What Unites Us ─ Reflections on Patriotism

"I find myself thinking deeply about what it means to love America, as I surely do."

At a moment of crisis over our national identity, Dan Rather has been reflecting—and writing passionately almost every day on social media—about the world we live in, what our core ideals have been and should be, and what it means to be an American. Now, in a collection of wholly original essays, the venerated television journalist celebrates our shared values and what matters most in our great country, and shows us what patriotism looks like. Writing about the institutions that sustain us, such as public libraries, public schools, and national parks; the values that have transformed us, such as the struggle for civil rights; and the drive toward science and innovation that has made the United States great, Rather will bring to bear his decades of experience on the frontlines of the world's biggest stories, and offer readers a way forward.

After a career spent as reporter and anchor for CBS News, where he interviewed every living President since Eisenhower and was on the ground for every major event, from the assassination of John F. Kennedy to Watergate to 9/11, Rather has in the last year also become a hugely popular voice of reason on social media, with nearly two million Facebook followers and an engaged new audience who help to make many of his posts go viral. With his famously plainspoken voice and a fundamental sense of hope, Dan Rather has written the book to inspire conversation and listening, and to remind us all how we are ultimately united.

This book will be a must-read for everyone you know who is engaged in the urgent national conversation right now—and interested in our place in history going forward.

With a storied career that has spanned more than six decades, Dan Rather is one of the world’s best-known journalists. He has interviewed every president since Eisenhower and covered almost every important dateline around the world. Rather joined CBS News in 1962, and in 1981 he assumed the position of Anchor and Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News, which he held for twenty-four years. His reporting helped turn 60 Minutes into an institution, launched 48 Hours as a newsmagazine program, and shaped countless specials and documentaries. Upon leaving CBS, Rather created the Emmy Award–winning Dan Rather Reports on HDNet. He is founder, president, and CEO of News and Guts, an independent production company that specializes in high-quality nonfiction content across a range of traditional and digital channels.

Elliot Kirschner is an Emmy Award–winning journalist and filmmaker. After a career at CBS, producing for the CBS Evening News, CBS Sunday Morning, and 60 Minutes II, Kirschner joined his longtime collaborator Dan Rather as the senior producer for Dan Rather Reports. He now develops film, television, and digital projects. A graduate of Harvard, Kirschner lives with his family in San Francisco, where he is building an innovative venture in science communication.