WE DO OUR PART

A timely new work by the legendary editor who founded the Washington Monthly and pioneered "explanatory" journalism. Charles Peters brings his keen, principled eye to bear on the ebbs and flows that have shaped Washington, DC, and how Americans can keep the good they have attained while recapturing the good that they have lost.

We Do Our Part" was the slogan of the New Deal's National Recovery Administration -- and it captured the can-do spirit and the generous enthusiasm that allowed America to prevail over the Great Depression and rally to help win WWII. Although these past decades have seen a great deal of progress, in some ways America has regressed. In his time as a journalist and as a worker in and around the government, Charles Peters has witnessed drastic changes – from the flood of talented, original thinkers that flowed into Washington to join the New Deal, to the reverse tide of the 70's and 80's as government staffers left to exploit their opportunities on Wall Street and as lobbyists.

During the same period, the economic divide between rich and poor has grown, and the national culture has changed from one of generosity to one of consumerism. Peters unites these two trends by arguing that this money-fueled elitism has diminished trust among citizens and in the nation, and that it has changed Washington for the worse. Peters shows that it's foolish to think Americans can do without their government. But if they want to revive the ethos of the New Deal, of FDR’s America – when government attracted the best and the brightest, and when laws reflected that spirit of humility and community, they need to demand it.

Charles Peters is the dean of Washington journalists, mentoring many prominent writers, many of whom are reaching the height of their powers today: David Broder, Murray Kempton, Russell Baker, Calvin Trillin, Bill Moyers, Taylor Branch, Suzannah Lessard, James Fallows, Walter Shapiro, Michael Kinsley, David Ignatius, Nicholas Lemann, Joe Nocera, Jonathan Alter, Katherine Boo, and Jon Meacham. In 2001, Peters was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editor's Hall of Fame, where he joins other renowned editors Jann S. Wenner, Gloria Steiner, Lewis Lapham, and Clay Felker. He is the founder and former editor-in-chief of The Washington Monthly magazine, which covered the culture and politics of Washington and government operations, but (uniquely) also how the national press reported on the culture and politics of Washington as well.

Peters is currently the president of the non-profit foundation, Understanding Government. He was born in Charleston, West Virginia in 1926. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1944. From 1957-1961, he practiced law in West Virginia, and managed John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign in Kanawha County. He was director of evaluation for the Peace Corps from 1962-1968. In 1969 he founded Monthly and was editor-in-chief until 2001.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Jon Meacham will contribute the Foreword (TK).