"Some of these essays are powerful and poetic. Some seem to reflect a stunned condition on the part of the contributor. But all of them share a newborn or reawakened feeling about the country we live in...Some are personal narratives that explain and justify the patriotism of the writer. Some examine and praise the values that make the country great."

-- Hugh Downs, from the Introduction

What is the essence of America? In this fascinating new collection inspired by one of our most trusted and beloved commentators, 150 diverse Americans express in their own words what America means to them.

My America by Hugh Downs is a collection of 150 brief, one page or so on the average, comments on 'what America means to me.' Selected by invitation, these individuals express their patriotic feelings with stories or straightforward editorial comments. I have found nothing surprising. If you ask a handful of elite individuals who have already succeeded in their chosen profession in any country, you will find similar outburst of patriotic feelings.

Missing in this book are the views and feelings of ordinary citizens. In my opinion America is a great country for ordinary people-like a man from India who came to this country because he knew this is where even poor people are fat, have television sets in the living room, microwave ovens in the kitchen and cars in the driveway, if not in the garage.

Those who have made in any society will feel good about themselves and the society, but what about those who have not yet made? If Mr. Downs included the voices of another 150 ordinary citizens in his book, the book would have been much better reading.

Of the 150 comments, the one story that touched me most deeply was the one by Pete Hamil, a journalist, an author and a descendant of an Irish immigrant. When he was a boy, he witnessed in the dark of the night his father weeping from physical pain. The stump of his ruined leg was covered with blisters caused by the heat wave. And yet, in the morning, his father went to work in the factory where there were concrete floors but no air-conditioning. He went to work because he was an American allowed to work without being asked about his religion, his family history, or his political beliefs.