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<\/a><\/p>\nAmerica’s Last Days<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n As the United States looks past its 250th anniversary, questions about national identity, political cohesion and the future of the republic have become increasingly urgent. America\u2019s Last Days<\/em> <\/strong>argues that the tensions present since the nation\u2019s founding have deepened into a profound crisis of unity. Tracing the historical forces that shaped the United States, Peter Laufer examines contemporary divisions rooted in politics, economics, culture, immigration and regional identity. Drawing on primary sources and original reporting, this book considers secession movements, border realignment proposals and growing challenges to the idea of a shared American project. Provocative and wide-ranging, it asks whether the United States can endure in its current form, or whether a different political future may emerge from its longstanding divisions.<\/p>\n We Are All Americans<\/em><\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n In the days after September 11, 2001, journalist Peter Laufer set out on a cross-country journey to capture America at its most vulnerable and united. Traveling from Washington, DC, to California, he documented the voices, faces, and emotions of a diverse cross section of citizens grappling with tragedy, resilience, and what it meant to be American in that moment.<\/p>\n Ten years later, and again on the 20th anniversary, he retraced his trip across the country, reconnecting with Americans to learn how their perspectives had shifted as the nation healed, adapted, and faced new challenges. The result is a remarkable chronicle spanning two decades (2001, 2011, and 2021), one that reveals both the enduring spirit and the evolving identity of America.<\/p>\n With raw honesty and heartfelt testimony, We Are All Americans<\/em><\/strong> commemorates the 25th anniversary of 9\/11 through the words and images of typical people whose stories speak to the heart of our shared humanity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Neon<\/a> Nevada<\/a><\/em><\/strong> reported, written and photographed with Sheila Swan, expanded and updated in 2024, published by Skyhorse Publishing.<\/p>\n with a foreword by Lili Lakich, founder of the Los Angles Museum of Neon Art<\/p>\n \u201cThrough their vivid images and narratives, the authors bring the beauty and stories behind this fascinating slice of Americana to life.\u201d\u00a0\u2014Douglas Towne, editor,\u00a0Society for Commercial Archeology Journal<\/em><\/p>\n Radio Vox Populi: Talk Radio from the Romantic to the Anglo Saxon<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n with a foreword by David Hendy (Anthem Press, 2022).<\/p>\n Peter Laufer is like a literary flashlight\u2014whatever subject he tackles, he illuminates it with a piercing, but always warm, glare. With his Sapienza partner Christian Ruggiero, the two media scholars gathered a distinguished coterie of experts to help readers better understand the international role of talk radio. Radio Vox Populi<\/em> enjoys a distinct value-add with Laufer as an editor: Here is someone who has forgotten more about about this subject than most will ever know.<\/p>\n \u2013 Nick Ferrari, longtime LBC London talk radio breakfast host<\/p>\n Classroom 15: How the Hoover FBI Censored the Dreams of Innocent Oregon Fourth Graders<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n with a foreword by Ann Curry (Anthem Press, 2021).<\/p>\n The New York Times<\/em> writes: On a soggy January day at the University of Oregon, Peter Laufer…<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Other praise includes:<\/p>\n It is a fascinating tale, all the more remarkable because it was written not by a single author but by a class of journalism students. The book will appeal to history buffs (not just professional historians but average readers interested in history). It will appeal to readers who like a mystery – who stopped the pen pal project and why? It will appeal to journalism students, who will learn how a story can be divided into parts for different writers and reassembled. I think it will appeal to readers who just like a good story. And for those, like me, who remember the McCarthy era it will bring back some chilling memories. \u2013 Roberta Ulrich, veteran Oregonian<\/em> and UPI journalist<\/p>\n U<\/em><\/strong>p Against the Wall: The Case for Opening the Mexican-American Border<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n with a foreword by Vicente Fox (Anthem Press, 2020).<\/p>\n Fearlessly, Peter Laufer steps into the middle of the debate and states his case making points that will leave people shaking their heads. A primary text. \u2013 Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Across the Wire<\/em> and The Devil’s Highway<\/em><\/p>\n This is great reporting on a complex, delicate and controversial subject. Peter Laufer knows the American side of the border and the issue, but understands the Mexican one as well. It is a case well made for a different approach to a long-standing matter of dispute between the two countries. In the current debate about immigration in the United States, this is well worth reading.” \u2013 Jorge G. Casta\u00f1eda, former foreign minister of Mexico, professor of Latin American studies at NYU\u00a0\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n The journalistic adventure of Peter Laufer has resulted in thousands of hours of network reporting from the front lines of conflict and social change around the world, and a shelf of books dealing with social and political issues: from immigration and borders (Wetback Nation<\/a>, The Elusive State of Jefferson<\/a> <\/em>and<\/em> \u00a1Calexico!<\/a><\/em>) to talk radio to the pleasures of an intriguing American art form: neon signs, a decades-long project created with Sheila Swan Laufer).<\/p>\n Laufer’s books include one that focuses on American soldiers who return from Iraq opposed to the war, Mission Rejected<\/a><\/em>, and a compendium of conversations based on his Washington Monthly<\/em> radio program, Hope Is a Tattered Fla<\/em>g<\/em><\/a> (with Markos Kounalakis). The Dangerous World of Butterflies<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0\u00a0Forbidden Creatures<\/a><\/em>, \u00a0No Animals Were Harmed<\/a><\/em>, and Dreaming in Turtle<\/em><\/a>\u00a0make up Laufer’s quartet of books dealing with the relationships of humans with other animals.<\/p>\n Laufer wrote an expos\u00e9 of the sour side of the “organic” food industry in his book Organic: A Journalist’s Quest to Learn the Truth behind Food Labeling<\/a><\/em>\u00a0 His research took him across four continents<\/a> as he tracked foodstuffs from his local grocery store back to their (supposedly organic) sources.<\/p>\n Slow News<\/em><\/a> \u2014 Laufer’s Manifesto for the Critical News Consumer<\/em> \u2014 is published by the Oregon State University Press, just in time to save us all from the 24-hour news cycle and its progeny: misinformation, disinformation, lies and propaganda.<\/p>\n Peter Laufer is the\u00a0James Wallace Chair Professor of Journalism<\/a> at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. He is the co-Director of the University of Oregon-UNESCO Crossings Institute<\/a> for Intercultural Dialogue and Conflict-sensitive Reporting. The Institute is a lead sponsor of the 2024 University of Oregon conference “Extra! Extra! Refugee Journalists become the Story\u2014Migrating to Stay Alive.”<\/p>\n Radio work by Peter Laufer includes the creation of a magazine show from around the world for the National Geographic Society and a radio adaptation of its investigative reporting for Mother Jones<\/em> magazine. Ben Fong-Torres in his\u00a0San Francisco Chronicle<\/em> “Radio Waves<\/a>” column writes about Laufer’s talk radio work.<\/p>\n Professor Laufer is a frequent lecturer on the role of talk radio in American society, the crisis on the U.S.-Mexican border and about the border where animal use becomes animal abuse.<\/p>\n Watch Peter Laufer talk about his butterfly book<\/a> with Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show”.<\/p>\n Read the Washington Post<\/em> review<\/a> of The Dangerous World of Butterflies, <\/em>and the Los Angeles Times\u00a0<\/em>review<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/peterlaufer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/tattered-flag-1-225x300.jpeg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\nAbout Peter Laufer<\/h2>\n