Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
Tom Brokaw was born in 1940, but it wasn't until he was a famous newscaster that he began to contemplate what his parents' generation--those born between 1910 and the mid-1920s--had accomplished. Narrating his own book, he discusses the sacrifices those men and women made: the bodily harm they suffered in war, the diligence with which they built families and businesses, the courage they displayed in rehabilitating their war wounds, the integrity and values that infused their lives. "They never whined or whimpered," Brokaw notes. The stories these men and women tell Brokaw are consistently startling--triumphant, tragic, courageous, sad, miraculous. Although Brokaw never gets maudlin or sappy, most people will find it impossible to listen to this audiobook with dry eyes. (Running time: 4 hours, 3 cassettes) --Lou Schuler
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
An easy, fair & refreshing read!
Customer Rating:
The Greatest Generation is an easy read yet it's also even handed and fair. I agree with Brokaw's point that those who went to war (pacific or europe) are the generation that built America and modernized it. The generation which offered its unconditional love and service to the United States and ran to her aid when she needed them. This generation (now in their late 70s or 80s) came home from the front lines and contributed to the re-construction of a country that suffered from the New Deal, Great Depression and other problems of the 1930s. This book attests to the greatness of that generation and should be on every young man's reading list.
Brokow's abandonment
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After sharing the wonderful accounts of this self sacrificing generation so fairly, Tom Brokow has currently chosen to throw them all overboard. Everything they fought against is finding its way into our society today, under the blind eye of today's main stream media. Brokow's lack of journalistic integrity and bias has been completely exposed. His recent interview on the PBS Charlie Rose show has demonstrated, with Brokow's own words, he didn't do his journalistic duty and find out who Senator Obama is. Tom and Charlie Rose bemoaned the fact they know nothing about Obama. Isn't it interesting that he can research and produce such a good book about my father's generation, the Great Depression and WWII, but can't or won't do any research into the alliances, college years, internet fund raising sources and financial activities of a man seeking the highest office in our country. Tom really doesn't respect my father's generations' accomplishments because he has decided to tread all over them. Thank you so much Tom, for your journalistic incompetence.
Stop and reflect a little
Customer Rating:
I just finished this book. I know it's years old, but it's new to me. I sat down with it expecting to basically have a written version of any History Channel documentary about the World War II generation. In some respects, I suppose that's what it is. On the other hand, the vignettes and profiles that Brokaw has included in his book are fascinating, and some are heartrending. To watch one's brother receive a fatal injury in battle, and be helpless to do anything about it . . . that's just horrific.
This book delves into the psyche of the generation of my grandfather. It goes a long way in explaining why and how he interacted with my father, and even with me. Coming from what I sometimes call the "touchy-feely generation," I always wondered why Grandpa never talked about is war experiences. We all knew that he'd been blown over the side of his ship during a kamikaze attack, and that he was subsequently taken prisoner by the Japanese, but that's really about it. He never, ever opened up and talked about it. It was perplexing.
After reading Brokaw's book, I now understand why Grandpa was the way he was a little better. Brokaw chose his subjects well in The Greatest Generation, and I think he builds his case well, too (although he tends toward fluffy adverbial phrases, which I find a bit too saccharine on occassion.) This is an easy read, and it's broken into bite-size chunks that make it an easy book to come back to for specifics. As a teacher, I appreciate Brokaw's insight into the generation that helped to establish the U.S. as a superpower, and the drive and determination that went into everything they did. I've used some of his examples when I approach teaching about the sixties, and how the definition of personal freedom changed with the baby-boomers -- how that clashed with their parents' generation, and why.
Definitely worth the read, and a little personal reflection about how the lessons of our grandparents and parents might be applied today, in a world that could use another generation of heroes.
Copy was highlighted
Customer Rating:
The copy recieved was not as described. I was expecting a clean used copy and I recieved a copy that was used as a text book and had yellow & green highlighter and hand written notes in the margins. I could not give it as a gift.
Generation- World War II
Customer Rating:
Tom Brokaw has coined the World War II generation the greatest generation ever. In this book, he chronicles the lives and times of those who fought in World War II and how it affected them. The book is broken up into sections with miniature biographies of individuals telling of there lives before, during, and after the War.
Undeniably, there were tremendous sacrifices by those in uniform and at home and the whole country rallied to help the troops win the war. The book includes average Joe and Jill type of people as well as more well known veterans such as Hank Greenberg, Bob Dole, Andy Rooney, George H.W. Bush, John F. Kennedy, and Art Buchwald. It also covers the story of women's contributions to the war effort whether in or out of uniform. Additionally, the civil rights issues of equality to minorities is covered in fairly extensive detail. Some of the stories describing the inequalities and discrimination which occurred provided better insight into the nature of things in that day.
By and large, veterans following the war were eager to get on with life, start families and successful business and political careers. The war helped shape their focus and sense of purpose. This generation helped create a framework upon which all living in America today now benefit.
Towards the end of the book, things seemed to slow down a bit and the overall flow of the book could probably have benefited from cutting down the length 50 or so pages. This is not to say the stories were not worthy of being told, it simply had a feeling of weightiness and length at 390 pages.
This book should be a required part of high school curriculum so that all students would better understand the tremendous sacrifice, efforts, and heroics performed by the incredible men and women of this generation. By understanding the values and things that drove this generation, the youth and upcoming leaders of today can draw upon their wisdom and positively shape the future of our nation. Like individual pieces in a jigsaw puzzle come together to create a picture, the individual stories of the regular folks and well known come together to create a picture of the greatest generation America has yet seen.
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