Hugh Downs Visits With Barbara Walters

Oct. 4 -- Its 9 p.m. at QVC headquarters just outside Philadelphia, and our old friend Hugh Downs — now 81 — is about to do what he does best — step in front of the camera.

This time, he's on the air to plug his new book, My America. In less than 10 minutes, Hugh has sold more than 3,000 books, while adding more airtime to his 60-year career in broadcasting.

Hugh joined NBC in 1954, and after a series of assignments he landed on the Today Show, where I was a writer. In 1963, Hugh asked me to join him as co-host.

Then, in 1978, he took over the hosting duties of a brand-new newsmagazine on ABC — 20/20. Six years later, I joined Hugh again.

For more than two decades, Hugh told the stories that he wanted to tell … everything from visiting both the North and South Poles, to conversing with a gorilla, to swimming with sharks, to training for a mission in space.

And so it was a sad day for us when he decided to leave three years ago. In typically elegant — and kind — fashion, he bade us farewell: "To each of you and your family, I send out my warmest wishes for your personal well-being and for the safety and health of our country as well."

No one, certainly not Hugh, could have ever imagined how the health of our country would change after Sept. 11. His 10th book, My America is a collection of essays from a variety of Americans reflecting back on Sept. 11, and celebrating the American spirit.

Everybody still asks me how Hugh is doing, so we invited him to return to the 20/20 set to talk about his new book and his new life.

"I'm doing more than I think I should, but I'm enjoying it," Hugh told me. He's also lecturing at the Arizona State and has a couple more books in progress.

We talked about My America. It's a book in which 150 Americans from all walks of life describe what their country means to them. (I am actually one of the 150!)

Hugh told me he began the project in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. "I had the thoughts that Americans reacted in a way that might be interesting to gather the thoughts of some people of some visibility, and many walks of life."