Ursula K. Le Guin was born on October 21, 1929, in Berkeley, California. Her parents were the famed anthropologist Alfred Louis Kroeber and Theodora (Kracaw) Kroeber, who authored the ethnology classic Ishi in Two Worlds and several children's books published by Parnassus Press. The bond of empathy and respect that existed between Alfred Kroeber and the Amerindians he studied led to his friendship with Ishi, the last remaining aboriginal raised without contact with "Americans" and the subject of Theodora Kroeber's classic book. The Kroebers raised all their children according to their progressive and non-sexist beliefs.

Young Ursula had two older brothers, Theodore Charles and Karl, and an older half-brother, Clifton, from her mother's previous marriage to Clifton Spencer Brown.

Throughout her childhood, young Ursula was exposed to Celtic and Teutonic folklore and magic from cultures around the world.

She learned to respect cultural diversity and human...