In this foreword to the special issue of the "Journal of Education" celebrating the 30th anniversary of the publication of "Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading" ("BNR") (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, 1985), we share the backstory of the making of "BNR." We view our role as that of commentators, narrators, and storytellers. As members of the Staff of the Commission on Reading: Elfrieda H. Hiebert, Judith A. Scott, and Ian A. G. Wilkinson, and the Chairman of the Commission, Richard C. Anderson, our task, as we see it, is to tell the untold story of how "BNR" came into being, to reflect on what we were able to achieve given the circumstances of the time, what we wish we could have achieved, what issues went under the table, and what lessons can be learned from the endeavor.