rang, and candles were lit in almost every window. These were the first true Independence Day celebrations. Although Independence Day wasn't made a federal legal holiday until 1941, Americans have celebrated the birth of their nation in style every year since those first celebrations.

In the U.S., most sporting events start with the song 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' But where does the American national anthem come from? The 'Star-Spangled Banner' is the American flag . This flag is an American symbol of independence . The Americans gained independence from the British in 1781, but territorial problems between the two countries caused a new war in the 1800s. In 1814, the British attacked Fort McHenry in Baltimore. When the lawyer, Francis Scott Key , saw the American flag flying proudly over Fort McHenry after this attack, he was inspired to write a poem. '

The Star-Spangled Banner ' was born. The original American flag had thirteen stars and thirteen stripes . In 1813, the government decided to add one star for each U.S. state. The flag now has fifty stars. ' The Star-Spangled Banner ' became the American national anthem in 1931. Nowadays, many people outside the U.S. are able to recognize this famous song.