My Country ’Tis of Thee: Reporting, Sallies, and Other Confessions
By
A reporter and clear-eyed idealist, David Harris gained national recognition as an undergraduate for his opposition to the Vietnam War and was imprisoned for two years when he refused to comply with the draft. His writings shine necessary light on outsiders, the downtrodden, and those who demand change. These eighteen pieces of long-form journalism, essays, and opinion writings remain startlingly relevant to the world we face today. This career-spanning collection of writings by an always-independent journalist follow Harris from his early days as a prominent leader of the resistance to the Vietnam War, through regular contributions to many publications, including Rolling Stone and the New York Times, and on into the twenty-first century.
Born in Fresno and elected student body president of Stanford University in 1966, Harris has always had an undeniably Californian point of view—he imagines the future with an open heart and mind and pursues stories out of genuine curiosity, embedding himself among striking farmworkers, marijuana growers, the homeless on LA’s skid row, and occasionally, redwood trees. Inspiring, clarifying, and fearless, his abiding and lucid patriotism insists that our country live up to its own ideals.
Reviews
“David Harris writes like Hemingway would have wanted to—hard, no tricks, pungent, but without Papa’s shoehorning his judgments on everyone’s courage and manhood into his characters’ mouths. This collection of fine pieces perfectly embodies his high moral purpose without lecture or cant. Don’t miss a word he writes.” —PETER COYOTE
“David Harris’s new collection is a rich buffet of American life in the last few decades, with a tasty array of side dishes from other parts of the world. His curiosity is omnivorous, his sense of humor and irony constant, and his sympathies always with the outliers and the dispossessed. He has no illusions and no pretense to objectivity. I wish we had more journalists like him.” —ADAM HOCHSCHILD, author of Rebel Cinderella: From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes
“David Harris raises a passionate voice and takes a hard look at justice and injustice in the promised land, his America. He is a writer and a crusader in a grand tradition. I am proud that he got his start at Rolling Stone, where he learned his chops and earned his stripes. His stories, and his own journey, are essential stories of our times.” —JANN WENNER
“A powerful, deeply moving portrait of a generation, beautifully written and filled with wisdom and love for his country, David Harris’s My Country ’Tis of Thee should be read by every American.” —RON KOVIC, author of Born on the Fourth of July
“David Harris is renowned and honored for his courage and his deep conviction for doing the right thing, no matter the consequences. But that is not only what makes this reporter’s memoir so special. Harris is a writer of sheer beauty, often elegiac; someone whose intelligence is matched by the grace of his prose. He is engaged and engaging, intimate and unpretentious. You will be at ease with the book, as he is with himself.” —SEYMOUR HERSH
“Can you be charming and hard hitting at the same time? Well, after reading David Harris’s new book, I’d say definitely yes. And I’d add to the list empathy, sensual intelligence, and an apparently fearless habit of telling the truth.” —SUSAN GRIFFIN
“There are journalists, there are intellectuals, and there are political activists. David Harris’s collection makes clear that he is all three, as well as brave, smart, occasionally funny, and simultaneously subversive and patriotic.” —VICTOR NAVASKY
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