When George W. Bush began his second term, he promised the privitization of Social Security, tort reform and tax reform. According to a NEW YORK TIMES story that was reported by THE WASHINGTON SPECTATOR, he told a private Republican fund-raising meeting that "I'm going to come out strong after my swearing-in with fundamental tax reform, tort reform and privatizing Social Security." In this book Moyers comments that he was "puzzled as to why, with right-wing wrecking crews blasting away at social benefits once considered invulnerable, Democrats are fearful of being branded 'class warriors' in a war the other side started and is determined to win." He contends that social dislocations and meanness are resurgent but so is the "vision of justice, fairness and equality." In this book he asks what it will take for the progressive spirit of democracy, not oligarchy, to get back into the fight? Moreover, he describes what he understands to be the real interests and deep opinions of the American people. After enumerating them he goes on to write, "Ideas have power -- as long as they are not frozen in doctrine -- but they need legs. The eight-hour day; the minimum wage; the conservation of natural resources and the protection of our air, water, and land; women's rights and civil rights; free trade unions; Social Security; a civil service based on merit -- all these were launched as citizens' movements and won the endorsement of the political class only after long struggles and in the face of bitter opposition and sneering attacks. Democracy doesn't work without citizen activism and participation. Trickle-down politics is no more effective than trickle-down economics. Moreover, civilization happens because we don't leave things to other people. What's right and good doesn't come naturally. You have to stand up and fight as if the cause depends on you. Allow yourself that conceit -- to believe that the flame of democracy will never go out as long as there's one candle in one citizen's hand." Wow! He deserves to be read widely and carefully.

But there is more. Moyers reflects on his early years in Washington when Republicans were conservative by temperament and moderate in the use of power. That brand is gone, according to Moyers. They have been replaced by zealous idealogues. More. "If you like God in government, get ready for the Rapture." His insights continue and this is only a taste! I have reproduced more material than a review warrants but it has been impossible for me to match the eloquence of Moyers' words. What I can say is that this was a challenging read for me and I encourage you to read it too!

Listen to Chris Wallace's closing remarks on Bill Moyers on Fox News Sunday (8/26/07) and you will understand who and what we are dealing with in Bill Moyers - a radical, pagan, left wing, bomb throwing crazy!!!

Both Moyers and Whitman have helped to reaffirm my thoughts on where I stand in the political spectrum. I just recently decided that I would label myself as an independent. My belief was that as an independent I would not already be swayed to one party or the other and therefore would have less bias in choosing whom I wanted to vote for. So far so good even though I still hold some connection to the Republican camp, of which Whitman has helped me see that there is a large moderate side to the Republicans. Why is it that people become so connected to a group that they don't see what is really best for our country? Why is it that winning an argument is more important than governing for the people? Moyers does a good job of describing some of these issues in his articles and speeches. Then he is able to go beyond politics to journalism, friendships, and death. Even though he does cut down the current administration at times these are thoughts and issues that should be of concern to both sides.

If scratching the issues on the surface is to your liking then "Moyers On American" is an exceptional glimpse at the failings of media. But if you are looking for the crux of the matter then look elsewhere because Moyers belongs to the gatekeepers of America.
The problem I had with this book was that Moyers never connects the dots. He just pontificates about how the media doesn't report the real in-depth stories when actually he doesn't either. By avoiding the fact that the CIA indirectly funds NPR, CPB, and PBS (the station he works for) he does his readers a disservice. Moyers misrepresents himself as a man of the people. There is nothing bourgeois about this man.
In the book he quotes Thomas Paine, but one has to ascertain that Paine really believed in what he said in the pamphlet "Common Sense," unlike Moyers who promotes the New World Order's left/right paradigm. When I was finished reading this book I felt cheated. Surface history is not enough. I wanted to know whose in control of the economy, the media, and the government. If Moyers really wanted to do an in-depth investigation he would have climbed the corporate pyramid, and revealed that families such as the Rothschilds, and the Rockefellers control certain aspects of the world through institutions such as the Bilderberg Group, The Trilateral Commission, The Federal Reserve Bank, and the Council on Foreign Relations. By circumventing around this fact is yellow journalism.
Gil Scott-Heron said "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," and if Moyers and many others continue to gate-keep, it sure won't be televised. Their actions will continue to keep us marginalized in a state of apraxia.
The most significant part was the end. His historical look at Lyndon Johnson's achievements and failures is the only redeeming subject that made this long-winded book worth reading. I've read 500 page books faster than I read this one, but what I will states is that he is a free-flowing writer/speaker, it's just too bad that he wasted his talent on dry-as-dust surface tripe.

If scratching the issues on the surface is to your liking then "Moyers On American" is an exceptional glimpse at the failings of media. But if you are looking for the crux of the matter then look elsewhere because Moyers belongs to the gatekeepers of America.
The problem I had with this book was that Moyers never connects the dots. He just pontificates about how the media doesn't report the real in-depth stories when actually he doesn't either. By avoiding the fact that the CIA indirectly funds NPR, CPB, and PBS (the station he works for) he does his readers a disservice. Moyers misrepresents himself as a man of the people. There is nothing bourgeois about this man.
In the book he quotes Thomas Paine, but one has to ascertain that Paine really believed in what he said in the pamphlet "Common Sense," unlike Moyers who promotes the New World Order's left/right paradigm. When I was finished reading this book I felt cheated. Surface history is not enough. I wanted to know whose in control of the economy, the media, and the government. If Moyers really wanted to do an in-depth investigation he would have climbed the corporate pyramid, and revealed that families such as the Rothschilds, and the Rockefellers control certain aspects of the world through institutions such as the Bilderberg Group, The Trilateral Commission, The Federal Reserve Bank, and the Council on Foreign Relations. By circumventing around this fact is yellow journalism.
Gil Scott-Heron said "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," and if Moyers and many others continue to gate-keep, it sure won't be televised. Their actions will continue to keep us marginalized in a state of apraxia.
The most significant part was the end. His historical look at Lyndon Johnson's achievements and failures is the only redeeming subject that made this long-winded book worth reading. I've read 500 page books faster than I read this one, but what I will states is that he is a free-flowing writer/speaker, it's just too bad that he wasted his talent on dry-as-dust surface tripe.

One thing when you get when you read Bill Moyers is a man who speaks from his soul. This journalist and minister laments the disappearance of a free and diverse press being taken over by conglomerates that filter our information with a singular point of view.

He is a populist who believes that our elected representatives are supposed to represent the people who vote for them, not the corporations who give contributions to them. In any other place that is called bribery. In Congress, it is called a contribution.

Equally disconcerting to Moyers is his perception that Americans no longer thirst for the news and the political decisions that affect their lives on a daily basis. Americans care less even about the information that is filtered to them.

I was unable to connect some of the experiences he wrote here to his central theme, but I was always able to imagine the words on the page being spoken by the man with a calm, reassuring voice, the same man who received more than thirty years of Emmy and other awards for outstanding journalism.

Naturally, there is always someone like Bernie Goldberg who saw fit to place this patriotic American and gentleman on his list of 100 people who are ruining America. But, it took no time to feel good again. All I had to do was consider the source. (You don't make comparisons between a Goldberg and a Moyers.)

Read Moyers, watch Moyers every time you can. National treasures are hard to come by.

One thing when you get when you read Bill Moyers is a man who speaks from his soul. This journalist and minister laments the disappearance of a free and diverse press being taken over by conglomerates that filter our information with a singular point of view.

He is a populist who believes that our elected representatives are supposed to represent the people who vote for them, not the corporations who give contributions to them. In any other place that is called bribery. In Congress, it is called a contribution.

Equally disconcerting to Moyers is his perception that Americans no longer thirst for the news and the political decisions that affect their lives on a daily basis. Americans care less even about the information that is filtered to them.

I was unable to connect some of the experiences he wrote here to his central theme, but I was always able to imagine the words on the page being spoken by the man with a calm, reassuring voice, the same man who received more than thirty years of Emmy and other awards for outstanding journalism.

Naturally, there is always someone like Bernie Goldberg who saw fit to place this patriotic American and gentleman on his list of 100 people who are ruining America. But, it took no time to feel good again. All I had to do was consider the source. (You don't make comparisons between a Goldberg and a Moyers.)

Read Moyers, watch Moyers every time you can. National treasures are hard to come by.

fantastic book. moyers is an unbelievabel journalist and a true american citizen. he has served his country in government and in public life. a wonderful writer and excellent speaker.

Bill Moyers calls us to "the fight of our lives" with "nothing less than democracy itself at stake."

My response to that call is to join the people's movement that's petitioning him to run for President of the United States.

www.billmoyersforpresident.org

Bill Moyers calls us to "the fight of our lives" with "nothing less than democracy itself at stake."

My response to that call is to join the people's movement that's petitioning him to run for President of the United States.

www.billmoyersforpresident.org

BILL MOYERS IS WAY TO THE LEFT OF MY POLITICAL VIEWS HOWEVER I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK AS A GIFT ON THE OCCASION OF MY BIRTHDAY BY MY MOTHER WHO HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE MOST LEFT LEANING IN THE FAMILY.

I USED TO WATCH BILL MOYERS 20 YEARS AGO OR SO ON PBS AND WAS FASCINATED BY A SERIES HE PUT ON CALLED "A WORLD OF IDEAS' IN WHICH HE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH MANY FAMOUS WORLD FIGURES.


LATELY I HAVE NOT SEEN MUCH OF HIM AND WHAT I DID SEE I DID NOT ENJOY!

I MUST ADMIT THAT READING THIS BOOK HOWEVER OPENED MY EYES TO SOME OF THE REASONS THAT WHAT I HAD BEEN OBSERVING ON TV AND READING IN THE MEDIA IN GENERAL WAS MAKING ME MORE AND MORE UNCOMFORTABLE.

THE IDEA THAT MOYERS EXPRESSED WHEN HE SAID THE
"THE NEWS BUSINESS FINDS ITSELF AT WAR WITH JOURNALISM"

SUDDENLY MADE ME SIT UP AND THINK AND ALSO TO REALIZE THAT A FREE OPEN AND ENQUIRING PRESS AND MEDIA IS THE ONLY HOPE THAT WE AS CITIZENS HAVE OF EVER HAVING A MEANINGFUL DEBATE AND DISCLOSURE OF WHAT INDEED IS GOING ON AROUND US. WITHOUT IT WHATEVER ONE'S POLITICAL PERSUASION WE ARE DOOMED TO BECOME PROGRAMMED AUTOMOTONS.

THE BLOGOSPHERE MAY SAVE US YET BUT I DON'T QUITE SEE HOW.

EVEN DeTOCQUEVILLE THE FRENCHMAN WHO COMMENTED AND SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND AMERICA AND IT'S DEMOCRACY BETTER THAN MOST WAS IMPRESSED BY THE FREE PROLIFIC PRESS AND OVERALL LITERACY IN AMERICA.

He said , "......But although the press is limited to these resources, its influence in America is immense. It causes political life to circulate through all the parts of that vast territory. Its eye is constantly open to detect the secret springs of political designs and to summon the leaders of all parties in turn to the bar of public opinion. "

I HAVE NO REAL AGENDA EXCEPT THAT I HAVE BECOME FASCINATED WITH HISTORY OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY AND IT'S INSTITUTIONS.
I HAVE COME TO BELIEVE THAT THE VISION IS WHAT COUNTS - THE FOUNDING FATHERS HAD IT- AND WE THROUGH SELFISHNESS AND IGNORANCE COULD BE LOSING IT AND IT SCARES ME!

THE BOOK HOWEVER IS MUCH MORE THAN THIS!
I URGE YOU TO BITE YOUR TONGUE - SWALLOW HARD- AND READ THE BOOK!

BILL MOYERS IS WAY TO THE LEFT OF MY POLITICAL VIEWS HOWEVER I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK AS A GIFT ON THE OCCASION OF MY BIRTHDAY BY MY MOTHER WHO HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE MOST LEFT LEANING IN THE FAMILY.

I USED TO WATCH BILL MOYERS 20 YEARS AGO OR SO ON PBS AND WAS FASCINATED BY A SERIES HE PUT ON CALLED "A WORLD OF IDEAS' IN WHICH HE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH MANY FAMOUS WORLD FIGURES.


LATELY I HAVE NOT SEEN MUCH OF HIM AND WHAT I DID SEE I DID NOT ENJOY!

I MUST ADMIT THAT READING THIS BOOK HOWEVER OPENED MY EYES TO SOME OF THE REASONS THAT WHAT I HAD BEEN OBSERVING ON TV AND READING IN THE MEDIA IN GENERAL WAS MAKING ME MORE AND MORE UNCOMFORTABLE.

THE IDEA THAT MOYERS EXPRESSED WHEN HE SAID THE
"THE NEWS BUSINESS FINDS ITSELF AT WAR WITH JOURNALISM"

SUDDENLY MADE ME SIT UP AND THINK AND ALSO TO REALIZE THAT A FREE OPEN AND ENQUIRING PRESS AND MEDIA IS THE ONLY HOPE THAT WE AS CITIZENS HAVE OF EVER HAVING A MEANINGFUL DEBATE AND DISCLOSURE OF WHAT INDEED IS GOING ON AROUND US. WITHOUT IT WHATEVER ONE'S POLITICAL PERSUASION WE ARE DOOMED TO BECOME PROGRAMMED AUTOMOTONS.

THE BLOGOSPHERE MAY SAVE US YET BUT I DON'T QUITE SEE HOW.

EVEN DeTOCQUEVILLE THE FRENCHMAN WHO COMMENTED AND SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND AMERICA AND IT'S DEMOCRACY BETTER THAN MOST WAS IMPRESSED BY THE FREE PROLIFIC PRESS AND OVERALL LITERACY IN AMERICA.

He said , "......But although the press is limited to these resources, its influence in America is immense. It causes political life to circulate through all the parts of that vast territory. Its eye is constantly open to detect the secret springs of political designs and to summon the leaders of all parties in turn to the bar of public opinion. "

I HAVE NO REAL AGENDA EXCEPT THAT I HAVE BECOME FASCINATED WITH HISTORY OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY AND IT'S INSTITUTIONS.
I HAVE COME TO BELIEVE THAT THE VISION IS WHAT COUNTS - THE FOUNDING FATHERS HAD IT- AND WE THROUGH SELFISHNESS AND IGNORANCE COULD BE LOSING IT AND IT SCARES ME!

THE BOOK HOWEVER IS MUCH MORE THAN THIS!
I URGE YOU TO BITE YOUR TONGUE - SWALLOW HARD- AND READ THE BOOK!

I just love this book. I am very concerned that Americans no longer get real in-depth and investigative news, and Moyers is the real champion for media reform.

If you are concerned about the future of our country you should understand the perils it faces. Are we going to rot from the inside like all great civilizations did, or do we have the courage to defend our values? Bill Moyers shed light on the problems with brilliant simplicity and clarity. It should be a required reading by every public servant and should be thought at every school in America. Our future depends on the outcome.
George Somorjai
gs@futurelegacy.com

Bill Moyers will someday be remembered for a good many things in his rewarding life but for me he will be remembered for one thing more than anything else....his being America's most thoughtful journalist. "Moyers on America" is as much captivating as it is provocative and I hope he will be around for many years to come, tendering his wisdom and experience on issues ranging from public television to the Bible.

Never shy about stating his opinions or challenging us to thought, the author reliably comes down hard on the Bush administration, corporate greed and media conglomerates that rule the roost. Much like Tom Fenton in his book, "Bad News", Moyers expresses his concern about news and where it's headed. He comments on the fact that "real" news has morphed into entertainment and he offers remedies for the sorry state of news today. In his defense of public television, he tells us why public tv is important and he does so through the lens of his own career. Through it all, Moyers educates not with a heavy hand of diatribe but with an enlightened pen and a good dose of humor.

"Moyers on America" lacks the thread of a cohesive narrative but the book is designed that way...it is a collection of his past contributions from being a witness to history in so many ways over so many years. I think I enjoyed the last section of his book the best. It includes chapters on his years as press secretary to Lyndon Johnson, his long friendship with Bill Crook and his insights into growing older. For me, "Moyers on America" hits a wonderful nerve. I urge those readers to read it slowly and take in the fresh air he offers.

As always, Moyers is thought provoking. Admittedly, he is always on the liberal, compassionate, side of issues, but he believes in the American dream and he questions where we have diverted from that path of hope. In fact, the book is a bit depressing when one wonders where we have departed from that path, and whether we can return to national goals that encompass hope for all of our citizens. This is an intelligent man who should be read by both sides of the political spectrum.

Incidentally, I was so astonished by Timothy Cornwell's review of this work that I tracked down his other reviews. This guy is a kook-he clearly has some weird rightwing and peculiar religious view of our future and of politics. I just wish these weirdoes would read Matthew before they find think they have God's word.

Moyers is well known for his bomb throwing radical, liberal agenda which is so off the wall as not to be credible, and this wacky mind set shines through in this wasted work!

"Now" was a treasure possibly taken for granted for the years it was on PBS. I discovered it way too late and now Bill Moyers is gone and the show is only 1/2 hour. David B. is doing a good job, but apparently even had to find a new sponsor. Hopefully he can hold down the fort for a long time.

But at least Bill Moyer's words are available in this book. As was evident in the discussions on "Now", Moyers is not afraid to let his humaness shine through with all the struggles to follow the path of an ethical life. I loved the chapter on Lyndon Johnson, the goal to give everyone a hand up is a shining light compared to the everyone for himself tenor of today. Moyers lays out the success and failures of the Johnson years, but I came away feeling good that a president got into office and started out wanting to do what would be good for all the people in the country:to make a fresh start and say what are the highest goals we can reach for.

The last section of the book is on aging. Wise words here too. I hope as he ages Bill Moyers keeps writing and producing programs filled with his common sense and wisdom.

Thank you Mr. Moyers for all your work and keep on keeping on.

Whether or not one agrees with his conclusions, it's hard to deny that Bill Moyers loves his country and his craft. This volume is a series of his speeches, pieces for television, and other writings, which have been edited for the book. Nearly every page sparkles with his love of democracy and the people who depend upon it.

The book is divided into four parts, the first two concentrating on the nation and the questions America faces in a new era. While the author devotes a lot of time to the war in Iraq, especially in Part One, he also writes passionately about the loss of good jobs and the lack of aid available for families who fall on hard times.

His critique of the media is solid, as Moyers has worked in the field since the 1950s. His essay "Making of a Journalist" traces his beginnings as a cub reporter at a small Texas newspaper. Elsewhere the author condemns the mega-mergers and vested interest of the modern corporate media, noting their silence during the reforms of the Telecommunications Act in 1996.

But while the author decries the trend toward corporate media domination, he isn't overly sentimental about the past. During his days as a cub, there was virtually no coverage of blacks in the paper, even though they represented half of the town: "Only white people counted in those days," he writes, "only their doings were considered newsworthy. What blacks did, felt, and thought never made the paper."

His final chapter, "Looking Back," is most revealing. Here we get a sense of the influences that have shaped the man. His piece "Where the Jackrabbits Were" tells of going home to East Texas to spend time with his father. Life was very rough there, especially during the Depression years. The essay gets its title from his uncle's story about eating rabbits when there is nothing else. The author's father wants to be a farmer but has to give it up because he simply can't make enough money. He has to take construction jobs, or whatever work he can find. His family has no ready access to health care in the early days, and lose two of their five children to illnesses.

Clearly, it is life experiences like these that have informed Moyer's passions, from his role in the creation, and later production, of public television, to his calls for campaign finance reform. In his piece "Wearing the Flag," he recalls his decision to put a flag pin on his lapel. In blasting the proponents of the Iraq war, he asserts that the flag "belongs to the country, not to the government."

At the very least, one has to agree that he's consistent. Moyer's is a progressive message that's all about returning power to the people.

I believe our nation is under attack from the inside and it saddens me that the "soldiers" of this attack are misled by our corrupt and corporate-owned media.

I've wondered where our elders are, the wise people who have seen enough life to understand what is happening and warn us.

I've always admired Bill Moyers for his thoughtful and thought-provoking work. Now I find another side to him: the society elder. In this book he tells it like it is - and with excellent reference to previous elders.

Somehow, reading this book and knowing that Bill Moyers has left television so that he can spend more time writing, I feel assured and comforted that wisdom and reason still have a voice in America.

Please tell me more, Mr. Moyers. I am listening.

Historians will be kind to the gentle but passsionate Bill Moyers and will rank him as one of our best journalists, both for his skill and integrity. Here he has collected some of his speeches and commentaries--they range in time from the 1970's to the present--about some of the things he cares about deeply: democracy, politics corrupted by money, the costs of war, the possibility of people with diverse religions living in harmony, integrity in journalism. Mr. Moyers also writes about growing up in the Southwest and gets personal about friendship, growing old and dying. He is right-- though not to the right-- on a lot of things here. His essay on why he has worn the flag in his label is one that someone needed to write. He is totally correcct. How about his description of Baptists when he compares them to jalapeno peppers? ". . .one or two make for a tasty dish, but a whole bunch of them together in one place brings tears to your eyes." And that slaveholder Thomas Jefferson wrote it right but "lived it wrong."

Mr. Moyers also includes an insightful chapter on President Johnson, reminding us of all the good things he did for this country-- Medicare, Medicaid, federal aid to education, the right of blacks to citizenship-- before he slipped into the great hole called the Vietnam War. I was so touched by Mr. Moyers' chapter "Where The Jackrabbits Were", that I read it twice. When the author was born in 1934 his father was earning $2 a day working on the construction of a highway from the Texas border to Oklahoma City. He describes the difficulties that the Moyers family and their neighbors had with little money and no doctors. Moyers makes it clear that he is not trying to idealize his past. About his father Moyers writes: ". . .a seventy-year old man who has buried four of his five children doesn't extol the good old days. . ." For me, that's the most poignant sentence in the entire book. Is there any question why Mr. Moyers is unhappy about the way our country is currently going?

If you have ever caught Mr. Moyers on PBS-- and if you haven't, you probably won't be reading this-- you can hear his voice with that accent he never completely lost coming through, one of the pleasures of reading this book. I often find books of this nature repetitious and too long. That is not the case here. I wish Mr. Moyers had written more.

Moyers, Bill, Moyers on America. New York: The New Press, 2004.
Subtitled, "A Journalist and His Times," the book consists of a series of TV columns and speeches worked into essay form. All of it is worth reading, but the parts I liked best were the fiery defense of the Constitution, the unmasking of reactionary politicians as inhumane and proudly mean-spirited--"they narrowly defined membership in democracy to include only people like them"--and the comparison of today's politics with the struggles of the Progressives in the 1900-1920 era, after which FDR denounced "economic royalists" for what they were. Moyers' point is that the rich have no right to buy democracy. The politicians of terror "win only if we let them, only if we become like them: vengeful, imperious, intolerant, paranoid, invoking a God of wrath." "Mencken got it right when he said, "Whenever you hear a man speak of his love for his country, it is a sign that he expects to be paid for it." He denounces the consolidation of the media into a handful of plutocratic oligarchies. A statement that has stayed with me, because he repeated it during a book-signing in June 2004, was "No man is fit to be a master."
"The fight between the human scale and the giant scale--between the master and the governed--left unresolved by the Progressive Era, is returning for some kind of epic confrontation." Today our liberties are threatened by the punishment of criticism and the distaste for variety or dissent. Our government is a study in bribery, conflicts of interest, corruption, and is awash in money from private interest groups.
The media has turned to celebrity journalism, speed over accuracy, opinion over reporting, and this in turn is the result of concentrated ownership. (A panel of anchormen at the Democratic 2004 Convention admitted that they hadn't asked enough questions before validating the Bush move for war against Iraq.) "The job of telling the truth about people whose job it is to hide the truth is almost as complicated and difficult as trying to hide it in the first place." A "deep and pervasive corruption has settled upon the republic." Moyers calls this a "cynical age."
The rest of the book relates episodes from Moyers' youth, a tribute to cultural literacy, liberal arts education, and contemplations about religion (he is an ordained minister).
In sum, the book is an eloquent denunciation of the imperial state now in the hands of
those with the Top Secret stamp all over government actions. It also includes a tribute to I.F. Stone, and a tip of the hat to poetry, which formed the basis for one of Moyers' PBS series. Describing an auto trip he made with his elderly father, he writes, "A later afternoon sun the size of a prospector's imagination was hanging in the sky as we drove out to their old farm." A nice postscript.

"The soul of democracy has been dying," writes Bill Moyers, "Drowning in a rising tide of big money contributed by a narrow, unrepresentative elite that has betrayed the faith of citizens ... where a relatively small handful of the rich decide, with their money, who will run, who will win, and how they will govern."

Great. Just what we needed, another irritating reminder of clouds looming on the horizon of our nation. But before we give up in frustration, let's let Mr. Moyers -- with his thirty years' experience in jouurnalism and politics -- encourage us, and point the way back to our democratic heritage.

"Moyers on America," is his latest collection of speeches and commentaries. Most engage general issues like institutional politics or integrity in media, then link these broader topics to more specific examples, such as the Bush administration's public policy concerning Iraq and 9/11. Other essays are more philosophical, and outline the high democratic ideals he calls "the soul of democracy." Like a scholar, Mr. Moyers presents ideas from history and philosophy as "dots", then connects those dots to form a "bigger picture." And he does so in plain and readable language that showcases his expertise as a communicator.

In "Which America Will We Be Now", he levels serious accusations against the Bush administration. "[In the wake of 9/11,] while everywhere Americans' cheeks were still stained with tears... the predators of Washington were up to their old tricks in the pursuit of private plunder at public expense." In a passage Michael Moore might envy for its dripping sarcasm, he lambastes the administration for using 9/11 to sneak shady legislation past a mourning public: the Bush administration opened the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge to drilling, gave General Electric a special tax break ("Don't worry about NBC, CNBC, or MSNBC reporting it; they're all in the GE family"), and relaxed pollution standards.

But Bill Moyers wants his readers to know that he does love his country. ("I even tuck a Valentine in my tax returns.") His critique, he writes, "is balanced by an enduring faith in the progressive promise of the nation," a faith that evokes the same youthful energy that tipfied the Democratic Party for a short but brilliant time in the 60's.

His ideas on the citizen's obligations to democracy -- participation and activism -- are also typical of that era. "Stannding up to your government," he writes, "Can mean standing up for your country ... The greatest sedition is silence." If this is as true today as it was in the Vietnam era, then Moyers is here right when we need him, bringing his experiences with Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam to bear on our war in Iraq. He outlines his views in a piece titled, "War Is War."

Moyers' credentials are hard to overlook when he talks tough about integrity in journalism and bias in the media. As he sees it, thanks to the mergers of media outlets, just "six companies dominate what America reads in books, magazines, and newspapers, or watches on television and at the movies." With the media having nearly Orwellian control of what we think about, we may end up living in a cocoon, where as the old adage goes, what we don't know won't hurt us. We'll be "consumers" of celebrity and entertainment "news" (geared towards box-office sales) and not citizen readers of the news that's important to our democracy. Trends in the newsroom back him up: "More than a quarter of journalists polled said that they had avoided some newsworthy stories that might conflict with the financial interests of their news organizations or advertisers." His words are even more forceful in the light of recent media controversies (eg, Nightline).

He also has a way with words. More than a few times, I marveled at how he was able to use pithy sound bites to make his points memorable. Due to bad editing, or maybe because each piece was written as a speech, sometimes whole sentences didn't seem to make sense, even as I reread them: "The important thing ... is to work it through yourself: commitment tempered by reason." Other sentences were too impressionistic and ended vaguely: "If character is destiny, choice is history." But these criticisms do not outweigh the work's patriotic value.

Moyers's distinct appeal is as an "everyman" familiar with the typical struggles of working-class people, who without his help, might not as easily concern themselves with the health of their democracy. Without Moyers, they might be limited to observing that their government seems -- with each passing moment -- more remote, out of touch, and most impoortantly, more outside of their control and influence. It's not hopeless, Moyers insists. Democracy is real. Let him talk you into it.

Moyers seems to remain detached (in practice, not awareness) from the biased, slanted, and agenda-driven mass media of the mega newscorps. Refreshing to say the least. Fortunately, I believe the majority of us see through all the fluff on cable news, and can disprove the talking-heads (on TV and radio) who feel we need to be educated and are unable to decide for ourselves.

After a half century of journalism, Bill Moyers is retiring at year's end. There has been no other broadcast journalist like him, and unfortunately it's unlikely there will be again. American television journalism does a notoriously poor job covering the arts, culture, science, humanities---in fact, ideas of any kind, and certainly of any complexity. Yet Bill Moyers was perfectly comfortable questioning Senators, foreign diplomats, and philosopher Martha Nussbaum, playwright August Wilson, and physicist Murray Gell-Man. His interviews with Joseph Campbell and Robert Bly changed the cultural landscape, and just last year his coverage helped stir public outrage which stopped the FCC from allowing media conglomerates to absorb even more news outlets.

Moyers made two significant detours in his journalistic journey: an early stint at a Baptist seminary, and several years working in the White House for the man who'd given him his first broadcast journalism job at a tiny Texas station, Lyndon Johnson. The impulse that led to each, and the experience gained, gave his journalism a rare richness. Viewers responded to his integrity and authenticity, and the courage behind the smile---also rare. All of these are on display in this collection taken from talks and commentaries, along with historical perspective and informal reminiscence too informative and entertaining for prime time.

Moyers'words in this book on the dangerous trends of celebrity journalism and conglomerate control should be required reading for young journalists, if not all citizens. His evaluations of his private and public past will be equally useful and inspiring to readers who have grown up with him. This is a penetrating yet companionable volume, from an exemplary journalist who says he still believes, and still doubts.