Mining newspaper files and the deep archives and journalistic expertise of the Newseum, an interactive museum of news located in Washington, D.C., Outrage, Passion and Uncommon Sense examines decisive issues and events in U.S. history through the nation's editorial pages. Approximately fifty editorials are reprinted here on topics ranging from suffrage and race to war and politics—even Christmas—with probing analysis by Gartner.

"Editorials are the soul of the newspaper," Gartner says in the book's introduction. "Maybe the heart and the soul. And, on a good newspaper that knows and understands and loves its hometown, or its home country, the editorial is the heart and the soul of the town, or the nation, as well."

Readers will also see a visual account of the era through two-color illustrations, showcasing editorial cartoons, photographs and typographic details from period newspapers. Outrage, Passion and Uncommon Sense is a vital, significant collection that portrays the undeniable influence one editorial can have on this country in some of its most difficult times.