Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues
“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.”—MinneapolisStar 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 WeeklyStarred Review. "The PBS seriesBill Moyers Journalaired 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 ofThe Wire,on the war on drugs as a war on the underclass; John Lithgow on acting in the playAll My Sonsand 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