Washoe County Library System

Shows listeners moments throughout the nation's history, including the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Civil Rights movements, to guide them in understanding American politics today. Pulitzer Prizewinning author Jon Meacham helps us understand the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in our history when hope overcame division and fear. Our current climate of partisan fury is not new, and in The Soul of...

Explains how the influences of dreamers, zealots, hucksters, and superstitious groups shaped America's tendency toward a rich fantasy life, citing the roles of individuals from P.T. Barnum to Donald Trump in perpetuating conspiracy theories, self-delusion, and magical thinking.

"In this tender, beautiful letter to his daughters, President Barack Obama has written a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation. From the artistry of Georgia O'Keeffe, to the courage of Jackie Robinson, to the patriotism of George Washington, President Obama sees the traits of these heroes within his own children, and within all of America's children"--Book jacket.

Argues that the United States needs to get back to the political virtues it was founded on and that American democracy is being destroyed by authoritarianism, tribalism, identity politics, nationalism, and cults of personality. “Epic and debate-shifting.” David Brooks, New York Times "More than any book published so far in this century, it deserves to be called a conservative classic." Yuval Levin, National Review. With his trademark blend of...

As the politicians bring the nation to the brink of war, a mysterious book appears offering directives and carrying wisdom to prepare people for Adjustment Day. People pass the word only to those they trust most: Adjustment Day is coming. Theyve been reading a mysterious book and memorizing its directives. They are ready for the reckoning. Adjustment Day, the authors first novel in four years, is an ingeniously comic work in which Chuck Palahniuk...

A moving personal memoir of the year Tom Brokaw spent battling multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer, with reflections on the medical quest, the life lessons learned, and news events he covered for NBC.

Rooted in the values, lessons, and verities of generations past and of his South Dakota upbringing, Brokaw weaves together stories of Americans who are making a difference and personal stories from his own family history, to engage us in a conversation about our country and to offer ideas for how we can revitalize the promise of the American Dream.

Celebrate the gift of language and the vibrant culture of the United States with this collection of classic and never-before-published poetry. Poems are arranged by region, from coast to coast, and among them you'll find works by Langston Hughes, Dorothy Parker, Robert Frost, Naomi Shihab Nye, Walt Whitman, and more. From the familiar to the surprising, subjects include people, places, landmarks, monuments, nature, and celebrations. Designed for sharing,...

"From one of America's most inspiring political leaders, a book about the core truths that unite us, and the long struggle to discern what those truths are and how best to act upon them, in her own life and across the life of our country. By reckoning with the big challenges we face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, Kamala Harris offers in The Truths We Hold a...

The always-outspoken hard rock vocalist Corey Taylor begins America 51 with a reflection on what his itinerant youth and frequent worldwide travels with his multiplatinum bands Slipknot and Stone Sour have taught him about what it means to be an American in an increasingly unstable world. He examines the way America sees itself, specifically with regard to the propaganda surrounding America's origins (like a heavy-metal Howard Zinn), while also celebrating...