Staff Pick
After a long career as one of our best-known and loved journalists, Dan Rather has made himself one of the most essential voices to read in our current political climate. What Unites Us is a hopeful, thoughtful, and rational book about how we can come together as citizens even — and especially — in profoundly troubling and divisive times. Recommended By Jill O., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"I find myself thinking deeply about what it means to love America, as I surely do." Dan Rather
At a moment of crisis over our national identity, venerated journalist Dan Rather has emerged as a voice of reason and integrity, reflecting on — and writing passionately about — what it means to be an American. Now, with this collection of original essays, he reminds us of the principles upon which the United States was founded. Looking at the freedoms that define us, from the vote to the press; the values that have transformed us, from empathy to inclusion to service; the institutions that sustain us, such as public education; and the traits that helped form our young country, such as the audacity to take on daunting challenges in science and medicine, Rather brings to bear his decades of experience on the frontlines of the world's biggest stories. As a living witness to historical change, he offers up an intimate view of history, tracing where we have been in order to help us chart a way forward and heal our bitter divisions.
With a fundamental sense of hope, What Unites Us is the book to inspire conversation and listening, and to remind us all how we are, finally, one.
Review
"Provides a pleasant alternative to the reliance on vitriol and irony in modern political discourse....Rather has issued a stirring call for overcoming today’s strident partisanship." Publishers Weekly
Review
"A full-throated celebration of the national spirit and its potential to persevere." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"From his vantage point as one of this country's most revered broadcasters, Rather analyzes the current state of disconnected discourse in a series of reflective essays that go to the heart of what it means to be an American." Booklist (Starred Review)
About the Author
With a storied career that has spanned more than six decades, Dan Rather has earned his place as one of the world’s best-known journalists. He has interviewed every president since Eisenhower and, over that time, personally covered almost every important dateline in the United States and around the world. Rather joined CBS News in 1962. He quickly rose through the ranks, and in 1981 he assumed the position of Anchor and Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News -- a post he held for twenty-four years. His reporting across the network helped turn 60 Minutes into an institution, launched 48 Hours as an innovative news magazine program, and shaped countless specials and documentaries. Upon leaving CBS, Rather returned to the in-depth reporting he always loved, creating the Emmy Award winning Dan Rather Reports on HDNet. Now, building upon that foundation, he is president and CEO of News and Guts, an independent production company he founded that specializes in high-quality nonfiction content across a range of traditional and digital distribution channels.
Elliot Kirschner is an Emmy Award–winning journalist and documentary filmmaker. After a career at CBS, producing for the Evening News, Sunday Morning, and 60 Minutes II, Kirschner joined his longtime collaborator Dan Rather as the senior producer for Dan Rather Reports. He now develops film, television, digital, and social media projects. An honors graduate of Harvard College, Kirschner lives with his family in San Francisco, where he is building an innovative venture in science communication.