If You Can Keep It

The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty

By: Eric Metaxas

Narrated by: Eric Metaxas

Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

From the number-one New York Times best-selling author Eric Metaxas comes If You Can Keep It, a new book that is part history and part manifesto, steeped in a critical analysis of our founding fathers' original intentions for America. Two hundred and forty years after the Declaration of Independence, it examines how we as a nation are living up to our founders' lofty vision for liberty and justice.

If You Can Keep It is at once a thrilling review of America's uniqueness, and a sobering reminder that America's greatness cannot continue unless we truly understand what our founding fathers meant for us to be. The book includes a stirring call-to-action for every American to understand the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is America. It also paints a vivid picture of the tremendous fragility of that experiment and explains why that fragility has been dangerously forgotten - and in doing so it lays out our own responsibility to live those ideals and carry on those freedoms.

Metaxas believes America is not a nation bounded by ethnic identity or geography, but rather by a radical and unprecedented idea, based upon liberty and freedom. It's time to reconnect to that idea before America loses the very foundation for what made it exceptional in the first place.

©2016 Eric Metaxas (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Profound and thoroughly entertaining ... This book has made me think in ways that I haven’t in years. Metaxas is a major writer. Not to be missed." (Dick Cavett)

"If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty - along with such essentials as Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington and The 5000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen - must be front and center on every reading list." (The Washington Times)

"Everyone in every country, at every socioeconomic level, of every religious and secular persuasion, of every political bent, should read it.... It’s the book you must read this year." (Martha Rogers, PhD, coauthor of Extreme Trust: Honesty as a Competitive Advantage)

This should be required reading for ALL schools!

This was so informative and interesting. I love history, especially when it correlates with Christianity! I love Eric Metaxas writings. I read Bonhoeffer and I plan on reading more of his books. I have learned so much from them and it's refreshing to know that there are some out there that do still care about the future of our country! God bless you and your family!!!

Great story about the American founding

This is a thorough discussion of the events that led to the founding of the greatest nation on earth. Very well researched and the reading by the author is excellent.

A great book to consider the value of America

Disappointed in America today? worried about our role in international politics? Have concerns about the reception of imagrants? This book provides insight, historical fact, and perspective with an appreciation for divine involvement in what makes America exceptional.

All Americans Should Read This Book!

This is a remarkable book about how the roots of our nation's unique form of government, government by the people, depends entirely upon virtue. Freedom depends upon virtue which according to Metaxas in turn depends upon faith.

The author masterfully weaves stories from American history with stories of American heroes, with stretches of beautiful American literature to explain why America is great. He is not blind to the limitations and in his closing chapter talks about what it means to love our country, both bad and good.

The writing is eloquent, the research is scrupulous, and the exhortations to appreciate what makes America great are powerful. His account is clear eyed and I can only hope that those who have become cynical about our nation may pause long enough to hear the words of our founding fathers and our heroes since that time explain what it takes to make our country great. The book is both sobering and encouraging. The choice is up to the reader!

Must Read!!!!!

Loved this book, it was a reading assignment for a Federal Government class. I really have to say that the Author had me at the 1st sentence.

Great Historical Read

My wife and I really enjoyed listening to this book. The information is spot-on and a great reminder of how great a country we have here.

Awesome!

Wow! Loved it for the history of America that it cover along with the insight into what our founders dealt with while trying to draft our Constitution. Thank you Mr. Metaxes for writing this book. It will help me tremendously with the people I battle with daily about America along with the patriotism that is noticeably absent in our country today.

Loved it!

I loved that this was in Erics voice.
The story was amazing and what I learned was unforgettable. I can't remember all, but the Squanto story was awesome, I rewound it for my daughter to hear. Eric's personal Statue of Liberty story was emotional and invoked tears. Wonderful wonderful book

Love this book!

This is exactly the kind of book that the world needs you right now! Truly amazing, I was moved to tears by the inspirational stories throughout

Great Book by a Great, Christian Author & Patriot

I have met the author a few times as his patents attend the same church as my family and his dad was born on the same island in Greece where we have a home. Eric is a humble, unassuming, personable, intelligent, and funny man.

I've listened to almost all of Eric's books and his Socrates in the City lecture series on Audible. Without "shoving religion down your throat," Eric weaves Christianity into his writings in a very respectful manner so that the book will appeal to any reader, faithful or not.


This book is timely in light of the divisions left on the wake of the Obama presidency and the loss of moral capital, patriotism, pride, and sense of nationalism.

If you need a booster shot of feeling like a proud American, read/listen to this book.

Yassas!

Pat, NYS & Cephallonia