Book Review: Moyers on Democracy

Title	Moyers on Democracy
	Bill Moyers
Rating
Tags	democracy, politics, religion, civil rights, speeches
	This is a collection of Moyer's speeches over many years that touch on the subject of democracy. If I could, I'd give a copy to everyone in the world to read. Forget Nicholas Cage movies, Bill Moyers is THE National Treasure. Mr. Moyers probably doesn't believe in reincarnation - though he would respect my right to do so - but I think in one of his previous lives he must have been a bard, and in another one of those court jesters who was the only person to tell the king the truth. For he has both the journalistic integrity to be dedicated to finding the truth and to sharing it with the public. The speech he gave on Hubert Humphrey is one of the best pieces of writing, fiction or non-fiction, I've ever read in my life, and many of the other pieces are of similar quality. It is hard to give a sense of the book, because it wanders many places in talking about democracy. There are obituaries here, to such people as Barbara Jordan, William Sloane Coffin, and Fred Friendly. There is a commencement address. Issues of media, politics, and religion are discussed. And always, Moyers gives us history, often history of the relatively unknown and their struggles to be free. It is an inspirational book, one that sets the mind alight to preserve and restore freedom and its handmaiden, responsibility.
Publication	Doubleday (2008), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 416 pages
Publication date	2008
ISBN	0385523807 / 9780385523806

The Light and the Dark

I'm reading Bill Moyers on Democracy, a collection of his speeches over the years that touch on the topic of democracy. The last one I read was on Hubert Humphrey, given in 1998 for the 50th anniversary of Humphrey's speech on the topic of civil rights at the Democratic convention in 1948. Moyer's speech is one of the best things I've ever read. It made me cry and despair of humanity, then smile in pride at the actions of a hero working to change society from within. I wish I could give a sense of it, but I can't... it creates a whole that ranges from ugly to lyrical. I strongly recommend it to everyone.