Ron Powers

"Far From Home" is a spirited tale of democracy in two small American towns. Unlike Alexis de Tocqueville, who set the standard for this kind of writing, Ron Powers does not bring back good news. Rural America is being plowed under, boarded up or malled over; its history tarted up in theme parks and olde towns; its residents bought out or taxed off ancestral land. Powers divides his narrative between two towns, Cairo, Ill., and Kent, Conn.

"FLAGS of Our Fathers" is a story of extremes. It's the story of great heroism on a tiny island, of a photograph taken in 1/400 th of a second that wreaked havoc with the lives of everyone in it and influenced the course of a war. It's also a very American tale, set 60 years ago but startlingly relevant today, which intertwines and often contrasts bravery and chicanery, idealism and disillusion, war and propaganda, truth and national security.

Mark Twain was recently lionized by first lady Laura Bush on the occasion of his 166th birthday for providing "words and wit ... as appropriate today as when they were written." Through Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, readers experience a uniquely American boyhood filled with whitewashed fences and raft excursions, the coming of age for not only those characters but for our youthful nation as well.

IN the first century of America's independence, two men forged a new language for the new Republic: Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain. Of the writers and talkers of the 19th century, these two more than anyone else gave American English its own strong slant, its special sound and rhythm and punch. They gave their countrymen, too, their own identity, one not unduly influenced by the Old World.

WHITE TOWN DROWSING by Ron Powers (Atlantic Monthly: $17.95; 320 pp.). "White Town Drowsing" recounts the author's return to his home town, Hannibal, Miss., after years away. Now a CBS commentator in New York, Ron Powers wonders "what was lost, and gained, by growing up in a small town like Hannibal and not leaving it--but living on there as an adult, the child's impressions not sealed and preserved, as mine had been . . .

I used to watch media critic Ron Powers on "CBS News Sunday Morning" with dread and anticipation. The dread came from knowing there was a good chance that Powers would make a wise observation about something important that I had failed to notice, something I should have written about but didn't. The anticipation came from knowing that whatever he did, it would be very, very good. On both counts, I was rarely disappointed.

"FLAGS of Our Fathers" is a story of extremes. It's the story of great heroism on a tiny island, of a photograph taken in 1/400 th of a second that wreaked havoc with the lives of everyone in it and influenced the course of a war. It's also a very American tale, set 60 years ago but startlingly relevant today, which intertwines and often contrasts bravery and chicanery, idealism and disillusion, war and propaganda, truth and national security.

IN the first century of America's independence, two men forged a new language for the new Republic: Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain. Of the writers and talkers of the 19th century, these two more than anyone else gave American English its own strong slant, its special sound and rhythm and punch. They gave their countrymen, too, their own identity, one not unduly influenced by the Old World.

Re "Manzanar Restoration a Step Toward Honesty," letters, Dec. 15: Of particular interest to me is the letter from Carolyn Brouwers, who uses the book "Farewell to Manzanar" as a teaching tool. She says that her students are surprised to learn of this bit of history. I suggest that their reading of "Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission" (Bataan Death March), by Hampton Sides, and "Flags of Our Fathers" (Battle of Iwo Jima), by James Bradley with Ron Powers, would also be enlightening and would somewhat balance their education.

Mark Twain was recently lionized by first lady Laura Bush on the occasion of his 166th birthday for providing "words and wit ... as appropriate today as when they were written." Through Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, readers experience a uniquely American boyhood filled with whitewashed fences and raft excursions, the coming of age for not only those characters but for our youthful nation as well.

"Far From Home" is a spirited tale of democracy in two small American towns. Unlike Alexis de Tocqueville, who set the standard for this kind of writing, Ron Powers does not bring back good news. Rural America is being plowed under, boarded up or malled over; its history tarted up in theme parks and olde towns; its residents bought out or taxed off ancestral land. Powers divides his narrative between two towns, Cairo, Ill., and Kent, Conn.

I used to watch media critic Ron Powers on "CBS News Sunday Morning" with dread and anticipation. The dread came from knowing there was a good chance that Powers would make a wise observation about something important that I had failed to notice, something I should have written about but didn't. The anticipation came from knowing that whatever he did, it would be very, very good. On both counts, I was rarely disappointed.

WHITE TOWN DROWSING by Ron Powers (Atlantic Monthly: $17.95; 320 pp.). "White Town Drowsing" recounts the author's return to his home town, Hannibal, Miss., after years away. Now a CBS commentator in New York, Ron Powers wonders "what was lost, and gained, by growing up in a small town like Hannibal and not leaving it--but living on there as an adult, the child's impressions not sealed and preserved, as mine had been . . .

Peter J. Boyer, Atlanta bureau chief for The Times and formerly its national television reporter, is joining CBS News on Feb. 4 as a media critic, principally for "The CBS Morning News." The 32-year-old reporter will be based in New York. A CBS source who Thursday confirmed the appointment said CBS will formally announce Boyer's hiring early next week. The source said that Ron Powers, also a media critic for CBS News, will continue there.

Col. Robert Morgan, commander of the famed Memphis Belle B-17 bomber that flew combat missions over Europe during World War II, died late Saturday of complications from a fall, his wife said. He was 85. Morgan was hospitalized April 22 with a fractured neck after falling following an air show at Asheville Regional Airport, said Carole Donnelly, spokeswoman for Mission Hospitals, where Morgan was treated.