Product Description

Now available in paperback, the New York Times -bestseller hen John F. Kennedy called America 'the land we love' more than 44 years ago, he was reminding us of the lofty ideals on which our country was founded. But what are those ideals, and how have Americans defined them? Is America the land of George Washington and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who rallied the country's spirits for unity in wartime, or is it a land of dissent, a land in which Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Martin Luther King, Jr., remind us of our duty to protect our most fundamental freedoms? Are we defined by the speeches of Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan or by the humor of H.L. Mencken and Mark Twain?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #934660 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-27
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .2 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 688 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The rich and sometimes discordant strains of American self-scrutiny fill this wide-ranging anthology. Kennedy (The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) arranges the more than 200 selections according to themes like "The Flag," "Freedom of Speech," "Work, Opportunity and Invention" and "The Individual," and devotes equal space to the official, the devotional and the oppositional. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are reprinted in full, along with a large selection of presidential inaugurals and farewells and excerpts from landmark Supreme Court decisions. Popular songs include "Yankee Doodle," "This Land Is Your Land" and "Surfin' USA." Poems and fiction from such luminaries as Whitman, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Stephen Crane, Alice Walker and Annie Proulx explore the variegated textures of American life. The dissident voices of Thoreau, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass hold America to account for its injustice; H.L. Mencken castigates it as "a commonwealth of third-rate men"; and Oscar Wilde raises a sardonic eyebrow at the whole dubious enterprise. Combining traditional touchstones of Americanism with many insightful surprises, Kennedy's thoughtful arrangement of works of historical significance and literary quality will reward both casual browsers and those conducting a more focused investigation of the nation's patriotic literature.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
A PATRIOT'S HANDBOOK is not a true audiobook. Rather, it is a masterful audio compilation of American songs, poems, stories, speeches, and other sources--recordings that tell the story of America, and why she remains a unique symbol of freedom. Many of the recordings are the originals, while others are performed by actors and politicians. This is that rare production that is best savored over time, as one listens one day to Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, followed by Ronald Reagan's "Farewell Address," and the next by the letters between John and Abigail Adams. This unique program will serve for generations as an audio-textbook to students of American history of all ages. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Kennedy compiled the 2001 best-seller devoted to her mother's memory, The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Certain to hit the best-seller lists, too, is her latest compilation, a personal selection of prose and poetry that celebrates the land, the people, the spirit, and the history of our great country. Calling the book "my collage of America" but certainly presenting items relevant to any citizen's interest, Kennedy arranges her material into chapters based on general themes, including the flag, portraits of Americans, freedom, and equality. The first selection is the lyrics to the national anthem, and the last one is an excerpt from the fiction of highly esteemed contemporary writer Annie Proulx; selections in between include George Washington's "Farewell Address," Sojourner Truth's speech "Ain't I a Woman," the text of Brown v. the Board of Education, and the words to the Grateful Dead's song "U.S. Blues." Kennedy provides a general introduction to the book and introduces each chapter. For personal enjoyment and education, but the reference value is obvious, too. Brad Hooper
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