Iconic America: Reading Challenge #1 – DAVID RUBENSTEIN

PBS Books, in collaboration with WETA, is honored to present “Iconic America’s” Host and Executive Producer David M. Rubenstein, author of “The American Experiment.”  This book is part of the Iconic America Summer Reading Challenge and has been designated as recommended reading for June.

Join PBS Books to learn about “The American Experiment” and Rubenstein’s extraordinary work to explore America’s democracy, culture, innovation, and ideas. He will also share special insights into his series, “Iconic America: Our Symbols and Stories.”  This series challenges us as individuals to think about our nation’s enduring symbols that speak to what a society values and how people see themselves.

“The American Experiment” is the capstone book in a trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of “How to Lead” and “The American Story” and features some of our nation’s greatest minds who explore the inspiring story of America as a grand experiment and democracy, culture, innovation and ideas including American icons and historians such as Ken Burns, Madeleine Albright, Wynton Marsalis, Billie Jean King, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and many more.

Exploring the diverse make-up of our country’s DNA through interviews with Pulitzer Prize–winning historians, diplomats, music legends, and sports giants, “The American Experiment” captures the dynamic arc of a young country reinventing itself in real-time. Through these enlightening conversations, the American spirit comes alive, revealing the setbacks, suffering, invention, ingenuity, and social movements that continue to shape our vision of what America is—and what it can be. 

Rubenstein is the Host and Executive Producer of “Iconic America: Our Stories and Symbols” and Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm. He is also Chairman of the Boards of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Gallery of Art, the Economic Club of Washington, and the University of Chicago.

As a philanthropist, Rubenstein has made transformative gifts for the restoration or repair of the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Monticello, Montpelier, Mount Vernon, Arlington House, Iwo Jima Memorial, the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, the National Archives, the National Zoo, the Library of Congress, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

He is an original signer of The Giving Pledge; the host of “The David Rubenstein Show” and “Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein;” and author of the notable books “The American Story,” “How to Lead,” “The American Experiment,” and “How to Invest.”

Iconic America: Our Stories and Symbols with David Rubenstein premiered earlier this spring.  It explores American history through a close examination of iconic national symbols: indelible artifacts, places, and archetypes. As host, Rubenstein engages in conversation with historical thinkers, community members, and subject matter experts. Together, they dive deeply into each symbol’s history and how its meaning has changed over time, using these symbols as a gateway to understanding America’s past and present. The series focuses on eight American icons: The subjects of the series’ eight episodes are: Fenway Park, the Hollywood Sign, the Gadsden Flag, the American Cowboy, the Statue of Liberty, the American Bald Eagle, Stone Mountain, and the Golden Gate Bridge.