American Beyond Our Grandest Notions

Unabridged
Author: Chris Matthews
Narrator: Chris Matthews
Genres: Non-Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date: August 2008
Length: 4 hours
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Overview


From Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, star of NBC's The Chris Matthews Show, and the New York Times bestselling author of Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think, comes this celebration of the American Spirit.

Fiercely independent, in love with freedom, convinced we can make it, we are like no other people on earth. We are a people reluctant to fight who become ferocious warriors when threatened or attacked. We are suspicious of govermental power yet quick to embrace our flag in times of danger. A deeply practical nation, we loom as the world's great optimists.

What unites us Americans is not so much language or ethnicity, but a set of distinct notions about ourselves that comprise our American-ness. The self-made country. The constant rebel. The reluctant warrior. The lone hero. The pioneer. The optimist. You see them in the movies we make, the books we write, the history we have lived. What stirred the souls of our ancestors two centuries ago -- and all the generations in between -- still does.

In American, Matthews presents a portrait of a country that enters the world arena armed with an extremely potent weapon: the collective notions we carry of America at its best. It's a picture of more than just a nation challenged but of a people ready, and eager to prevail.

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Author Details

Author Details

Matthews, Chris

"Intense, experienced, straightforward, and outspoken, Chris Matthews brings a powerful and influential political commentary to ""The Chris Matthews Show."" ""There are enduring human truths in the rules that politicians play by,"" says Matthews. With over 15 years of working in an environment where politics is the name of the game, Matthews is determined to present a unique brand of talk that will allow viewers to take away a new perspective on the latest news stories.

Matthews is an author, international journalist, and no-nonsense political commentator. He was until recently a nationally syndicated columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and is the author of best-selling books such as, ""Now Let Me Tell You What I Really Think"" (2001), ""Hardball"" (1988), and ""Kennedy and Nixon"" (1996), which was selected by Reader's Digest magazine as part of its ""Today's Best Nonfiction."" He joined the San Francisco Examiner in 1987 where he served as Washington Bureau Chief for 13 years. Prior to entering journalism, Matthews served as White House aide and speechwriter to President Jimmy Carter and as a top aide to former Speaker of the House Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.

Matthews covered the opening of the Berlin Wall, the first all-races election in South Africa, the historic peace referendum in Northern Ireland and the ongoing violence in the Middle East. In 1997 and 1998, his digging in the National Archives produced a series of Examiner scoops on the Nixon presidential tapes. He has twice received the Washington Post's ""Crystal Ball"" award for his successful predictions of U.S. elections.

A graduate of Holy Cross, Matthews completed graduate work in economics at the University of North Carolina and was a trade development advisor with the U.S. Peace Corps in Swaziland. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from St. Leo University, Loyola College (Maryland), Niagara University, Fontbonne College, Beaver College, the New England School of Law, Anna Maria College and Chestnut Hill College.

He is married to Kathleen Matthews, a news anchor for the ABC affiliate WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. They live in Chevy Chase, MD with their three children. "