I intend to keep this book close by as a reminder that pursuing happiness is not a guilty pleasure, but an act of defiance against tyranny. Against a nation thus armed, terrorists don't stand a chance.--Kathleen Parker "Nationally Syndicated Columnist For The Orlando Sentinel
In this sprawling meditation, Carl Cannon, a White House correspondent for National Journal, looks at how a large cast of notables have spoken of the pursuit of happiness during wartime. The results are sometimes surprising.
I intend to keep this book close by as a reminder that pursuing happiness is not a guilty pleasure, but an act of defiance against tyranny. Against a nation thus armed, terrorists don't stand a chance.
Nationally Syndicated Columnist For The Orlando Sentinel< - Kathleen Parker
As a White House correspondent who covers his beat from a broad perspective, Carl Cannon is the perfect reporter to explore the ways in which our presidents have used the term 'pursuit of happiness.' Including in his discussion presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush, Cannon demonstrates how significant the concept has been to our presidents and how Chief
Carl Cannon gives us an elegant tone poem to the purpose of the American idea. Through reflections on leaders historic and contemporary, Cannon delivers a patriotism far more engaging and profound than sticking an Old Glory pin on the lapel. He has captured something essential about the American spirit—at a time we need it most.
In this sprawling meditation, Carl Cannon, a White House correspondent for National Journal, looks at how a large cast of notables have spoken of the pursuit of happiness during wartime. The results are sometimes surprising.
A moving, personal restatement of America's ideals by one of the very finest of American journalists.
Words matter. Carl Cannon tells the story of how the words 'the pursuit of happiness,' have led generations of Americans to understand why they are willing to fight for their freedom. Cannon is a gifted writer, and this is a book you will find hard to put down.
In this important and compelling book, Carl Cannon follows 'the pursuit of happiness' through American history, demonstrating both how vibrantly enduring the idea has been for two hundred years and how essential it is to understanding who we are as a people. Here is a history lesson and a contemplation on what it means to be an American in the same book.
One of our ablest President-watchers tackles an even bigger subject with grace and originality.
In this wonderful read, Carl Cannon has charted how U.S. presidents from George Washington to George Bush—and patriots from Frederick Douglass to John McCain—have used the galvanizing language of the Declaration of Independence to rally Americans to a cause larger than themselves. That cause—that truly noble cause—is the inexorable expansion of Thomas Jefferson's 'unalienable rights' to those who do not have them. The book has a strong narrative thread from start to finish, but each of Cannon's dozen chapters comprises an essay that would be worthy of the price of the book by itself.
A highly readable and interesting volume.
Cannon has filled Pursuit of Happiness with lots of tasty details that make the broader lessons about politics and presidents go down more easily.
This optimistic, meandering look at the peculiarly American phrase "pursuit of happiness" is strong on research but weak on analysis. What did Thomas Jefferson mean in the Declaration of Independence when he listed "the Pursuit of Happiness" among the "unalienable rights" of all men, and what has the phrase meant to Americans since? Veteran journalist Cannon (Boy Genius) explores the term's origins and uses, particularly in times of war. Beginning with the observation that Americans after 9/11 and during World War II showed their stuff as patriots by doing things like attending baseball games and eating pie, he proposes that the pursuit of happiness is "the best working definition of freedom that has ever been devised." Much of American history, Cannon argues, is best seen as a fight to allow more people at home and abroad to enjoy the right to chase personal dreams. He sets forth this thesis with long quotations from American presidents and investigations of such topics as Jefferson; the Civil War; Franklin D. Roosevelt; American generosity; and the current U.S. intervention in Iraq. Cannon's vision is cheery, his style friendly and informative. But numerous digressions blur the book's focus, and the author takes a generally shallow approach. Like a civic booster talking up his town, Cannon never subjects official pronouncements about "freedom" and "pursuit of happiness" to critical scrutiny. The result is a dull centrism that winds up as an apology for the present war in Iraq. The book has some good storytelling, but treads too softly to satisfy serious inquirers about Jefferson's phrase. (Dec.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Cannon has filled Pursuit of Happiness with lots of tasty details that make the broader lessons about politics and presidents go down more easily.
I intend to keep this book close by as a reminder that pursuing happiness is not a guilty pleasure, but an act of defiance against tyranny. Against a nation thus armed, terrorists don't stand a chance.
Nationally Syndicated Columnist For The Orlando Sentinel - Kathleen Parker
A highly readable and interesting volume.
