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In a collection of short essays, men and women from all walks of life share their defining beliefs.
I listen to NPR in between audiobook downloads but I seem to only be in the car for the news and Marketplace, so I’ve never heard any of these essays. I enjoyed them immensely.
Ranging from funny to serious, from heartfelt to tongue-in-cheek, there’s a wide range of personal voices and creeds to be found in this collection. I particularly liked that essays from the first run of the series, hosted by Edward R. Murrow in the ’50s, were included. They were concerned about the end of the free world due to the Cold War. Now we’re concerned about the end of the free world due to terrorism of all kinds. Some things never seem to change. That said, people don’t change all that much either, and I mean that in the best possible way. We still have faith in our own humanity. Many of us have religious or spiritual faith. Those who don’t have faith in order and reason. Kindness, compassion, humility, personal growth, empathy–all our best traits are on display here, both in the older essays and the more recent ones.
On a side note, I enjoyed hearing the way voices and accents have changed in only about 60 years. The accents in the ’50s seemed to be more pronounced. My guess is that we’re losing some regional accents due to media influences. That makes me a bit sad since I enjoy hearing them and definitely speak with my own Appalachian twang! I was interested to hear women speak back then too. I find it hard to explain, but their voices sounded more breathy and feminine to me. Was that something girls were subconsciously taught? I’ve noticed it in old movies but assumed it was just the actress in her role. Now I’m left wondering if it was a cultural thing.
By the end of the collection, I had started tuning out a bit. They were all unique in approach but some of the fundamentals did start to feel a bit repetitive.
I understand this was issued in print and as an audio book. I would definitely recommend listening to it. The pieces were originally written for radio so it makes sense to approach them in the intended medium. However you read them, I do recommend this collection. You’ll be left wondering, as I do, “What do I believe?”
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