From Publishers Weekly
The rich and sometimes discordant strains of American self-scrutiny fill this wide-ranging anthology. Kennedy (The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) arranges the more than 200 selections according to themes like "The Flag," "Freedom of Speech," "Work, Opportunity and Invention" and "The Individual," and devotes equal space to the official, the devotional and the oppositional. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are reprinted in full, along with a large selection of presidential inaugurals and farewells and excerpts from landmark Supreme Court decisions. Popular songs include "Yankee Doodle," "This Land Is Your Land" and "Surfin' USA." Poems and fiction from such luminaries as Whitman, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Stephen Crane, Alice Walker and Annie Proulx explore the variegated textures of American life. The dissident voices of Thoreau, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass hold America to account for its injustice; H.L. Mencken castigates it as "a commonwealth of third-rate men"; and Oscar Wilde raises a sardonic eyebrow at the whole dubious enterprise. Combining traditional touchstones of Americanism with many insightful surprises, Kennedy's thoughtful arrangement of works of historical significance and literary quality will reward both casual browsers and those conducting a more focused investigation of the nation's patriotic literature. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
A PATRIOT'S HANDBOOK is not a true audiobook. Rather, it is a masterful audio compilation of American songs, poems, stories, speeches, and other sources--recordings that tell the story of America, and why she remains a unique symbol of freedom. Many of the recordings are the originals, while others are performed by actors and politicians. This is that rare production that is best savored over time, as one listens one day to Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, followed by Ronald Reagan's "Farewell Address," and the next by the letters between John and Abigail Adams. This unique program will serve for generations as an audio-textbook to students of American history of all ages. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Kennedy compiled the 2001 best-seller devoted to her mother's memory, The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Certain to hit the best-seller lists, too, is her latest compilation, a personal selection of prose and poetry that celebrates the land, the people, the spirit, and the history of our great country. Calling the book "my collage of America" but certainly presenting items relevant to any citizen's interest, Kennedy arranges her material into chapters based on general themes, including the flag, portraits of Americans, freedom, and equality. The first selection is the lyrics to the national anthem, and the last one is an excerpt from the fiction of highly esteemed contemporary writer Annie Proulx; selections in between include George Washington's "Farewell Address," Sojourner Truth's speech "Ain't I a Woman," the text of Brown v. the Board of Education, and the words to the Grateful Dead's song "U.S. Blues." Kennedy provides a general introduction to the book and introduces each chapter. For personal enjoyment and education, but the reference value is obvious, too. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Publishers Weekly
"Thoughtful . . . will reward both casual browsers and those conducting a more focused investigation of the nation's patriotic literature."


O! Magazine
"Exactly what we need these days to remind us of who we are and who we hope to be."


Book Description
Caroline Kennedy shares an inspiring collection of patriotic poems, song lyrics, historical documents, and speeches. The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a blockbuster success, remaining on the New York Times bestseller list for 15 weeks with more than 500,000 copies in print. Now, Caroline Kennedy shares with readers an assortment of her own favorite American writings. The works collected here -- which span centuries and styles -- have one thing in common: all are emblematic of our country's patriotism and pride. Caroline Kennedy researched all of the selections included in A Patriot's Handbook, wrote the introduction, and added personal commentary to each section. This elegantly packaged collection is the perfect gift for anyone in search of a reminder of what our country's spirit is made of. "Over the past year we have all thought about what it means to be an American. I realized that I want my own children to know more about the ideals upon which this country was founded and the sacrifices that have been made to pass them on to us. This book is intended to help families explore the foundations of our freedom and to celebrate our heritage."(Caroline Kennedy)


About the Author
Caroline Kennedy is the New York Times bestselling author of The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the editor of Profiles in Courage for Our Time, also a bestseller. She is also the coauthor of the national bestsellers The Right to Privacy and In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action. She serves as president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and is chief executive of the Office of Strategic Partnerships for New York City Schools. She lives in New York City.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Now available in paperback, the New York Times bestseller.

When John F. Kennedy called America "the land we love" more than 42 years ago, he was reminding us of the lofty ideals on which our country was founded. But what are those ideals, and how have Americans defined them? Is America the land of George Washington and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who rallied the country's spirits for unity in wartime, or is it a land of dissent, a land in which Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Martin Luther King, Jr. remind us of our duty to protect our most fundamental freedoms? Are we defined by the speeches of Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan or by the humor of H.L. Mencken and Mark Twain?

Caroline Kennedy's answer in A Patriot's Handbook is that we are all of those things and more.

The poems, songs, speeches, letters, and historical documents that Caroline Kennedy has chosen for this remarkable collection remind us of the foundations on which America was built. But they also ask us to examine what it truly means to be a "patriot," even if our assumptions are challenged along the way, because it is only by doing so that America can "truly be our own."

Voices as diverse as the nation itself:

--Thomas Jefferson
--Cole Porter
--Chief Red Jacket
--Amy Tan
--Betty Friedan
--Albert Einstein
--George W. Bush
--Loretta Lynn
--John F. Kennedy
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
--Bob Dylan
--Cesar Chavez
--Toni Morrison
--Groucho Marx
--and many more

Caroline Kennedy is the editor of the New York Times bestselling The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Profiles in Courage for Our Time, and the co-author of The Right to Privacy and In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action. She heads the Office of Strategic Partnerships for the New York City Department of Education and serves as the president of the John F. Kennedy Foundation.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The rich and sometimes discordant strains of American self-scrutiny fill this wide-ranging anthology. Kennedy (The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) arranges the more than 200 selections according to themes like "The Flag," "Freedom of Speech," "Work, Opportunity and Invention" and "The Individual," and devotes equal space to the official, the devotional and the oppositional. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are reprinted in full, along with a large selection of presidential inaugurals and farewells and excerpts from landmark Supreme Court decisions. Popular songs include "Yankee Doodle," "This Land Is Your Land" and "Surfin' USA." Poems and fiction from such luminaries as Whitman, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Stephen Crane, Alice Walker and Annie Proulx explore the variegated textures of American life. The dissident voices of Thoreau, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass hold America to account for its injustice; H.L. Mencken castigates it as "a commonwealth of third-rate men"; and Oscar Wilde raises a sardonic eyebrow at the whole dubious enterprise. Combining traditional touchstones of Americanism with many insightful surprises, Kennedy's thoughtful arrangement of works of historical significance and literary quality will reward both casual browsers and those conducting a more focused investigation of the nation's patriotic literature. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

"Exactly what we need these days to remind us of who we are and who we hope to be." (O Magazine)

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