This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women » (First Edition)

An inspiring collection of the personal philosophies of a group of remarkable men and women

Based on the National Public Radio series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty essayists-from the famous to the unknown-completing the thought that begins the book's title. Each piece compels readers to rethink not only how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs but also the extent to which they share them with others.

Featuring a well-known list of contributors-including Isabel Allende, Colin Powell, Gloria Steinem, William F. Buckley Jr., Penn Jillette, Bill Gates, and John Updike-the collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer; a part-time hospital clerk from Rehoboth, Massachusetts; a woman who sells Yellow Pages advertising in Fort Worth, Texas; and a man who serves on the state of Rhode Island's parole board.

The result is a stirring and provocative trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of people whose beliefs-and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them-reveal the American spirit at its best.

An inspiring collection of the personal philosophies and core values of a fascinating group of Americans

Publishers Weekly

In the 1950s, the Edward R. Murrow-hosted radio program This I Believe prompted Americans to briefly explain their most cherished beliefs, be they religious or purely pragmatic. Since the program's 2005 renaissance as a weekly NPR segment, Allison (the host) and Gediman (the executive producer) have collected some of the best essays from This I Believe then and now. "Your personal credo" is what Allison calls it in the book's introduction, noting that today's program is distinguished from the 1950s version in soliciting submissions from ordinary Americans from all walks of life. These make up some of the book's most powerful and memorable moments, from the surgeon whose illiterate mother changed his early life with faith and a library card to the English professor whose poetry helped him process a traumatic childhood event. And in one of the book's most unusual essays, a Burmese immigrant confides that he believes in feeding monkeys on his birthday because a Buddhist monk once prophesied that if he followed this ritual, his family would prosper. There are luminaries here, too, including Gloria Steinem, Warren Christopher, Helen Keller, Isabel Allende, Eleanor Roosevelt, John Updike and (most surprisingly, considering the book's more liberal bent) Newt Gingrich. This feast of ruminations is a treat for any reader. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Foreword

Studs Terkel

Introduction

Jay Allison

Be Cool to the Pizza Dude

Sarah Adams

Leaving Identity Issues to Other Folks

Phyllis Allen

In Giving I Connect with Others

Isabel Allende

Remembering All the Boys

Elvia Bautista

The Mountain Disappears

Leonard Bernstein

How Is It Possible to Believe in God?

William F. Buckley, Jr.

The Fellowship of the World

Niven Busch

There is No Job More Important than Parenting

Benjamin Carson

A Journey toward Acceptance and Love

Greg Chapman

A Shared Moment of Trust

Warren Christopher

The Hardest Work You Will Ever Do

Mary Cook

Good Can Be as Communicable as Evil

Norman Corwin

A Daily Walk Just to Listen

Susan Cosio

The Elusive Yet Holy Core

Kathy Dahlen

My Father's Evening Star

William O. Douglas

An Honest Doubter

Have I Learned Anything Important Since I Was Sixteen?

Elizabeth Deutsch Earle

An Ideal of Service to Our Fellow Man

Albert Einstein

The Power and Mystery of Naming Things

Eve Ensler

A Goal of Service to Humankind

Anthony Fauci

The God Who Embraced Me

John W. Fountain

Unleashing the Power of Creativity

Bill Gates

The People Who Love You When No One Else Will

Cecile Gilmer

The Willingness to Work for Solutions

Newt Gingrich

The Connection between Strangers

Miles Goodwin

An Athlete of God

Martha Graham

Seeing in Beautiful, Precise Pictures

Temple Grandin

Disrupting My Comfort Zone

Brian Grazer

Science Nourishes the Mind and the Soul

Brian Greene

In Praise of the "Wobblies"

Ted Gup

The Power of Presence

Debbie Hall

A Grown-Up Barbie

Jane Hamill

Happy Talk

Oscar Hammerstein II

Natural Links in a Long Chain of Being

Victor Hanson

Talking with the Sun

Joy Harjo

A Morning Prayer in a Little Church

Helen Hayes

Our Noble, Essential Decency

Robert A. Heinlein

A New Birth of Freedom

Maximilian Hodder

The Benefits of Restlessness and Jagged Edges

Kay Redfield Jamison

There Is No God

Penn Jillette

A Duty to Heal

Pius Kamau

Living Life with "Grace and Elegant Treeness"

Ruth Kamps

The Light of a Brighter Day

Helen Keller

The Bright Lights of Freedom

Harold Hongju Koh

The Power of Love to Transform and Heal

Jackie Lantry

The Power of Mysteries

Alan Lightman

Life Grows in the Soil of Time

Thomas Mann

Why I Close My Restaurant

George Mardikian

The Virtues of the Quiet Hero

John McCain

The Joy and Enthusiasm of Reading

Rick Moody

There Is Such a Thing as Truth

Errol Morris

The Rule of Law

Michael Mullane

Getting Angry Can Be a Good Thing

Cecilia Muñoz

Mysterious Connection That Link Us Together

Azar Nafisi

The Making of Poems

Gregory Orr

We Are Each Other's Business

Eboo Patel

The 50-Percent Theory of Life

Steve Porter

The America I Believe In

Colin Powell

The Real Consequences of Justice

Frederic Reamer

There Is More to Life than My Life

Jamaica Ritcher

Tomorrow Will Be a Better Day

Josh Rittenberg

Free Minds and Hearts at Work

Jackie Robinson

Growth That Starts from Thinking

Eleanor Roosevelt

The Artistry in Hidden Talents

Mel Rusnov

My Fellow Worms

Carl Sandburg

When Children Are Wanted

Margaret Sanger

Jazz Is the Sound of God Laughing

Colleen Shaddox

There Is No Such Thing as Too Much Barbecue

Jason Sheehan

The People Have Spoken

Mark Shields

Everything Potent Is Dangerous

Wallace Stegner

A Balance between Nature and Nurture

Gloria Steinem

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Andrew Sullivan

Always Go to the Funeral

Deirdre Sullivan

Finding Prosperity by Feeding Monkeys

Harold Taw

I Agree with a Pagan

Arnold Toynbee

Testing the Limits of What I Know and Feel

John Updike

How Do You Believe in a Mystery?

Loudon Wainwright III

Creative Solutions to Life's Challenges

Frank X Walker

Goodness Doesn't Just Happen

Rebecca West

When Ordinary People Achieve Extraordinary Things

Jody Williams

Afterword: The History of This I Believe: The Power of an Idea

Dan Gediman

Appendix A: Introduction to the 1950s This I Believe Radio Series

Edward R. Murrow

Appendix B: How to Write Your Own This I Believe Essay

Appendix C: How to Use This I Believe in Your Community

Acknowledgments