Sonia Bleeker (1909–1971)

Sonia Bleeker was born in Russia in 1909. She earned a bachelor's degree at Hunter College in New York City in 1933 and did graduate study in anthropology at Columbia University. She was awarded a doctor of science degree from Beloit College in 1967. Sonia married author and editor Herbert Zim in 1934 and worked as an editor at Simon & Schuster from 1931 to 1946. She wrote anthropology books for young adults about Native Americans, pre-Columbian cultures in the Americas, and various African tribes. Her interest in anthropology led her all over the world, and the couple spent much of their lives traveling in Africa, Europe and North and South America. She and her husband collaborated on her final book, Life and Death (1970).