Selected letters originally published in The people and the president, c2002 by Beacon Press.

IT IS TIME TO LISTEN TO THOSE WHO CARRY THE STORIES THAT SPEAK TO OUR SOULS: There is a deep longing for the universal, for meaning, and for spirit in these times of brilliant discoveries and breathtakingly rapid technological advances. Life has become longer, more complex, and - in many challenging new ways - more demanding. The gifts have been incredible, but the human spirit needs to catch up.In the spring of 2009, Hal & Sidra Stone met with a group of colleagues in a house overlooking the Pacific and, as they sat before the fire, they shared their stories in an intimate series of conversations. They talked about life and death; the challenges and rewards of aging; relationship and psycho-spiritual growth; illness and health; the gift of dreams; and the ever-present golden thread of meaning in the evolution of personal and global consciousness. Dianne Braden, a Jungian analyst, crafted a beautiful book based on these four mornings, masterfully re-creating this very special moment in time.

A collection of FDR's fireside chats presents them exactly as they were originally broadcast to explore a world of economic disaster, social reform, and international danger and to stress the importance of Roosevelt's leadership in American political history.

“I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States.” Thus began not only the first of Franklin Roosevelt’s celebrated radio addresses, collectively called Fireside Chats, but also the birth of the media era of the rhetorical presidency. Humorist Will Rogers later said that the president took “such a dry subject as banking and made everyone understand it, even the bankers.” Roosevelt also took a giant step toward restoring confidence in the nation’s banks and, eventually, in its economy. Amos Kiewe tells the story of the First Fireside Chat, the context in which it was constructed, the events leading to the radio address, and the impact it had on the American people and the nation’s economy. Roosevelt told America, “The success of our whole national program depends, of course, on the cooperation of the public—on its intelligent support and its use of a reliable system.” Kiewe succinctly demonstrates how the rhetoric of the soon-to-be-famous First Fireside Chat laid the groundwork for that support and the recovery of American capitalism.

Reproduction of the original: The Fireside Chats by Franklin D. Roosevelt

Reproduction of the original.