Listening to America

The publication of Listening to America coincides with the twenty-fifth anniversary of NPR's founding in 1970. Wertheimer, who was present at the creation, is ideally qualified to cull the best interviews and commentaries from each year. Her selections allow us to revisit the major news stories of our timeWatergate, the fall of Saigon, the Iran hostage crisis, the rise of Ronald Reagan, the AIDS epidemic. Here too are vivid illuminations of America's rich cultural life, as when Goodman Ace celebrates Groucho Marx, Vertamae Grosvenor reflects on the murder of John Lennon, and Red Barber meditates on the expression "suck-egg mule." And superb pieces by Nina Totenberg, Susan Stamberg, Daniel Schorr, and Wertheimer herself remind us that NPR provides some of the country's most insightful reportage in any medium. Wertheimer links her selections with a lively commentary that puts each story in its historical context. She also provides much insight into the evolution of NPR: year by year, we see it grow from the nearly amateur operation it was at the outset to the professional, authoritative radio network it is today. And happily for NPR's legion of fans, this book rescues a trove of classic broadcasts from archival oblivion: John Henry Faulk's lament for our lost ideals, Robert Krulwich's hilarious profile of a coupon clippers' club, Neal Conan's account of his capture by Iraqi soldiers, and many others.