'Salt of the Earth'

Book excerpt: “Despite the wealth of information at our fingertips in the information age, there is a glaring emptiness that plagues us in our storytelling. We remove nuance and replace it with sensationalism. We shun original stories because they stray too far from the pack. In the process, we miss the beauty, pain and magic, the simplicity and grace of simple, real-life stories about the ordinary lives of people who work the soil to make America possible. The result is that we lose touch with who we are as a nation.” In this collection of syndicated columns from 2023 and 2024, Zito pays attention to those stories. From talking with workers in small towns to covering the biggest political figures of our time, Zito paints a picture of where the country is after the midterm elections all the way through the final summer of presidential campaigning. She approaches each subject with compassion and curiosity and strives to ensure that no everyman is forgotten or ignored.