The American Values Reader

Constructed around the three broad areas of self-evident truths and unalienable rights identified by our country's founders - Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - this thought-provoking collection presents multi-sided ethical and moral conversations through the work of 100 writers and thinkers, past and present. Emphasis is on looking carefully at the selections to uncover their explicit and implicit values, with post-reading questions engaging the reader in thoughtful writing and conversation about the selection and the values it presents. Past and present values are linked, so that every selection becomes relevant to today's culture. In the section on Life, the book offers selections on family, education, work and poverty, and health and health care. The section on Liberty includes works exploring language and speech, law and politics, and rights and beliefs. Wrapping up the book, the Pursuit of Happiness section looks at love, science and technology, wealth and leisure, and individual and community. For anyone interested in exploring the timely topic of values; ideal for book discussion groups.