I Like Being American

I Like Being American: Treasured Traditions, Symbols, and Stories

edited by Michael Leach

A stirring celebration of a nation rich in diversity and united by an indestructible belief in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

A feast of heartwarming true stories, thought-provoking essays, and eye-opening observations, I Like Being American captures the love, loyalty, and gratitude that inspires and sustains Americans in good times and in bad. It is about what is beautiful, true, and lasting in our country, and it is sure to lift your spirit, and encourage all of us to live up to our deepest ideals.

The contributors range from such well-known figures as novelist Anna Quindlen, who celebrates our unity in diversity, to Dinesh D’Souza who learned that in America he could write the story of his own life, to immigrants from every corner of the earth who express profound gratitude for their new homeland. Carol Moseley-Braun, the first African-American senator, and Madeleine Albright, the first female secretary of state, share their pride in how far America has come in its brief history. The values Americans treasure come to life in the first-person stories of “ordinary people” such as Dan O’Neill, who founded Mercy Corps to help share America’s abundance with those less fortunate throughout the world. A guest list of celebrities as diverse as Colin Powell, Jimmy Carter, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Marianne Williamson, Paul Simon, Bill O’Reilly, and Yogi Berra reveals a nation built on foundations of freedom, equality, and compassion.

The spiritual foundations of the nation come to life in historic documents and inspiring speeches–including the Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation, John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s letter from a Birmingham jail.

A book of great spirit and generosity, just like the land it portrays, I Like Being American showcases in words and pictures why 300 million people of every age, religion, ethnicity, and race are proud to say with one voice: “I like being American!”