Jun 14, 2024
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My conversation with Frank Barry begins at 21 minutes
Francis S. Barry is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering national affairs. He is the author of the forthcoming book, "Back Roads and Better Angels: A Journey Into the Heart of American Democracy."
He served as chief speechwriter on the Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign after having been director of speechwriting for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in City Hall, where he also helped create a variety of government and election reform initiatives. He is also the author of The Scandal of Reform: The Grand Failures of New York's Political Crusaders and the Death of Nonpartisanship. He received degrees from the University of Notre Dame and New York University.
ABOUT BACK ROADS AND BETTER ANGELS
“Enlightening and inspiring.” — Walter
Isaacson
“Barry probes the American soul, finding its biases, but also,
nurtured by its complicated past, our better
angels — with an opportunity to move forward.”
— Ken Burns
Bringing together two of America’s unifying loves — road trips and
Abraham Lincoln — Frank Barry takes readers on a thought-provoking
journey into the heart of our democracy and the soul of our
country
A year into his marriage and having never driven an RV, Frank and
his wife Laurel set out from New York City in a Winnebago to drive
the nation’s first transcontinental route, the Lincoln Highway,
which zigzags through small towns and big cities from Times Square
to San Francisco.
Using the spirit of Abraham Lincoln to guide them across the land,
they hope to see more clearly what holds the country together — and
how we can keep it together, even amidst political divisions have
grown increasingly rancorous, bitter, and exhausting.
Along the way, Frank and Laurel meet Americans whose personal
experiences help humanize the nation’s divisions, and they
encounter historical figures and events whose legacies are still
shaping our sense of national identity and the struggles over
it.
This unforgettable journey is full of what makes any great road
trip memorable and enjoyable: music, conversation, and laughter. By
the end, readers will have a clearer picture of how we have arrived
at a period that carries echoes of the Civil War era, and — using
Lincoln as a guide — where the path forward lies.