national characteristics, american

Profiles the actions of individuals who have stood up for what they believe and brought about change in the United States, from a group of librarians in Connecticut who refused to divulge information about their patrons to a group of high school students who wrote a play about the Iraq War.

A collection of personal stories in which Sarah Vowell examines various aspects of her own life while chronicling the experiences she had while traveling throughout the United States.

A collection of personal stories in which Sarah Vowell examines various aspects of her own life while chronicling the experiences she had while traveling throughout the United States.

A collection of narratives in which people across the United States reflect on the homes they grew up in, the values they learned, and the hopes they share.

From more than ten thousand interviews, StoryCorps--the largest oral history project in the nation's history--presents a tapestry of American stories, told by the people who lived them to the people they love. StoryCorps began with the idea that everyone has an important story to tell. And since 2003, this remarkable project has been collecting the stories of everyday Americans from all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life and preserving them for future generations. Here, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay selects some of the most remarkable stories from the already vast collection and arranges them thematically into a moving portrait of American life. The voices here connect us to real people and their lives--to their experiences of profound joy, sadness, courage and despair, to good times and hard times, to good deeds and misdeeds.--From publisher description.

Presents an abridged edition of twenty-five-year-old Alexis de Tocqueville's account of America's social and political characteristics, which he observed in the early 1830s while visiting from France.

Examines the motives and behaviors which hold together communities and how individual behavior is often controlled to the extent that it benefits the group.

Senator Barack Obama addresses twenty-first century politics in the United States, commenting on economic insecurities of citizens, race, religion, terrorism, threat of a pandemic, and other related issues.