In a 9-year career as an op-ed columnist for a small-town newspaper in America’s heartland, Steve Hochstadt wrote about all the key issues of 21st-century American life. From family holidays to police brutality, climate science to fatherhood, partisan politics to economic inequality, to racism and sexism and truth in politics, he covered it all. He used weekly opinion columns to trace our country’s political history as well as his own journey as a journalist-historian. The stories Hochstadt tells are both universal and particular, constructed by observing America and the world from the vantage point of Jacksonville, Illinois, and his own family history. His essays connect national politics and daily life in small-town America.

As a Holocaust historian, child of a Jewish refugee, and admirer of Jackie Robinson, he has a unique perspective on political issues in this country. He relies on his historical background, careful logic, clear writing, and social scientific evidence to back his personal opinions. Hochstadt’s optimistic belief in the power of liberal journalism transforms these essays into a message of hope to all Americans.