Martha A. Sandweiss reads from Passing Strange
b"For decades, Clarence King lived a charming, public life. The notable white geologist and writer, who had helped map the American West, divided his time between White House dinners and social gatherings at Manhattan's most elite clubs. But in this excerpt from the new book Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line (The Penguin Press), historian Martha A. Sandweiss reveals the riveting secret King kept from his family???and the world???and only disclosed on his deathbed in 1901: Clarence King lived a double life as a black man, James Todd. Passing Strange Captions and credits: 1. Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line will be published February 9 by the Penguin Press. 2. Clarence King as director of the United States Geological Survey, 1879. Courtesy of The U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library. 3. Ada King, 91, poses in her Kalmia Avenue home with her granddaughter, Thelma, at a party in honor of Thelma's wedding in 1952. Courtesy of Patricia Chacon."