To many， Charles Kuralt was the real and true voice of America， a man often compared to Mark Twain， Will Rogers， John Steinbeck， and Ernie Pyle. Kuralt s last television and book project was a series of short television spots called "An American Moment with Charles Kuralt". They were syndicated to news stations around the country， beginning in January of 1997 and running through August of the same year. Organized by Kuralt s longtime friend and CBS News colleague， Peter Freundlich， into ten chapters ranging from American Emblems such as stone walls and cable cars to American Originals like buffalo wings， totem poles， and cowboy hats， these short stories tell us who we are and how we came to be. Through each American Moment -- which Kuralt defined as "a small truth of the kind easily overlooked by people in a hurry" -- we can glimpse pieces of the real America: the heart of the country that Kuralt knew and loved so well. Taken together， they remind us of something we may have known once but have forgotten in the headlong， frantic rush of daily life.