Actions Speak Loudest: Keeping Our Promise for a Better World Book

Hope and change were the themes of Barack Obama's historic presidential campaign, but America and the world are now faced with the daunting task of translating this stirring sentiment into reality. With contributions from thirty-five committed world citizens, the book in your hands is a starting point to help keep our generational promise to leave this world a better place than we inherited. By combining powerful ideas, images, and actions, it draws attention to some of the major issues facing this and future generations, ranging from childhood obesity to climate change. Most importantly, it sets forth workable ways to make a difference in your home, your community, and the greater world.

Actions Speak Loudest delves into the heart of thirty-two issues critical to the well-being of the next generation, with evocative, award-winning photographs; articulate and accessible essays; and attainable, ambitious ideas for action. The contributors—who span all walks of life and fields of work—are not just limited to well-known celebrities, authors, and experts but also include everyday American heroes who have overcome their own personal challenges to make a difference in the lives of youth in their community. Readers are invited to visit actionsspeakloudest.org, an online community where they can share their own ideas and recommended actions.

"Actions speak louder than words," Mark Twain once said, "but seldom ever do." This book holds open the prospect that our actions will indeed speak louder in our time.