NF

Everyone who cares about a country should read this book. ( )

So many of the people we admire are too often "de-throned" because a scandalous aspect of their lives is brought to truth. And it takes a little piece of "you" with it. If ever there were to be a bad story about Bill Moyers, that might do it for me, because Moyers is one of those people that seems to be good and honest; hard working and forthright; opinionated, yet respectful and mindful of the ultimate goal of his profession: truth. In this book of commentary and speeches, Moyers reminds us -- of so many, and perhaps too many -- ways in which we as a nation, as a people still struggle with truth. But it is only through truth that honest discourse can take place and democracy thrive and prosper. I've always felt that as a nation, 'we don't always do the right thing and we certainly make mistakes ... but at least ... at least we try'. Moyers emphasizes that to keep trying is the cornerstone of a democratic and free society. ( )

A collection of speeches given by Bill Moyers in the last twenty years, covering topics related to our society, including government, the press, religion, and history. As a journalist, he does not lose sight of Finley Peter Dunne’s injunction to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable”; he assails Democrats and Republicans alike when they fail to live up to their responsibilities, and in answering charges of liberal bias:

“All I can say is that if reporting what happens to ordinary people because of events beyond their control, and the indifference of government to their fate, is ‘liberal,’ I plead guilty.”

Moyers' speeches are filled with powerful words of caution and hope. He is a Baptist with a divinity degree and a faith strong enough that it is deepened, not weakened, as he learns from Buddhists, Sufis, Jews, Hindus, and Confucianists, and he is ever mindful of Christianity’s focus on the poorest of humanity. He is a true patriot, with love for the promise of the American dream and the ideals embodied in the Constitution, and stern words for the powerful who lose sight of it.

This one's worth getting in hardcover, folks. ( )

This is a collection of Moyer's speeches over many years that touch on the subject of democracy. If I could, I'd give a copy to everyone in the world to read. Forget Nicholas Cage movies, Bill Moyers is THE National Treasure.

Mr. Moyers probably doesn't believe in reincarnation - though he would respect my right to do so - but I think in one of his previous lives he must have been a bard, and in another one of those court jesters who was the only person to tell the king the truth. For he has both the journalistic integrity to be dedicated to finding the truth and to sharing it with the public. The speech he gave on Hubert Humphrey is one of the best pieces of writing, fiction or non-fiction, I've ever read in my life, and many of the other pieces are of similar quality.

It is hard to give a sense of the book, because it wanders many places in talking about democracy. There are obituaries here, to such people as Barbara Jordan, William Sloane Coffin, and Fred Friendly. There is a commencement address. Issues of media, politics, and religion are discussed. And always, Moyers gives us history, often history of the relatively unknown and their struggles to be free. It is an inspirational book, one that sets the mind alight to preserve and restore freedom and its handmaiden, responsibility. ( )