The Idea of America: Reflections on Inequality, Democracy, and the Values We Share

by Darren Walker, Jonas Kieffer

Darren Walker has lived the promise of America. Born to a single mother in a Louisiana charity hospital, the pride of Head Start and public schools in rural East Texas, Walker serves today as the tenth President of the Ford Foundation, among the largest private foundations in the US. Since 2013, he has overseen more than $7 billion in grantmaking, while transforming philanthropy and inspiring conversations about and commitments to democratic values and institutions around the world. As Walker writes, "I have lived on both sides of American inequality. And I know, all too personally, that the distance between the two has never been greater."

In The Idea of America, Walker argues that we can narrow our widening divides by rediscovering our common aspirations and common good. This prescient, timely compendium introduces us to an essential leader of and for our moment—in his own words—through his most essential reflections, essays, and speeches. Walker calls for courageous, moral leadership from us all—challenging us to step back from the extremes, to lean into nuance and complexity, and to build longer bridges.

"Hope," Walker affirms, "is the oxygen of democracy." The Idea of America gives powerful testimony to all that is possible "if we renew our fidelity to the values that bind us, both despite and because of our differences."

Genres: Nonfiction

624 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2025

Reviews

[Laurel]

DNF. Interesting compilation but the format of being only assorted speeches and whatnot made it feel very redundant and monotonous. A memoir would have bene more compelling and easier to persist in reading. As it is, there’s certainly wisdom and beautiful, evocative writing - but it feels more like a coffee table book to flip through than a book to read cover to cover and certainly more than an audiobook where you can’t see the chapter headings or demarcations.