Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels | 
pickReminds me a lot of Doris Kearns Goodwin‘s recent book about presidential leadership in a lot of ways. Meacham does a good job highlighting how turbulent American history has been but also how far we‘ve come as a country. He manages to thread the needle between brutal cynicism and hopeful optimism.
pickWonderful book by presidential historian Jon Meacham. Cannot recommend this book enough.
pickGreat book! Well written and powerful!
🍁Sunday evening reading and watching “A Christmas Story” baking peanut butter cookies. Trying to do much but it‘s a gooood day! The election is over & decided🇺🇸
President Lincoln understood the power of his story as a self-made man. “I am a living witness,” he told the 166th Ohio Regiment at the White House in 1864, “that any one of your children may look to come here as my father‘s child has.”
Picked up at library yesterday!😊 starting this weekend!🇺🇸 Already read the intro😔 #on Oprah‘s book pick plus I loved the John Lewis autobiography.
In our finest hours...the soul of the country manifests itself in an inclination to open our arms rather than to clench our fists; to look out rather than to turn inward; to accept rather than to reject. In so doing, America has grown ever stronger, confident that the choice of light over dark is the means by which we pursue progress.
I‘m not going to put the bail tag on this and pull down the ratings BUT ... I tried three times to read it and just couldn‘t even. To me it just seemed to jump all over the place and spew quotes at the reader. Maybe I just have enough #politicalintrigue in my Twitter feed!
Definitely check out the author discussing the book in an interview though. There‘s at least one online which is similar to his excellent talk at #NatBookFest last year.
pickThis was very interesting. I learned a lot more about Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Definitely time well spent!
A friend recommended this so I checked this out from the library. Wow! What a book. Luckily my library book sale had a copy and I picked it up.
I already have a few friends who will borrow this now that I‘m done. This is a book I think we should all read but most importantly we need to talk about it.
My office is hosting a big event today, and I‘m taking a shift at “gate duty” helping our guests find their way. I came out 15 minutes early! 🤦🏻♀️
It‘s 40 degrees out here! I‘m learning to appreciate the thankless work our security guards do. I‘m seeing some interesting and unexpected driver-vehicle combinations. I‘m thinking about what else I need to be doing instead of standing out here.
CloudLibrary to the rescue!
Sunday evening soundtrack. #Overdrive #audio
I read a lot of great books this year. It‘s impossible to choose the best. Lots that entertained me or taught me things. So many made me think or question my preconceptions. I chose the tagged book because it soothed me. It gave great historical examples of how our country has come through ugly, divisive times to fight another day. It also showed how people with imperfect character overcame it to stand up to injustice knowing they may lose. #2018
pickIf you read a lot of American history, this is lighter fare but it is worth reading for the beautifully written conclusion alone. Thoughtful, hopeful and informative, I almost tore the conclusion out to staple and carry in my purse (don‘t worry...I didn‘t).
pickMeacham‘s premise is that our country has had many previous bouts of unrest, with politicians making unpopular decisions. There‘ve been many previous movements to topple legislators and other leaders with discriminatory policies. And, quoting Abraham Lincoln, “the better angels of our nature” win out. May it work one more time, every time.
Full review www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliohage2018
so-soNot sure how I feel about this book. It covers some of the most tumultuous times in our country‘s history with a focus on how the president at the time reacted. The ending felt like he wanted to leave the reader with a sense of hope, but that‘s hard when you compare our current WH resident with the much more qualified leaders of our past.
That said, I still learned a lot from this book and would definitely recommend it.
Next audiobook listen. This one‘s heavy, and I‘m glad I have an ARC to refer back to. I have to work very hard not to let my mind wander ... but it is interesting.
pickSee comments.
pickMeachem has, at least to me, an uncanny ability to draw you in to his books. Non-fiction isn‘t always top of my list to read, though I do wish to read more of it. The writing is phenomenal and I generally don‘t fly through books like this but I did with this one.
5/5
Started two books today. Both holding my attention. #TheSoulofAmerica & #Factfulness. Cheers!
That car rider pick-up line life! Hoping to finish this book tonight.
I loved these pavement signs at the Mississippi Book Festival in Jackson. This was my second time attending this event and it doesn't disappoint. #literarylawnparty #bookfestival
Karl Rove and Jon Meacham had a very entertaining discussion at the Mississippi Book Festival today. #literarylawnparty
pickI am so glad I read this book. Mr Meacham has done a wonderful job of telling a few stories of our nation‘s past that have an awful lot in common with our present. We Americans have been here many times before - divided and in discord - with leaders that are often simultaneously great and flawed. I felt this book was even-handed and historically fair. Mr Meacham gives the sweet and the sour of presidents of both parties with superb annotation.
"For all our darker impulses, for all our shortcomings, and for all of the dreams denied and deferred, the experiment...is worth the fight."
Sometimes it is hard to stay informed!
Woodrow Wilson, 1908.
1. Any series by Beatriz Williams - love her! 2. Mad Men - I may have to watch again! 3. Yes!! ⚾️ 4. Haven‘t planned anything yet! Salmon maybe! 5. Yes! Bought him the book titled here for Fathers Day. Also bought it for my husband. #friyayintro @jesshowbooks - thanks! That was fun!
pickI ordered this book after watching Meacham give Barbara Bush‘s eulogy and watching him on various shows. It‘s a very interesting book that puts the current political climate into perspective. It illustrates that America has generally been dragged kicking and screaming to be socially progressive. Our current tribalism politics isn‘t necessarily unique, and hopefully we will find our better angels to help us continue to move forward.
I just listened to a fantastic interview on Fresh Air by this author. I wanted to stack the book and share for any other history nerds out there. I learned new stuff about Harding, Coolidge, and Truman just from the interview alone. Here‘s the link if interested: https://www.npr.org/2018/05/02/607704116/soul-of-america-makes-sense-of-americas...
