A Heart, a Cross, and a Flag : America Today [Hardcover]

Peggy Noonan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wall Street Journal Book | Publication Date: June 11, 2003

"This is a book about love." So begins Peggy Noonan's enormously moving collection of her post-September 11 Wall Street Journal commentaries. On the morning of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Noonan began writing, and produced at least one essay every week through September 11, 2002. These candid, compassionate and sometimes heart-wrenching pieces are full of insights and observations picked up throughout the country -- on experiencing the return of religious faith to a great modern city; on how the events influenced our perceptions of what it means to live in New York, or to be a man, or to take part in a community. Taking her own, her city's and her country's pulse, she administered a welcome dose of humanity, affirmation and inspiration, quickly attracting a large and loyal readership. This first draft of history -- a record, written on the ground, of what it felt like to be an American that day, and the days after -- balances the immediacy of the tragedy with its broader meaning for our world.

Noonan, the bestselling author of When Character Was King, brings to these articles her unsurpassed powers of description: walking on the streets and riding on the buses of Manhattan in the hours and days following the attack; watching, along with most of the country, the televised reportage, public announcements, expert opinions and tributes; witnessing our "post-incident heartache" and anxiety, as well as the "spirited gaiety of New Yorkers at this time in history." By training our gaze on everyone from firemen, Catholic and Muslim mourners and the President to news anchors, bus drivers and school kids, these essays not only depict America in all its beautiful and diverse strengths but serve as an emblem of such.

At once elegant and tough, elegiac and proud, outraged and tender, full of street smarts and down-home wisdom, this book will help Americans understand their emotional and intellectual responses to those devastating events. For everyone who felt scared, saddened, outraged and humbled but not defeated by the horror of that day, here is a balm and an apt tribute to what we lost and what we learned about ourselves.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Noonan is the kind of whimsical romantic who likes to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at five in the morning simply because "it is fun." Her take on life and world events is refreshingly different from the usual political commentary. She writes as if she were conversing with her readers; unpretentious and warm, she lays out her soul for the world to see. The former Reagan speechwriter offers a collection of her weekly columns from the Wall Street Journal spanning the year from September 11, 2001, to September 11, 2002. Many of the essays address the tragedy that changed our world. Sometimes Noonan plays the role of the daunting pessimist, warning we are not safe; "we are all soldiers now." And yet, she tells us, life is wonderful, we are lucky. She shares her passion for the small and grand details that make life worth living: her "darling subway," watching Kevin Costner eat Raisa Gorbachev's dessert, meeting the pope. Beware: Noonan (When Character Was King) does not hide her political conservatism. At times her warm persona takes on a rough urgency. Many of her opinions on such sensitive issues as profiling men of Middle Eastern descent and the invasion of Iraq may rankle some readers. But Noonan's book stands out because it is more than an exercise in right-wing political discourse. It's a testimony: a record of history as it was actually lived by real people. It is a celebration of America, a reminder that life is meant to be embraced.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

To say the year between September 11, 2001, and September 11, 2002, was one of tremendous upheaval is a massive understatement. Noonan, a former Reagan assistant, has collected the columns she wrote during that period of time. From the column she wrote just two days after 9/11, full of shock and raw emotion, to the reserved but determined piece she wrote on the one-year anniversary, Noonan's essays are thoughtful, introspective, and deeply patriotic. Although she is devastated by the horror of 9/11, her spirits are lifted by the heroism and kindness she sees in her fellow New Yorkers, from the firemen who bravely raced into the doomed towers to the people who turned out to cheer on the rescue workers and firemen who toiled in the wreckage. She sees Bush as a president who has risen to meet the challenge he and the country face; he is not unlike Harry Truman, she states in "The President Within," an unlikely leader who is steering a course with determination and resolve. Most of the essays address the effects of 9/11 on the world, but she also tackles a few other timely topics, such as the Enron scandal, the sex-abuse charges against the Catholic Church, and even movie stars. Noonan's columns are often extremely optimistic--she sees the best in the people and the leaders of the U.S., which makes this an inspiring collection. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (June 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743250052
• ISBN-13: 978-0743250054
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,977,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Way It Really Is Out There, August 16, 2004

By 

H. F. Miglino "bert miglino" (Old Bridge, New jersey United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Heart, a Cross, and a Flag : America Today (Hardcover)

This book was given to me by a very good friend of mine, MaryAnn. On 9/11/01 we sat next to each other in work in New Jersey. We watched and listened in horror as the events of 9/11/01 unfolded and realized from that moment on the world as we know it will never be the same. The following year, we actually picked that specific day to fly on a business trip, 9/11/02, to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11 and to show the terrorists we are not afraid of them. Ms. Noonan actually discusses how people are afraid to fly today in the last chapter. For some people this book will not be politically correct, so be aware of this. Ms. Noonan can not heap enough praise on the firefighters who responded on 9/11 (MaryAnn's brother was one of the brave firefighters who responded on 9/11, a real hero). I enjoyed and re-read over several times the chapters that referred to the 9/11 events. I agree with Ms. Noonan that we are in a war with terrorists, even though there may not be people who realize this. I enjoyed how other subjects were interwoven into the book, the Pope, how life went on after 9/11. Ms. Noonan described how she walked across the Brooklyn Bridge the morning of 9/11/02. Her descriptions and how she captures her feelings are written beautifully, each of us should have tried to capture our own moments. I know some people picking up the book may not want to read about President Bush or the Pope but the descriptions on the weather, how people continued to live their lives after 9/11 were great. If anyone feels as though their civil rights are being violated, just read Chapter 18, "Everybody's Been Shot", even if you are in a bookstore just read it. I've updated this review on 11/30 after I saw on TV people feel as though their rights are violated when they are searched boarding a plane, wake up people remember 9/11 and days afterwards, the shoe bomber, Everyone's been shot, read this section. If nothing else read the poems on pages 23 and 24 (they were tagged for me, thank you) and the poem on page 79, Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven (read these several times). Ms. Noonan describes Brooklyn Heights and beauty (I went to St. Francis College in the Heights). The past two years MaryAnn, other co-workers and myself have gone to Brooklyn Heights to view the Blue Light tribute to 9/11/01. Everyone should see this from Brooklyn Heights and everyone should read this book. Thanks for writing the book Ms. Noonan. This is an awesome gift.

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring tome during a fateful year, October 7, 2003

By 

R. J. Riggs (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Heart, a Cross, and a Flag : America Today (Hardcover)

Peggy Noonan's columns that appeared in the pages of the Wall Street Journal during the year that followed the attacks on September 11th were not only some of the best writing of her career, but served as a source of weekly comfort during those early months.

Her first piece, "What I Saw At The Devastation" still stands out as the finest account of what it felt like to be there. The descriptions are vivid, the feelings are real, and as the weeks continued, as we routed the Taliban out of Afghanistan, as we came together as a nation, only to see divisiveness pull us apart, Peggy's words captured the moments.

The oddity that became an FBI invesigation, the declarations by the left wing media declaring our failure in Afghanistan as smoke still rose from lower Manhattan, and perhaps the most poignant tale, of a subway ride to the World Series a month after the attacks. . .

Peggy's columns were wonderfully written, and this collection captures it perfectly.

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard Times - But we're in this together, June 16, 2003

By 

"rotjrotk" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Heart, a Cross, and a Flag : America Today (Hardcover)

Is there anything more comforting, more appealing, and more illuminating than Peggy Noonan's words. If you've heard her speak the experience is increased ten fold as you can actually 'hear' her soft tone express the desires we all felt after that day in September 2001. Anger, resentment, pride, hope, a feeling of loss, and feeling of gain...it's all here. I was so amazed that I had to share it with my wife and family.

You'll want to too.