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  • Published: 14 May 2019
  • ISBN: 9781632172570
  • Imprint: Blue Star Press
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $55.00

Become America

Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy




What does it mean to be an engaged American in today's divided political landscape, and how do we restore hope in our country? In a collection of "civic sermons" delivered at gatherings around the nation, popular advocate for active citizenship Eric Liu takes on these thorny questions and provides inspiration and solace in a time of anger, fear, and dismay over the state of the Union.

A New York Times Book Review New and Noteworthy Book

This collection of 19 essays on democracy, equal justice, and citizenship “exhorts Americans to love the nation they have by becoming the nation they want” (The Washington Post).

What does it mean to be an engaged American in today’s divided political landscape, and how do we restore hope in our country? In a collection of “civic sermons” delivered at gatherings around the nation, popular advocate for active citizenship Eric Liu takes on these thorny questions and provides inspiration and solace in a time of anger, fear, and dismay over the state of the Union.

Here are 19 stirring explorations of current and timeless topics about democracy, liberty, equal justice, and powerful citizenship. This book will energize you to get involved, in ways both large and small, to help rebuild a country that you’re proud to call home. Become America will challenge you to rehumanize our politics and rekindle a spirit of love in civic life.

  • Published: 14 May 2019
  • ISBN: 9781632172570
  • Imprint: Blue Star Press
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $55.00

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Praise for Become America

"America has never needed its civic creed more than now: a set of texts, myths, and memories that call us to our highest selves even as they reveal the gaps between aspirations and realities. Become America is a powerful call to both introspection and action and a wise set of meditations reflecting the full diversity of what America can be. Read it and pass it on!"--Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America

"Eric Liu has a rare gift for decoding the texts and subtexts of our politics and history. Become America is a wise, deep, and beautifully written look at the American civic soul."-- Henry Louis Gates Jr., professor at Harvard and host of Finding Your Roots on PBS

"Eric Liu writes with deep patriotism and bracing candor about history and our own hearts. This powerful book will remind Americans how to live like citizens capable of keeping a republic. It's a very needed book for our times and an inspirational one as well."--Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs

"With great generosity and hope, Become America calls forward our history to point to our expansive potential as civic beings. This is a work of tremendous grace, love, and reach as it crosses boundaries to illuminate our shared humanity."--Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen: An American Lyric