The American Spirit: Celebrating the Virtues and Values that Make Us Great

Feulner (Getting America Right), president and co-founder of conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation, and Tracy (Something for Nothing), an organizational consultant, bring their political and business-world know-how together for this celebration of American exceptionalism. Quoting some of Feulner's foundation's own thinkers, as well as John Wayne, C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham, and Jeane Kirkpatrick (who "once said that %E2%80%98Americans need to face the truth about themselves, no matter how pleasant it is'"), the authors make no bones about their political beliefs, and spend the entirety of the book attempting to sharpen GOP talking points, but in the process blunt them. They criticize liberals for trying to "eliminate [faith] from the public discourse," suggest that relying on the government means becoming incapable of functioning independently and argue that "progressives in the United States willfully ignore the lessons of economic history." Tea Partiers will appreciate the authors' resolve and adherence to partisan politics, but Feulner and Tracy's doctrinaire treatise might not provide insight into the religious right for left-leaners. (June)