Selected Books by Karl Zinsmeister
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Dreamland: A love letter to ordinary America This book is an unusual blend of memoir, reporting, and personal reflection. It weaves together prominent national events, intimate experience, and cultural observation. Dreamland brings to life people and slices of our country that rarely get attention in news or literature, interpreting them from uncommon angles with humor and affection. And it offers ways of remaining grateful even when disappointments, limits, and, finally, mortality draw near. Like most of the author's books it is available in print, e-book, and audio versions. |
The Natural Family ...will never be obsolete
The family has been described as “the factory that manufactures mankind.” Alas, many products of family life emerge damaged today. Children especially, but also millions of adults, are being hurt by the frail, low-devotion, unstable homelife that arrived starting in the 1960s with record levels of divorce, birth-out-of-wedlock, father flight, careerism, and neglect. Weakened family ties are a problem for all income levels, all races, all communities. And family breakdown is now at the root of our most worrisome social problems—drug abuse and crime, poverty, mass loneliness and depression, weak schooling.
The Natural Family takes fascinating dives into biology, history, psychology, and more to demonstrate in fresh ways that the natural family—children raised by a mother and a father committed to each other and to their offspring—though imperfect, will never be surpassed as a source of human happiness. Even the most earnest attempts to create alternatives to the traditional family—step families, scientific day care, the nanny nursery, the kibbutz—have proven shockingly inadequate. Discover why, and have your eyes opened on many aspects of family life, in the pages of this original work.
The family has been described as “the factory that manufactures mankind.” Alas, many products of family life emerge damaged today. Children especially, but also millions of adults, are being hurt by the frail, low-devotion, unstable homelife that arrived starting in the 1960s with record levels of divorce, birth-out-of-wedlock, father flight, careerism, and neglect. Weakened family ties are a problem for all income levels, all races, all communities. And family breakdown is now at the root of our most worrisome social problems—drug abuse and crime, poverty, mass loneliness and depression, weak schooling.
The Natural Family takes fascinating dives into biology, history, psychology, and more to demonstrate in fresh ways that the natural family—children raised by a mother and a father committed to each other and to their offspring—though imperfect, will never be surpassed as a source of human happiness. Even the most earnest attempts to create alternatives to the traditional family—step families, scientific day care, the nanny nursery, the kibbutz—have proven shockingly inadequate. Discover why, and have your eyes opened on many aspects of family life, in the pages of this original work.
Sweet Charity: Why private giving is so important
to America (and must not be wrecked by politics)
Sweet Charity collects fascinating grassroots reporting on how private giving and local charities improve the quality of life in America and solve serious social problems. Regional examples and biographies of remarkable donors provide real-life interest. The book warns, though, that there is now strong pressure from both the political left and right to control, constrain, and crimp private charitable giving. Concerns about excessive cultural manipulation by a small number of checkbooks are reasonable, and Zinsmeister suggests reforms that could be useful in damping the rise of politicized philanthropy. But he then presents data showing that partisan and ideological charity is only a tiny fraction of all donating in the U.S.—most of which is constructive, sensible, and respectful of middle-American values. So we mustn't let political forces choke off the charitable activity that does so much to strengthen our country.
to America (and must not be wrecked by politics)
Sweet Charity collects fascinating grassroots reporting on how private giving and local charities improve the quality of life in America and solve serious social problems. Regional examples and biographies of remarkable donors provide real-life interest. The book warns, though, that there is now strong pressure from both the political left and right to control, constrain, and crimp private charitable giving. Concerns about excessive cultural manipulation by a small number of checkbooks are reasonable, and Zinsmeister suggests reforms that could be useful in damping the rise of politicized philanthropy. But he then presents data showing that partisan and ideological charity is only a tiny fraction of all donating in the U.S.—most of which is constructive, sensible, and respectful of middle-American values. So we mustn't let political forces choke off the charitable activity that does so much to strengthen our country.
My West Wing: A personal account of work in the White House ...and how to solve Washington's perpetual resistance to reform
Drawing from his years as a U.S. President’s chief domestic policy adviser, My West Wing provides a brisk portrayal of work in the West Wing, and pungent lessons for subsequent Administrations.
The story is told in three quite different, intertwined styles:
* There is the absorbing transcript of an intimate conversation in which two historians quiz the author about his D.C. experiences.
* A string of lucid documentary chapters chronicle events at the highest levels of U.S. government, dissecting problems, and assessing how occupants of the White House succeed or fail.
* A scathing short essay illustrates the federal establishment’s deep-seated resistance to reform—the stubborn refusal to deviate from business-as-usual that roused voters to unleash Donald Trump against sclerosis in our capital.
National renewal is hard, but My West Wing helps sketch a course to a more thriving America.
* Press release & book description
Drawing from his years as a U.S. President’s chief domestic policy adviser, My West Wing provides a brisk portrayal of work in the West Wing, and pungent lessons for subsequent Administrations.
The story is told in three quite different, intertwined styles:
* There is the absorbing transcript of an intimate conversation in which two historians quiz the author about his D.C. experiences.
* A string of lucid documentary chapters chronicle events at the highest levels of U.S. government, dissecting problems, and assessing how occupants of the White House succeed or fail.
* A scathing short essay illustrates the federal establishment’s deep-seated resistance to reform—the stubborn refusal to deviate from business-as-usual that roused voters to unleash Donald Trump against sclerosis in our capital.
National renewal is hard, but My West Wing helps sketch a course to a more thriving America.
* Press release & book description
Backbone: Maverick essays in praise of middle America—Why American Populism Should Be Welcomed, Not Feared
Backbone asks the timely question, "Is American populism something to fear, or something to welcome?" Ranging across the country to talk with everyday people and observe their daily lives, it uncovers deep reservoirs of common sense, decency, and wisdom. Ordinary citizens, the author concludes, will generally be much better and fairer arbiters of big national questions than any elite class of "experts."
That judgment is backed with strong empirical evidence and trenchant arguments from history. Today's ruling caste has so seriously blundered in matters of economics, public health, foreign affairs, education, personal identity, cultural values, and Constitutional freedoms, Zinsmeister observes, that today's popular rebellion should be embraced as a necessary corrective to managerial coercion from above.
* Press release & book description
* What reviewers are saying
Backbone asks the timely question, "Is American populism something to fear, or something to welcome?" Ranging across the country to talk with everyday people and observe their daily lives, it uncovers deep reservoirs of common sense, decency, and wisdom. Ordinary citizens, the author concludes, will generally be much better and fairer arbiters of big national questions than any elite class of "experts."
That judgment is backed with strong empirical evidence and trenchant arguments from history. Today's ruling caste has so seriously blundered in matters of economics, public health, foreign affairs, education, personal identity, cultural values, and Constitutional freedoms, Zinsmeister observes, that today's popular rebellion should be embraced as a necessary corrective to managerial coercion from above.
* Press release & book description
* What reviewers are saying
The Brothers
A true-life saga of the remarkable family who made us free
This fascinating re-creation tells the lost true story of three brothers who turned America against slavery for the first time. During the Jacksonian era when our politics were harshly partisan, ferociously personal, and often gridlocked, these men pioneered new ways of solving national problems through mass-persuasion campaigns, courtroom battles, religious appeals, and skillful culture change. Set in an emerging New York City, the story churns through the making of great fortunes, frontier explorations, grand sea voyages, shocking urban riots, slave escapes, legal dramas, a stunning fire, duplicity in Washington, and searing personal loss. This historical tale transports readers to a national moment with much relevance for contemporary America.
* Amazon page
* book website
A true-life saga of the remarkable family who made us free
This fascinating re-creation tells the lost true story of three brothers who turned America against slavery for the first time. During the Jacksonian era when our politics were harshly partisan, ferociously personal, and often gridlocked, these men pioneered new ways of solving national problems through mass-persuasion campaigns, courtroom battles, religious appeals, and skillful culture change. Set in an emerging New York City, the story churns through the making of great fortunes, frontier explorations, grand sea voyages, shocking urban riots, slave escapes, legal dramas, a stunning fire, duplicity in Washington, and searing personal loss. This historical tale transports readers to a national moment with much relevance for contemporary America.
* Amazon page
* book website
The Almanac of American Philanthropy
The authoritative reference work on private giving in the U.S.—and our nation's long tradition of using charitable resources to solve public problems.
* review at Boston Globe
* Amazon page
Micro Aid
How America can best China & Russia by healing fractured hotspots
An embedded report from conflict zones in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
* Amazon page
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Craftsmen on a Mission
The brothers who invented the American home A fascinating and lavishly illustrated short history of how the Stickley brothers created the Arts & Crafts movement, Mission furniture, and the Craftsman home —generating the first distinctively American style, and ushering in the look and feel of our modern homes. * Amazon page |
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"Birds of Character" children's books A series of illustrated character fables for children, starring North American birds. The birds lightly model personal virtues, and each volume brings to life a particular U.S. geography displaying diverse qualities of nature. * A Time for Action * Virginia Warbler's Valiant Journey |
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Finger Lakes Feast
A storytelling cookbook with easy, scrumptious recipes & gorgeous photos.
* New York Times review
* Amazon page
* the book's Web site (FingerLakesFeast.com)
* some other reviews
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Boots on the Ground A month embedded with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq. First book published by an embedded reporter describing initial entry into Iraq. * Amazon page |
Dawn Over Baghdad
How the U.S. military is using bullets and ballots to remake Iraq. First eyewitness report on the insurgency stage of the war.
* Amazon page
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