Your America: Democracy's Local Heroes (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jason Maloney (Author), David Brancaccio (Introduction) "I ONCE MET THE WOMAN WITH THE GRIMMEST JOB ON EARTH..." (more)
Key Phrases: unreasonable woman, math literacy, Taco Bell, Diane Wilson, Alien Tort Claims Act (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—Siceloff and Maloney provide snapshots into the world of modern-day activism by highlighting and expanding stories originally shown on the PBS television show Now. The individuals represented are from all walks of life, and yet they all exemplify how change is possible at the grassroots level. It is easy for readers to jump from one person's story to another's depending on interest; examples of subject matter include environmental concerns, education and literacy, human rights, and politics. Each chapter opens with a couple of photographs and a brief summary of what the person did. Using a combination of narrative and interview techniques, the authors then move into an in-depth examination of what the individual achieved and how the journey began. The chapter concludes with a "Producer's Snapshot" in which a member of the Now production team relates an experience with and impression of the individual. Links to supplemental information on the people profiled, Internet resources, and suggestions for ways to take action in one's own community are included. With its strong role models, this book would make an excellent addition to civics classes and appeal to teens interested in activism.—Kelliann Bogan, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

NOW is a welcome and nutritious addition to the rich menu of choices available on PBS. And, equally important, it is fearless about challenging conventional wisdom, a too rare quality these days. -- Tom Brokaw

Your America is a wonderful tonic for cynicism and despair. It brims with real life heroes, from scholars to barbers to bureaucrats to businesspeople, who remind us that one determined person can begin to turn the world. -- Scott Simon, NPR host

In this uplifting collection of profiles, Siceloff and Maloney, producers of the PBS program Now, spotlight individuals who have sparked successful community action without resources or (in most cases) any political or organizing experience. Highlighted individuals include Lucas Benitez, a Mexican migrant worker who led a movement to improve the egregious working conditions in tomato fields in Florida; Jackie Thrasher, a school teacher who beat back the special interest money poisoning local electoral politics in Arizona; and Diane Wilson, a shrimp boat captain who started a campaign to halt toxic dumping of polyvinyl chloride in the Gulf of Mexico. The focus in these in-depth follow-up pieces to the Now profiles is less on a particular issue than on how such unassuming community leaders are born and how many paths to civic activism are forged from local concerns. Most of the featured individuals-aside from former civil rights activist Robert Moses and government whistle-blower Bunny Greenhouse of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-are ordinary citizens, and their abilities to devise creative solutions to serious problems and persevere against vastly influential antagonistic interests will inspire and embolden all readers. -- Publishers Weekly

People look at the wreckage in the world and ask, "What can I do?" Here are some answers by people who didn't wait for others to answer it. You will not read their stories without being inspired to act -- and that's the beginning of hope for democracy. -- Bill Moyers

The brainchild of Siceloff, creator and executive producer of the award-winning television newsmagazine NOW on PBS, and documentary producer Maloney, the 12 stories in Your America were originally featured on NOW. Each profiles an ordinary person who is making a difference in his or her community. To each participant Siceloff and Maloney posed the question, "How do you get started if you want to make a difference in America?" The responses are open, honest, inspiring, and even heartbreaking testimonials that cover a range of social issues across the political, social, and economic spectrum. From the grieving mother who took on the U.S. Army, to the teacher bringing algebra to minority schoolchildren, to immigrant farmworkers fighting back against big business, each chapter provides a case study on how grassroots efforts really can make a difference. This is a small book that can inspire big ideas. -- Jenny Seftas, Library Journal

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1 edition (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230605338
• ISBN-13: 978-0230605336
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,034,201 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book of hope, July 16, 2008

By	kln (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews

You can't walk away from this book without feeling inspired to set about on some course of change. "Your America" profiles twelve seemingly ordinary people from vastly different backgrounds - including ethnic, social, political, professional - who have all stumbled across problems in their respective communities and set out on remarkable journeys to arrive at creative and original solutions towards fixing those problems. One of the many bright spots in each of their stories is that they don't simply complain - rather they work proactively toward resolving the issue, often despite considerable odds stacked against them. For example, there's Wynona Ward, a truck driver who suffered sexual abuse as a child and eventually got her law degree and formed an innovative organization aimed specifically at helping abused rural women. There's also Rueben Martinez, a modest Latino barber and factory worker who, in his mid-fifties, grew an enormous literary movement right out of his barbershop. Each story is vividly written, moving, often poignant and always stirring. Every chapter left me shaking my head in admiration at the determination, spunk and grit of these people - a book that truly lifts the spirit in a time of so much cynicism, doom and gloom.