Bob Schieffer's America

by Schieffer, Bob

• ISBN13: 9780399155185
• ISBN10: 039915518X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-09-09
• Publisher: Putnam Adult

Summary

Wise, rueful, candid, graceful commentaries from one of journalism’s most stylish and respected writers. With his critically acclaimed bestselling memoir, This Just In, Bob Schieffer proved a natural storyteller, a gifted writer able to capture current affairs, television news—and himself—with remarkable wit and insight. It is a gift he has also been able to bring to his awardwinning commentaries for Face the Nation. No one had done commentaries for CBS since Eric Sevareid’s retirement in 1977, when, in April 1994, Schieffer decided his show that week on the death of Richard Nixon needed a few closing words to put the subject into context. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, and he has been doing them ever since. Bob Schieffer’s Americabrings together 168 of his best essays, pieces that cover a broad range: from the hard issues of today to the human stories that show us who we are; from politics and presidents and tragedy to the things that touch us, make us laugh, or reveal the small shifts in our culture that sometimes just creep up on us. Smart, humorous, commonsensical, pitch-perfect—sometimes bitingly critical and plainspoken, other times suffused with wonder or delight—these essays speak to us all. My objective,” says Schieffer, has never been to convert someone to my way of thinking, but merely to provoke thought, to explain a complicated subject, or to call attention to a human foible. The greatest compliment to me is not when viewers write to say they agree with my conclusion, but when they say, ‘I really never thought of it that way before.’” In addition to these outstanding essays, Schieffer has written a wealth of brand-new material—commentaries on my commentaries”—that run throughout the book, offering further anecdotes, reflections, updates, and insights. In all, it is as Jim Lehrer described This Just In: A delight, a joy—a treasure.”

Author Biography

Bob Schieffer has been covering the news for forty-five years, first as a newspaper reporter and, since 1969, as a correspondent for CBS News. At CBS, he is one of the very few correspondents who have covered all four major Washington beats: the White House, Pentagon, State Department, and Capitol Hill. He has been CBS-'s chief Washington correspondent since 1982, and became the anchor and moderator of Face the Nation in 1991. For twenty years he anchored the Saturday edition of the CBS Evening News and, for a year and a half, the weekday broadcasts. He has won six Emmy awards, and in 2002 was named Broadcaster of the Year by the National Press Foundation.

Table of Contents

How Washington Works - and Doesn't	p. 1
Vote For...Never Mind	p. 27
The Best Politicians Money Can Buy	p. 49
Hail to the Chief	p. 65
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of News	p. 91
War and Peace	p. 115
Seasons	p. 145
Who We Are	p. 165
Human Interests	p. 197
The Lives We Led	p. 215
The Unthinkable	p. 233
Afterword	p. 269
Acknowledgements	p. 277
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.