The time of our lives

Witty, incisive, at times prophetic, and always original, this collection offers the best of Peggy Noonan's writing. The book travels the path of her remarkable career, showing how she became one of the most influential voices in America. It begins with an essay about Noonan's motivations as a writer and thinker, followed by a personal talk on the day the space shuttle Challenger exploded and the drafting of the speech Ronald Reagan would soon deliver. Then come chapters such as "People I miss, salutes to Tim Russert, Joan Rivers, Margaret Thatcher, and others; "Making trouble," Noonan's sharpest, funniest, and most critical columns about Democrats and Republicans, the idiocracy of government, and Beltway disconnect; "I just called to say I love you," her writing in the wake of 9-11, and clear-eyed foresight on what lay ahead in terms of war and sacrifice; "The loneliest president since Nixon," racking hope and change as it became disillusionment and disappointment with President Obama; and other sections where Noonan discerns the mood of the country, the melodrama of the historic 2008 election, her battles with the Catholic Church, and lighter meditations on baseball, a snowy afternoon in Brooklyn, and motherhood. Annotated throughout, The Time of our Lives articulates Noonan's conservative vision and provides readers with a majestic portrait of American life.--Adapted from book jacket.