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A companion volume to the Emmy Award–winning PBS® series—interviews with “an essential voice in our national conversation” (Brian Williams, MSNBC anchor).
This “provocative” and “absorbing” (Star Tribune) companion book to Bill Moyer’s acclaimed PBS series invites readers into conversations with some of the most captivating voices on the scene today, in what Kirkus Reviews calls “a glittering array of discussions.” From Jon Stewart on politics and media to Michael Pollan on food, The Wire creator David Simon on the mean streets of our cities, James Cone and Shelby Steele on race in the age of Obama, Robert Bly and Nikki Giovanni on the power of poetry, Barbara Ehrenreich on the hard times of working Americans, and Karen Armstrong on faith and compassion, Moyer’s own intelligence and insight match that of his guests and their discussions animate many of the most salient issues of our time.
With extensive commentary from Moyers, marked by his customary “respect, intelligence, curiosity, humor, and graciousness,” here are the debates; cultural currents; and, above all, lively minds that shape the conversation of democracy (Booklist).
“In an era of much instant and ephemeral talk, it is a pleasurable thing to hold this ‘book of ideas.’” —Publishers Weekly
“[Moyers] has always been about something beyond the moment. Or put another way, while everyone else in the media has been exploring topography, Moyers has been exploring geology.” —Los Angeles Times
This “provocative” and “absorbing” (Star Tribune) companion book to Bill Moyer’s acclaimed PBS series invites readers into conversations with some of the most captivating voices on the scene today, in what Kirkus Reviews calls “a glittering array of discussions.” From Jon Stewart on politics and media to Michael Pollan on food, The Wire creator David Simon on the mean streets of our cities, James Cone and Shelby Steele on race in the age of Obama, Robert Bly and Nikki Giovanni on the power of poetry, Barbara Ehrenreich on the hard times of working Americans, and Karen Armstrong on faith and compassion, Moyer’s own intelligence and insight match that of his guests and their discussions animate many of the most salient issues of our time.
With extensive commentary from Moyers, marked by his customary “respect, intelligence, curiosity, humor, and graciousness,” here are the debates; cultural currents; and, above all, lively minds that shape the conversation of democracy (Booklist).
“In an era of much instant and ephemeral talk, it is a pleasurable thing to hold this ‘book of ideas.’” —Publishers Weekly
“[Moyers] has always been about something beyond the moment. Or put another way, while everyone else in the media has been exploring topography, Moyers has been exploring geology.” —Los Angeles Times
Price: $29.95
Pages: 608
Publisher: The New Press
Imprint: The New Press
Publication Date:
17 May 2011
Trim Size: 9.25 X 6.13 in
ISBN: 9781595586247
Format: Hardcover
Praise for Bill Moyers Journal:
“Readers of his new book will feast on four dozen wide-ranging conversations…which brim with big ideas and deep insights. Provocative, absorbing and necessary.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Culled from Moyers's third PBS series, which ran from 2007 to 2010, there's no small talk or superficiality in these interviews with 47 'independent thinkers.' The topics are far-reaching (faith, populism, the Israeli occupation of Gaza, aging, lynching in America, health care, capitalism, capital punishment, lobbyists in Washington), and the guest list is wide-ranging (pediatrician Margaret Flowers, biologist E. O. Wilson, historian Howard Zinn, economist Victor Greidel, writer David Simon, minister Jeremiah Wright, lawyer Philippe Sands, journalist Victor Gold, novelist John Grisham, theologian James Cone). Karen Armstrong urges us to find the commonalities in diverse religious traditions, notably compassion. Jeremy Scahill alerts us that Blackwater's Eric Prince 'is a man who is building up nothing short of a parallel national security apparatus.' John Lithgow shares some of his favorite poems; Jane Goodall turns one's attention to the animal world. In an era of much instant and ephemeral talk, it is a pleasurable thing to hold this 'book of ideas.' These challenging, engaged conversations reward the reader's serious attention. There are no sound bites here, just food for thought."
—Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. "The PBS series Bill Moyers Journal aired weekly from 2007 to 2010, capturing discussions of pivotal issues at the close of the Bush administration and the start of the Obama era. This companion book recaptures those compelling discussions on issues that matter, covering politics, economics, race, foreign policy, and the environment. Among the 47 interviews are Michael Pollan on our unsustainable food producing and eating habits; Robert Wright on the evolution of religion and why there's hope for an end to religious wars; David Simon, creator of The Wire, on the war on drugs as a war on the underclass; John Lithgow on acting in the play All My Sons and the gut-wrenching immediacy of war profiteering; journalist William Greider on Wall Street corruption; and Michelle Alexander and Bryan Stevenson on mass incarceration of minorities in the U.S. The collection also includes Sam Tanenhaus and Victor Gold expounding on the death of traditional conservatism, and Nikki Giovanni, Martin Espada, and Maxine Hong Kingston reading poetry and discussing the impact of literature on society. Each interview is preceded by background on the interview subject and the context of the conversation. In the style for which he's known, Moyers probes with respect, intelligence, curiosity, humor, and graciousness."
—Booklist
“Readers of his new book will feast on four dozen wide-ranging conversations…which brim with big ideas and deep insights. Provocative, absorbing and necessary.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Culled from Moyers's third PBS series, which ran from 2007 to 2010, there's no small talk or superficiality in these interviews with 47 'independent thinkers.' The topics are far-reaching (faith, populism, the Israeli occupation of Gaza, aging, lynching in America, health care, capitalism, capital punishment, lobbyists in Washington), and the guest list is wide-ranging (pediatrician Margaret Flowers, biologist E. O. Wilson, historian Howard Zinn, economist Victor Greidel, writer David Simon, minister Jeremiah Wright, lawyer Philippe Sands, journalist Victor Gold, novelist John Grisham, theologian James Cone). Karen Armstrong urges us to find the commonalities in diverse religious traditions, notably compassion. Jeremy Scahill alerts us that Blackwater's Eric Prince 'is a man who is building up nothing short of a parallel national security apparatus.' John Lithgow shares some of his favorite poems; Jane Goodall turns one's attention to the animal world. In an era of much instant and ephemeral talk, it is a pleasurable thing to hold this 'book of ideas.' These challenging, engaged conversations reward the reader's serious attention. There are no sound bites here, just food for thought."
—Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. "The PBS series Bill Moyers Journal aired weekly from 2007 to 2010, capturing discussions of pivotal issues at the close of the Bush administration and the start of the Obama era. This companion book recaptures those compelling discussions on issues that matter, covering politics, economics, race, foreign policy, and the environment. Among the 47 interviews are Michael Pollan on our unsustainable food producing and eating habits; Robert Wright on the evolution of religion and why there's hope for an end to religious wars; David Simon, creator of The Wire, on the war on drugs as a war on the underclass; John Lithgow on acting in the play All My Sons and the gut-wrenching immediacy of war profiteering; journalist William Greider on Wall Street corruption; and Michelle Alexander and Bryan Stevenson on mass incarceration of minorities in the U.S. The collection also includes Sam Tanenhaus and Victor Gold expounding on the death of traditional conservatism, and Nikki Giovanni, Martin Espada, and Maxine Hong Kingston reading poetry and discussing the impact of literature on society. Each interview is preceded by background on the interview subject and the context of the conversation. In the style for which he's known, Moyers probes with respect, intelligence, curiosity, humor, and graciousness."
—Booklist
Bill Moyers (1934–2025) was a journalist and public commentator. He was a founding organizer of the Peace Corps, a senior White House assistant and press secretary to President Lyndon B. Johnson, the publisher of Newsday, a senior news analyst for CBS News, and the producer of groundbreaking series for public television. He is the winner of more than thirty-five Emmy Awards, nine Peabody Awards, and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the author of Moyers on America: A Journalist and His Times and Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues, both published by The New Press.