This I Believe

This I Believe is a collection of essays published in 2007. Edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman, the essays collect the personal reflections aired on the radio program “This I Believe.” Originally presented by famed journalist Edward R. Murrow on CBS in the 1950s, the show was revived by Allison and Gediman on NPR in 2005. On the show, people discussed beliefs that had helped them in their lives, be they religious or secular. The original show focused more on celebrities, while the modern version included more nonfamous people. The book features eighty pieces, including both classic and modern contributions.

In the foreward, Studs Terkel reflects on the way discourse and belief systems have always seemed like islands, disconnected from others, and how the original mission of “This I Believe,” as stated by Edward R. Murrow, is relevant in the modern day.

In the introduction, Jay Allison explains the premise of the show and the essays in the book, and recounts some of the program’s history. Allison also explains that in producing the modern version of the show, they followed the same guidelines as the original, with the exception of seeking contributions from nonfamous people.



The essayists range from luminaries like Bill Gates, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Colin Powell, to ordinary Americans, like a Brooklyn lawyer, a part-time hospital clerk, and an English professor. The full essay list includes:

• “Be cool to the pizza dude,” by Sarah Adams


• “Leaving identity issues to other folks,” by Phyllis Allen


• “In giving I connect with others,” by Isabel Allende


• “Remembering all the boys,” by Elvia Bautista


• “The mountain disappears,” by Leonard Bernstein


• “How is it possible to believe in God?” by William F. Buckley Jr.


• “The fellowship of the world,” by Niven Busch


• “There is no job more important than parenting,” by Benjamin Carson


• “A journey toward acceptance and love,” by Greg Chapman


• “A shared moment of trust,” by Warren Christopher


• “The hardest work you will ever do,” by Mary Cook


• “Good can be as communicable as evil,” by Norman Corwin


• “A daily walk just to listen,” by Susan Cosio


• “The elusive yet holy core,” by Kathy Dahlen


• “My father’s evening star,” by William O. Douglas


• “An honest doubter: Have I learned anything important since I was sixteen?” by Elizabeth Deutsch Earle


• “An ideal of service to our fellow man,” by Albert Einstein


• “The power and mystery of naming things,” by Eve Ensler


• “A goal of service to humankind,” by Anthony Fauci


• “The God who embraced me,” by John W. Fountain


• “Unleashing the power of creativity,” by Bill Gates


• “The people who love you when no one else will,” by Cecile Gilmer


• “The willingness to work for solutions,” by Newt Gingrich


• “The connection between strangers,” by Miles Goodwin


• “An athlete of God,” by Martha Graham


• “Seeing in beautiful, precise pictures,” by Temple Grandin


• “Disrupting my comfort zone,” by Brian Grazer


• “Science nourishes the mind and the soul,” by Brian Greene


• “In praise of the ‘Wobblies’,” by Ted Gup


• “The power of presence,” by Debbie Hall


• “A grown-up Barbie,” by Jane Hamill


• “Happy talk,” by Oscar Hammerstein II


• “Natural links in a long chain of being,” by Victor Hanson


• “Talking with the sun,” by Joy Harjo


• “A morning prayer in a little church,” by Helen Hayes


• “Our noble, essential decency,” by Robert A. Heinlein


• “A new birth of freedom,” by Maximillan Hodder


• “The benefits of restlessness and jagged edges,” by Kay Redfield Jamison


• “There is no God,” by Penn Jillette


• “A duty to heal,” by Pius Kamau


• “Living life with ‘Grace and elegant treeness’,” by Ruth Kamps


• “The light of a brighter day,” by Helen Keller


• “The bright lights of freedom,” by Harold Hongju Koh


• “The power of love to transform and heal,” by Jackie Lantry


• “The power of mysteries,” by Alan Lightman


• “Life grows in the soil of time,” by Thomas Mann


• “Why I close my restaurant,” by George Mardikian


• “The virtues of the quiet hero,” by John McCain


• “The joy and enthusiasm of reading,” by Rick Moody


• “There is such a thing as truth,” by Errol Morris


• “The rule of law,” by Michael Mullane


• “Getting angry can be a good thing,” by Cecilia Muñoz


• “Mysterious connections that link us together,” by Azar Nafisi


• “The making of poems,” by Gregory Orr


• “We are each other’s business,” by Eboo Patel


• “The 50-percent theory of life,” by Steve Porter


• “The America I believe in,” by Colin Powell


• “The real consequences of justice,” by Frederic Reamer


• “There is more to life than my life,” by Jamaica Ritcher


• “Tomorrow will be a better day,” by Josh Rittenberg


• “Free minds and hearts at work,” by Jackie Robinson


• “Growth that starts from thinking,” by Eleanor Roosevelt


• “The artistry in hidden talents,” by Mel Rusnov


• “My fellow worms,” by Carl Sandburg


• “When children are wanted,” by Margaret Sanger


• “Jazz is the sound of God laughing,” by Colleen Shaddox


• “There is no such thing as too much barbecue,” by Jason Sheehan


• “The people have spoken,” by Mark shields


• “Everything potent is dangerous,” by Wallace Stegner


• “A balance between nature and nurture,” by Gloria Steinem


• “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” by Andrew Sullivan


• “Always go to the funeral,” by Deirdre Sullivan


• “Finding prosperity by feeding monkeys,” by Harold Taw


• “I agree with a pagan,” by Arnold Toynbee


• “Testing the limits of what I know and feel,” by John Updike


• “How do you believe in a mystery?” by Loudon Wainwright III


• “Creative solutions to life’s challenges,” by Frank X. Walker


• “Goodness doesn’t just happen,” by Rebecca West


• “When ordinary people achieve extraordinary things,” by Jody Williams

Coeditor Dan Gediman reflects on the essays in the book’s afterword. A series of appendices discussing Murrow’s introduction to the original series and ways readers can use program’s concept in their own lives closes out the book.