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Overview
Bill Moyers on America today:“Here in the first decade of the twenty-first century the story that becomes America’s dominant narrative will shape our collective imagination and our politics for a long time to come. In the searching of our souls demanded by this challenge . . . kindred spirits across the nation must confront the most fundamental liberal failure of the current era: the failure to embrace a moral vision of America based on the transcendent faith that human beings are more than the sum of their material appetites, our country is more than an economic machine, and freedom is not license but responsibility—the gift we have received and the legacy we must bequeath.
“Although our sojourn in life is brief, we are on a great journey. For those who came before us and for those who follow, our moral, political, and religious duty to make sure that this nation, which was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are equal under the law, is in good hands on our watch.”
—from “For America’s Sake”
People know Bill Moyers mostly from his many years of path-breaking journalism on television. But he is also one of America’s most sought-after public speakers. His appearances draw sell-out crowds across the country and are among the most reproduced on the Web. “And one reason,” writes noted journalist Bill McKibben, “is that Moyers pulls no punches. His understanding of America’s history is at least as deep as his understanding of Christian tradition, which is an integral part of his background . . . With his feet firmly planted in the deepest American traditions, Bill Moyers is helping to keep alive an oratorical tradition that is fading after two centuries. Trained by his career in broadcasting, he writes for the ear, his cadences and his repetitions timed to bring an audience to full realization of its role and its power.”
And that is the message of this book. Moyers on Democracy collects many of Bill Moyers’s most moving statements to connect the dots on what is happening to our country—the twinned growth of private wealth and public squalor, the assault on our Constitution, the undermining of the electoral process, the accelerating class war against ordinary (and vulnerable) Americans inherent in the growth of economic inequality, the dangers of an imperial executive, the attack on the independence of the press, the despoiling of the earth we share as our common gift—and to rekindle the reader’s conviction that “the gravediggers of democracy will not have the last word.” Richly insightful and alive with a fierce, abiding love for our country, Moyers on Democracy is essential reading in this fateful presidential year.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Many addresses are rightly described as "occasional pieces," ephemera that fade and crumple as quickly as the morning news. This collection of speeches by PBS television journalist Bill Moyers, however, transcends that category in both quality and resilience. The occasions for some of these talks might sound somewhat antiseptic; witness, for example, his talk before the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers; but the nine-time Peabody Award winner manages to enliven each presentation with memorable stories and frank discussion. Moyers on Democracy offers us a podium-side seat to one of the greatest and liveliest orators of our time.Publishers Weekly
Veteran journalist and author Moyers (Moyers on America, The Power of Myth) staunchly attacks conservative government as one of "millions of Americans who are restless to get on with their revolution." In this volume-a collection of speeches, addresses, talks and lectures from as far back as the '80s-Moyers argues that participatory citizenship breathes life into American democracy, and whatever undermines active citizenship threatens to destroy the system. Moyers reminds readers that the U.S. stands "on the shoulders of brave ghosts," and challenges them to treat, with courage, the country's socio-political ills. The author provides illustrative portraits of dear friends like Fred Friendly and Hubert Humphrey, positioning himself among passionate journalists and left-leaning politicians. Some may recoil from his lobbyist outrage (they "hide... behind the flag while ripping off a country in crisis"), but his long-lived devotion to the American ideal of self-governance, on the whole, guides him well. His insight, sweeping political and historical expertise, and unflinching defense of his ideals should captivate both scholars and concerned citizens, though it's more likely to appeal to those already on Moyers's wavelength.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Library Journal
This collection of essays by the eminent journalist includes pieces that he wrote between 1986 and 2007. Organized around the topics of service, history, politics, media, and religion, the book is at once a warning about the undermining of our democratic ideals and a record of the author's life in public service. Moyers (Listening to America) has been a participant or observer of most major events in U.S. history since he joined Lyndon Johnson's presidential campaign staff in 1960. Unlike many such players, he never became cynical or simplistic; he only grew into a keener and more penetrating critic of public life. These pieces all demonstrate his love of democracy, attachment to the truth, and unflinching habit of speaking truth to power. Furthermore, these essays are fine examples of how to write clearly and convincingly yet with a welcome understatement, a thoughtfulness that seems, ironically, to date even the most recent of these pieces. In our day of instant Internet news and sound-bite journalism; long, contemplative essays harken to times long gone. Recommended for undergraduate and larger public libraries.
—Duncan Stewart