We learn the most about Totenberg and Roberts, including an illuminating look at the Democratic political dynasty in which Roberts grew up. The book begins with the momentous task of demolishing the prejudices attached with the phrase founding fathers that has held an immense sway over constitutional interpretation. From 1 New York Times bestselling author Cokie Roberts comes New York Times bestseller Founding Mothers, an intimate and illuminating look at the fervently. Napoli clearly admires her subjects, and they come across as trailblazers, but they remain somewhat one-dimensional in the book, never reaching the intimacy of first-name basis that the title promises. (The first staff of “All Things Considered” discussed stories sitting on the floor, because they had no furniture.) Refreshingly, she also reminds us that some of the debates that have roiled the media in recent years - such as the fear that clickbait will engulf serious journalism - are not new, though the culprit used to be network television, not BuzzFeed.

Many of us have grown up thinking of NPR as the veteran newsroom, trying to keep up with its shiny podcast rivals, but Napoli portrays the network’s endearingly experimental, chaotic beginning. and the founding of the nation with a focus on the women involved. The Founding Mothers, as the Carol Berkin will describe them in her book Revolutionary Mothers, too played an essential role during the war and its aftermath that reached beyond keeping their families together and their domestic roles. The book is a lesson in how the fringe project of one generation becomes the mainstream of the next. This book examines traditional prejudices against womens political participation as well as efforts to overcome these prejudices during a revolutionary era. Napoli, herself a reporter for print and radio who has written three other books, illuminates the terrifying, thrilling energy of NPR as start-up: “Not a day would go by without a tape reel being hurled like a Frisbee into the control room at the last minute, or breaking during playback, and it was never quite clear who’d show up for work or whether there’d be enough stories to fill the time.” 4.20 5 ratings0 reviews Americas founding mothers and fathers built gender bias into American politics.

Founding mothers book review