This I Believe

Holt Paperbacks
Paperback
320 pages • $18.00
ISBN: 9780805086584

The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

Edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman

Foreword by Studs Terkel

Introduction by Jay Allison

Based on the NPR series of the same name, this book features eighty essayists—from the famous to the unknown—completing the thought that begins the book’s title. Each piece compels readers to rethink not only how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs but also the extent to which they share them with others. Featuring a well-known list of contributors—including Isabel Allende, Colin Powell, Gloria Steinem, William F. Buckley Jr., Penn Jillette, Bill Gates, and John Updike—the collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer; a part-time hospital clerk from Rehoboth, Massachusetts; a woman who sells Yellow Pages advertising in Fort Worth, Texas; and a man who serves on the state of Rhode Island’s parole board. The result is a trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of people whose beliefs—and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them—reveal the American spirit at its best.

Included are guidelines for students writing their own This I Believe essays.

“Essays from the original series are interleaved with contemporary essays (selected from more than 11,000 submissions) to create a resounding chorus.”—Donna Seaman, Booklist

Jay Allison is an independent broadcast journalist and a six-time Peabody Award winner. He hosted and produced This I Believe on NPR and is the founder of the public radio station on Cape Cod.

Dan Gediman is currently the Executive Director of This I Believe, Inc., a non-profit organization based in Louisville, Kentucky.

This I Believe has been adopted for more than ninety First-Year Experience programs:

Aquinas College (MI); Avila University (MO); Baker University (KS); Barry University (FL); Bates College (ME); Bellarmine University (KY); Bethel College (KS); Bluefield College (VA); Bowling Green State University (OH); Bucknell University (PA); California State University, San Marcos; Cathedral High School (MA); Cedar Crest College (PA); Central Washington University; Clemson University (SC); Coker College (SC); College of Dupage (IL); Columbus State University (GA); Concord University (WV); Craven Community College (NC); Dakota Wesleyan University (SD); Dominican College (NY); Eastern Illinois University; Elmhurst College (IL); Endicott College (MA); Florida Atlantic University; Florida State University; Georgia College; Georgia Highlands University; Gettysburg College Ascent Program (PA); Harrison High School (NY); Jacksonville State University (AL); Jacksonville University (FL); Kaskaskia College (IL); Kent State University (OH); LIM College (NY); Lindsey Wilson College (KY); Louisburg College (NC); Louisiana Tech University; Loyola University, Chicago; Medaille College (NY); Middle Tennessee State University; Minnesota State University, Mankato; Mitchell College (CT); Morehead State University (KY); Northern Arizona University; Northern Kentucky University; Pace University (NY); Penn State Berks (IL); Penn State Berks (PA); Ripon College (WI); Roberts Wesleyan College (NY); Roosevelt University (IL) (two consecutive years!); Seton Hall University (NJ); Seton Hill University (PA); Shepherd University (WV); Shorter University (GA); Southern Connecticut State University; Southern Vermont College; Springfield College (MA); Stonehill College (MA); St. Mary’s High School (NY); SUNY, Binghamton; SUNY, Brockport; Tufts University (MA); University of Alabama; University of Central Arkansas, Honors College; University of Dayton (OH); University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; University of Louisiana, Monroe (two years!); University of Louisville (KY) (three consecutive years!); University of New Orleans; University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; University of Vermont; Washburn University (KS); William Paterson University (NJ); William Woods University (MO)