Looking for My Country: Finding Myself in America

By Robert MacNeil

Book Overview

Respected journalist Robert MacNeil did not receive a personal response from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt when he wrote to him in 1942 as an eleven-year-old boy living in Nova Scotia. He did, however, receive a personal letter and a large gift from the American consul. This gesture of generosity is the departure point for MacNeil's exploration of nationality, loyalty, and one of the reasons he eventually became an American citizen in 1997. Born in Canada and witness to many pivotal moments in history as a journalist in England and America, MacNeil's memoir integrates historical events from the past seventy years with his own personal story to provide an intimate glance at one man who became inseparably connected with America and her people. With a reporter's sharp analysis and an autobiographer's introspection, Looking for My Country delivers a story that is both touching and thought-provoking.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0156029103
• ISBN13: 9780156029100
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Length: 203 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A Long Search For The Place Called Home

To some degree, we are all products of place...even those of us who spend significant portions of our lives moving from one place to another. In this slim volume, veteran journalist Robert MacNeil recounts his growing-up years in Canada, his move to Britain in the mid-twenties for work in print and broadcast outlets, his return trip across the pond to work for NBC, and eventual teaming with Jim Lehrer for public television's evening news program. MacNeil recalls the great events of the era that he witnessed from a newsman's front seat, including the building of the Berlin Wall, JFK's assassination, and the destruction of the World Trade Center....and also shares the joys and heartaches of family life through the decades. But the dominant theme in this volume is MacNeil's long search for a place that he truly could call home. His decision to become a citizen of the United States, after more than three decades of residency here, is explained with MacNeil's usual insight, warmth and grace.--William C. Hall