Amazon.com
Veteran reporter and NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw went to France to make a documentary marking the 40th anniversary of D-day in 1984. Although he was thoroughly briefed on the historical background of the invasion, he was totally unprepared for how it would affect him emotionally. Flooded with childhood memories of World War II, Brokaw began asking veterans at the ceremony to revisit their past and talk about what happened, triggering a chain reaction of war-torn confessions and Brokaw's compulsion to capture their experiences in what he terms "the permanence a book would represent."
After almost 15 years and hundreds of letters and interviews, Brokaw wrote The Greatest Generation, a representative cross-section of the stories he came across. However, this collection is more than a mere chronicle of a tumultuous time, it's history made personal by a cast of everyday people transformed by extraordinary circumstances: the first women to break the homemaker mold, minorities suffering countless indignities to boldly fight for their country, infantrymen who went on to become some of the most distinguished leaders in the world, small-town kids who became corporate magnates. From the reminiscences of George Bush and Julia Child to the astonishing heroism and moving love stories of everyday people, The Greatest Generation salutes those whose sacrifices changed the course of American history. --Rebekah Warren
Book Description
"In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, to Normandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the fortieth anniversary of D-Day, the massive and daring Allied invasion of Europe that marked the beginning of the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. There, I underwent a life-changing experience. As I walked the beaches with the American veterans who had returned for this anniversary, men in their sixties and seventies, and listened to their stories, I was deeply moved and profoundly grateful for all they had done. Ten years later, I returned to Normandy for the fiftieth anniversary of the invasion, and by then I had come to understand what this generation of Americans meant to history. It is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced."
In this superb book, Tom Brokaw goes out into America, to tell through the stories of individual men and women the story of a generation, America's citizen heroes and heroines who came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America. This generation was united not only by a common purpose, but also by common values--duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family and country, and, above all, responsibility for oneself. In this book, you will meet people whose everyday lives reveal how a generation persevered through war, and were trained by it, and then went on to create interesting and useful lives and the America we have today.
"At a time in their lives when their days and nights should have been filled with innocent adventure, love, and the lessons of the workaday world, they were fighting in the most primitive conditions possible across the bloodied landscape of France, Belgium, Italy, Austria, and the coral islands of the Pacific. They answered the call to save the world from the two most powerful and ruthless military machines ever assembled, instruments of conquest in the hands of fascist maniacs. They faced great odds and a late start, but they did not protest. They succeeded on every front. They won the war; they saved the world. They came home to joyous and short-lived celebrations and immediately began the task of rebuilding their lives and the world they wanted. They married in record numbers and gave birth to another distinctive generation, the Baby Boomers. A grateful nation made it possible for more of them to attend college than any society had ever educated, anywhere. They gave the world new science, literature, art, industry, and economic strength unparalleled in the long curve of history. As they now reach the twilight of their adventurous and productive lives, they remain, for the most part, exceptionally modest. They have so many stories to tell, stories that in many cases they have never told before, because in a deep sense they didn't think that what they were doing was that special, because everyone else was doing it too.
"This book, I hope, will in some small way pay tribute to those men and women who have given us the lives we have today--an American family portrait album of the greatest generation."
In this book you'll meet people like Charles Van Gorder, who set up during D-Day a MASH-like medical facility in the middle of the fighting, and then came home to create a clinic and hospital in his hometown. You'll hear George Bush talk about how, as a Navy Air Corps combat pilot, one of his assignments was to read the mail of the enlisted men under him, to be sure no sensitive military information would be compromised. And so, Bush says, "I learned about life." You'll meet Trudy Elion, winner of the Nobel Prize in medicine, one of the many women in this book who found fulfilling careers in the changed society as a result of the war. You'll meet Martha Putney, one of the first black women to serve in the newly formed WACs. And you'll meet the members of the Romeo Club (Retired Old Men Eating Out), friends for life.
Through these and other stories in The Greatest Generation, you'll relive with ordinary men and women, military heroes, famous people of great achievement, and community leaders how these extraordinary times forged the values and provided the training that made a people and a nation great.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Like Charles Kurault, David Brinkley, and Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw is an outstanding broadcast journalist and a fine writer. In this stunning book, he goes out into America, to tell the story of America's citizen heroes and heroines, men and women whose values, and everyday lives of honor, courage, perseverance, and vision, created the America we know.
The greatest generation learned resourcefulness in adversity early -- the Depression -- and then they went to war against two of the greatest military machines ever created. They won the war, they saved their enemies (through the Marshall Plan, etc.), and then they came home to re-create America -- its communities, roads, businesses, government, arts, and sciences. And they never complained, and they never told their stories. Brokaw believes this is because in a deep sense they didn't think that what they were doing was that special, because everyone else was doing it too.
In this book you'll meet people like Charles Van Gorder, who set up during D-Day a MASH-like medical facility in the middle of the fighting, and then came home to create a clinic and hospital in his home town. You'll hear George Bush talk about how, as a Navy Air Corps combat pilot, one of his assignments was to read the mail of the enlisted men under him, to be sure no sensitive military information would be compromised. And so, Bush says, "I learned about life".
Customer Reviews:
Abridged, but still moving.......2007-09-06
My wife and I purchased the audio version of the book - our first audio book, but were disappointed that the book was not offered unabridged on the cd version. The book was very moving, especialy since the author, Tom Brokaw, was the narrator. We hated to hear it end! Please, please, purchase the unabridged, cassette-tape version if you can; you won't be disappointed!
A noteworthy read.......2007-09-01
The brokaw book is noteworthy in that he praises people from many diferent walks of life for thier WWII contributions. The only comment aboutthis book is that it is not writen by an author but sounds like an author reading from a teleprompter.
This really was The Greatest Generation!!!.......2007-07-21
If I could visit any other time in history this would be it! This was also my father's generation, so it captured my attention. He was a naval officer during the war and talks about that time often. Despite a horrible war going on, people from this generation talk about this time with great warmth. This was a time of innocence. People learned how to take care of themselves and their families no matter what the hardship. They were much less selfish, and weren't as concerned about only themselves. I loved to hear these stories of survival, and how they made do with what they had. It makes me feel like we have too much today, and wish we had a more simple lifestyle.
Hardcore American.......2007-06-09
Anybody who wants to know what being an American is all about, read this.
Stories with common themes.......2007-05-22
I noticed common themes in the stories that Brokaw wrote about in this book. These people were very patriotic. Most of these people grew up during The Depression. They appreciated family and survival. They worked hard and made something of themselves after the war. They endured discrimination and yet they were not bitter as a result. They did not want to talk about the war and if they were recognized as heros, they were humble and accepted their awards as a symbol of all those that fought beside them. This was a truly amazing generation. I believe the circumstances of the time influenced them to become what they were. They paved the way for the next generation to come . They didn't understand the younger generations and felt slightly removed but I don't think that made them any different then the generation that preceded them. I am glad I had the opportunity to read this book. Especially since a lot of them gone to their great reward. God Bless them.
Book Description
This book tells the story of a band of climbers who reinvented mountaineering during the three decades after Everest’s first ascent. It is a story of tremendous courage, astonishing achievement and heart-breaking loss. Their leader was the boyish, fanatically driven Chris Bonington. His inner circle — which came to be know as Bonington’s Boys — included a dozen who became climbing’s greatest generation. Bonington’s Boys gave birth to a new brand of climbing. They took increasingly terrible risks on now-legendary expeditions to the world’s most fearsome peaks. And they paid an enormous price for their achievements. Most of Bonington’s Boys died in the mountains, leaving behind the hardest question of all: Was it worth it?
The Boys of Everest, based on interviews with surviving climbers and other individuals, as well as five decades of journals, expedition accounts, and letters, provides the closest thing to an answer that we’ll ever have. It offers riveting descriptions of what Bonington's Boys found in the mountains, as well as an understanding of what they lost there.
Customer Reviews:
This is a powerful gift!.......2006-11-21
The Boys of Everest puts us in the heart of the extreme imperative. We are able to know in some way what it is to have no other choice in this world but to act without hesitation to preserve our selves. We know what it is like to be brought to the end of things. Our minds do not deliberate over the choices. We step further and further out across a great wall on the face of a monster and discover we have no place to retreat. We find ourselves trapped or liberated. We allow something inside to determine the difference. This place, so close to the end, can also be the beginning.
Clint Willis has shown us the heart of climbing (actually the heart of everything) and it is a powerful gift!
I Lived On The Mountains While Reading This Book.......2006-10-22
Reading The Boys of Everest is the closest I'll ever come to entering the small circle of hard-core mountaineers. I devoured this book and missed living in its world when I was done. Clint Willis' descriptions and images are so vivid that I could have been a quiet companion, somehow participating with Chris Bonington and his brethren from a safe place in the bone chilling cold. I almost felt dizzy from unimaginable heights, disoriented and physically ill from altitude sickness, and sick with grief each time a climber, whom I had come to know, perished on a mountain. The book continued to engage me, even though the circumstances were often heartbreaking. In that sense, I nearly adopted the characters' mindsets: I had to keep going through the next chapter, and the next mountain, despite the sadness of losing someone on the previous one. Through Clint Willis' incredible prose, I've been able to dwell inside the heads of fascinating people.
Willis Gets It Right.......2006-10-20
As an armchair mountain climber (I read these books out of amazement that anyone would ever try these stunts), I have to say that author Willis is at the top of the heap. He not only seems to get what's going on in the heads of extreme mountain climbers, but he knows how to convey it--in gripping prose that is never clicheed. I have some of Willis' anthologies of adventure writing, so I know he is well-read in the genre (and a mountaineer himself). He has clearly absorbed the best of that writing, and turned it into something fresh in his own effort. Paradoxically, for a story that celebrates a bunch of social misfits, the book is full of wisdom about how to live life. This is no ordinary biography. As for the actual climbing passages--good luck putting this book down. I had to force myself not to flip ahead and see who dies next.
Amazon.com
The popularity and credibility of charismatic news anchor Tom Brokaw ensured bestseller status for The Greatest Generation, Brokaw's homage to the Americans who survived and overcame the depression and World War II. The Greatest Generation Speaks expands his thesis that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those tough and courageous men and women for ensuring the freedoms and comforts that Americans enjoy today. Their stories, culled from letters, interviews, and personal histories of the Greatest Generation and their family members, are anecdotal but extremely powerful, showing how men and women were sustained by simple ideals of patriotism, family, and fair play. This individualistic portrait is exactly how Americans saw themselves: Brokaw's book is a valid reflection of the times.
During a period of economic hardship and in a country united by the war effort, choices were simple; few people questioned why America was fighting Germany and Japan. Adversity brought out the best, especially in an optimistic culture like America's. As the soldier who found Beethoven's pianos in a Weimar house says after his unit is shelled, "Nothing like a close call to make the morning more beautiful." The greatest impression that war veterans seem to carry back from war is a sense of comradeship that, in spite of pain and loss, render their war years the most rewarding of all their life experiences. Modern life doesn't necessarily have the same certainties. The Greatest Generation Speaks is a healthy reminder of the foundations on which American society is built. --John Stevenson
Book Description
"I first began to appreciate fully all we owed the World War II generation while I was covering the fortieth and fiftieth anniversaries of D-Day for NBC News. When I wrote in The Greatest Generation about the men and women who came out of the Depression, who won great victories and made lasting sacrifices in World War II and then returned home to begin building the world we have today--the people I called the Greatest Generation--it was my way of saying thank you. I felt that this tribute was long overdue, but I was not prepared for the avalanche of letters and responses touched off by that book.
Members of that generation were, characteristically, grateful for the attention and modest about their own lives as they shared more remarkable stories about their experiences in the Depression and during the war years.
"Their children and grandchildren were eager to share the lessons and insights they gained from the stories they heard about the lives of a generation now passing on too swiftly. They wanted to say thank you in their own way. I had wanted to write a book about America, and now America was writing back.
"The letters, many of them written in firm Palmer penmanship on flowered stationery, have given me a much richer understanding not only of those difficult years but also of my own life. They give us new, intensely personal perspectives of a momentous time in our history. They are the voices of a generation that has given so much and wants to share even more.
"Some of the letters were written from the front during the war, or from families to their loved ones in harm's way in distant places. There were firsthand accounts of battles and poignant reflections on loneliness, exuberant expressions of love and somber accounts of loss.
"It seems that everyone in that generation has something worthwhile to contribute, and so we have included some pages in
The Greatest Generation Speaks for others to share memories at once inspirational and instructive.
"If we are to heed the past to prepare for the future, we should listen to these quiet voices of a generation that speaks to us of duty and honor, sacrifice and accomplishment. I hope more of their stories will be preserved and cherished as reminders of all that we owe them and all that we can learn from them." --Tom Brokaw
Front-jacket photo: "She said yes!" An American G.I. had proposed marriage to his girlfriend back home, and when her letter arrived, saying yes, he propped her photograph up in his helmet and had a buddy take this picture.
--(UPICorbis-Bettmann)
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Inspired by Tom Brokaw's bestselling book, The Greatest Generation, members of the World War II generation and their families speak for themselves in these powerful letters -- and Brokaw reflects on why their lives of difficulty and triumph continue to strike such a deep chord in Americans today. Millions of people around the world have read and loved Tom Brokaw's book about the World War H generation and how ordinary people, through lives of duty, honor, and courage, gave us the America we have today. Thousands of people wrote letters to Brokaw about how The Greatest Generation provoked a reevaluation of their own lives and the experiences of their parents and grandparents, bringing families together around a core of memories and beliefs -- stories of war, love, family, faith, and country. From the thousands of letters he received, Tom Brokaw has selected some that capture in raw and beautiful detail everyday lives richly lived, lives of courage, achievement, and honor, rooted in a core of values that made a people and a nation great.
Customer Reviews:
A Compilation of Worthwhile Memories.......2006-10-20
This is just a great book containing letters from some of this nation's finest people. It's all about WWII heros, not only on the battle field but also on the home front. It's all about a generation that faced the depression and then WWII with bravery, character, and resolve rarely seen.
Sequel and the Normal drop you Expect.......2004-12-26
I thought The Greatest Generation was an American treasure and could not recommend it higher. But this book tries to mine more of that gold and not quite as well. The Great Generation told stories by Brokaw. This book is a sampling of letters written based upon reading the Greatest Generation. And while many of the letters are touching, it doesn't read as professionally as the first book and in many cases becomes redundant. A worthwhile read but not nearly as good as the first.
Responses from the "Greatest Generation".......2004-08-04
In this follow-up to "The Greatest Generation," the members and children of the generation that came of age during World War II describe their experiences, in their own words. This is a first-hand look at the hardships faced and overcome by these individuals, as well as the impact these experiences had on them and their children. Many of these letters were written during the war, and are invaluable in connecting us to that period. I can't help wondering, though, how our age of e-mail, cell phones and instant messaging will be remembered without a permenant record of letters to speak for us to future generations...
Not Just Brokaw.......2003-12-19
I was terrifically moved by this recording, and Tom Brokaw was the least of it. The supporting cast really throws themselves into the letters from The Greatest Generation. Nothing is hokey or excessive, but the honest human sentiment is tough to resist.
By contrast, Tom Brokaw sounds like he's phoning in his part of the script. But he has comparatively little to do here. The heavy lifting is done by the professional narrator and actors. A stunner. It's impossible to recommend this edition too highly.
The Greatest Generation.......2001-11-28
As the daughter of a Korean War Marine veteran, I must say it was the best gift I ever purchased for my father. This book brought light into the eyes of those who lived during this incredible time and who understood the consequences of war. I believe my father felt relieved to read the stories and letters-to see the images and to realize that his experiences as a soldier and a civilian were very similiar. I am so glad our children have a book of reference such as this; especially after the tragedy of 9/11.... it will help them to understand and appreciate the price of freedom and to better understand the stories of their grandparents. Hats off to you Tom Brokaw!
Book Description
Baseball is woven into American culture and history to the point where myth and reality blend, making it difficult at best to distinguish between the two. Rarely is this more apparent than in the life and times of Bob Feller, one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game.
From his childhood during the Great Depression in rural Iowa, Feller lived storybook experiences that seemed to foretell his unparalleled ascent to big league stardom. His father structured everything to help young Bob realize his potential as a baseball player, including building a farmland "field of dreams" expressly for young Bob’s diamond education.
But Feller’s professional life in baseball was far from the near-mythic quality of his childhood. Feller became a controversial figure from the moment he signed his first professional contract. Battling with owners, the press, and fellow players, Feller alienated and charmed them by turns, reflecting the complex motivations of a man aware of his own prodigious talent and opportunities. Feller was both an unabashed patriot who enlisted in the Navy the day after Pearl Harbor and a remarkably successful businessman who organized lucrative winter barnstorming tours. His unquestioned position as one of the first players to advocate integrating the game was complicated by his combative relationship with Jackie Robinson. As a result, Feller’s contribution to the game has been the subject of both positive and negative interpretation. John Sickels has produced the first balanced, historical portrait of this controversial player whose commitment and talent inspired his teammates and whose outspoken opinions just as frequently exasperated them.
Customer Reviews:
An interesting, and successful approach to biography.......2007-09-14
I really enjoyed how Sickels was able to blend historical information with statistics to make this biography more complete. Through this interesting approach, the reader really gets a more complete picture of Feller, not only through the eyes of his peers/contemporaries, but through placing him in his historical context.
This is a book the deserves a wider readership. Even if you are not a fan of Bob Feller or of the Cleveland Indians, you will be able to find a lot of value in this book.
A VERY GOOD BOOK.......2005-06-07
THIS IS THE STORY BOB FELLER STAR PITCHER FOR THE CLEVELAND INDIANS DURING THE 1930'S THRU THE MID 1950'S. THE BOOK TOUCHES ON HIS CHILDHOOD WHERE BOB AND HIS FATHER BUILT A PLAYING FIELD ON THEIR FARMLAND (FIELD OF DREAMS) TO HIS DAYS AS A STAR PITCHER. HIS CAREER IS COVERED IN GREAT DETAIL AND IS WELL WRITTEN. THE AUTHOR ALSO TOUCHES ON HIS STINT IN THE NAVY DURING WORLD WAR 2 AND ALSO SOME INSIGHT AND OPINIONS BY VARIOUS PEOPLE CONCERNING BOB. AMONG THESE ARE JACKIE ROBINSON, EX TEAMATES AND VARIOUS WRITERS. BOB WAS NEVER ONE TO BE TIMID IN HIS OPINIONS AND THIS STORY COVERS IN DETAIL HOW HIS CANDIDNESS GOT HIM IN TROUBLE. THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAD WAS THAT IT DID NOT COVER MUCH OF WHAT HE HAS DONE RECENTLY. OVERALL A GREAT TRIBUTE TO RAPID ROBERT. RECOMMENDED TO ALL BASEBALL FANS.
Pleasantly surprised.......2005-02-24
I was given this book as a gift from a good friend. I thought it might be full of baseball statistics - I found it to be not only informative but entertaining. Many times during my reading I had a smile on my face or was laughing about a comment Mr. Sickels made. It was very enjoyable reading.
An excellent biography.......2004-12-11
This is one of the best baseball biographies that I have ever read -- balanced, throroughly resaearched, very well written.
I am of Feller's generation, was a Cleveland Indians fan throughout his career, and therefore knew a great deal about him. I have read Feller's autobiographies.
Yet I learned a great deal from Sickels books and found it fascinating reading -- hard to put down. Some of it was a very pleaseant trip down memory lane.
Interesting and Entertaining, but Incomplete.......2004-06-12
The book is written in an intersting, insightful and entertaining manner. It covers Feller's individual baseball seasons in detail. It alos presents interesting info. about his military service in WW 2. It presents an insightful analysis of his complex personality. Its weaknesses are: (1) it covers reatively little of his personal life, especially his post baseball life; and (2) it includes few, if any, recollections of Feller, based on interviews by the author with players and other people who knew Feller.
The author seems to rely entirely on synthesizing information from the various articles and books that have been writtem about Feller, plus the results of one or two interviews with Feller. Why the author chose not to contact any of Feller's former teammates or others who knew him is bewildering. Since Bob has been retired for 47 years, it would have been nice to hear more about his post-baseball life. There's a little on this in the book, but not that much.
Amazon.com
Tom Brokaw has turned his popular book The Greatest Generation into a trilogy. After that first success came The Greatest Generation Speaks. Now there's An Album of Memories, a collection of letters and photos sent to Brokaw by readers who grew up during the Depression and came of age during World War II.
An Album of Memories simply overflows with nostalgia. "We were privileged to grow up in a time when honor, truth, loyalty, duty, and patriotism were real and meant something," writes Robert Cromer. Another correspondent, Douglas G. Fish, describes his own wartime experience--and that of many others--with an elegant simplicity: "I went in the service as a boy and came out a man." There are poignant letters from the dead. One reader submitted this one, sent home in 1942: "Dear Mom, I got your package and Dot's letter today. Boy, the cookies were swell, all the boys send their thanks. Not a one of them was crushed either." Almost exactly a year later, the writer was killed on a bombing run. Another man shares "the last letter my father wrote, three days before he died." It reads: "Tomorrow is D-Day at Iwo Jima--right on Japan's front doorstep--we will go in and lay nets sometime during the assault.... I have faith in God to help us through to victory but am prepared to die for America and face our Lord if He so wills it." The son who sent this letter to Brokaw wasn't even born until after his father had been killed: "I read [this letter] every year on Memorial Day, cry a lot, and think of what a hero he was," he writes.
It's hard not to agree with that assessment, and it applies to so many of those who fought bravely in Europe or the Pacific, as well as those who maintained the home front. All of them have their say in this attractive volume. --John J. Miller
Book Description
“I cannot go anywhere in America without people wanting to share their wartime experiences....The stories and the lessons have emerged from long-forgotten letters home, from reunions of old buddies and outfits, from unpublished diaries and home-published memoirs....As the stories in this album of memories remind us, it truly was an American experience, from the centers of power to the most humble corners of the land.”
—Tom Brokaw
In this beautiful American family album of stories from the Greatest Generation, the history of life as it was lived during the Depression and World War II comes alive and is preserved in people’s own words. Photographs and time lines also commemorate important dates and events. An Army Air Corps veteran who enlisted in 1941 at age seventeen writes to describe the Bataan Death March. A black nurse tells of her encounter with wartime segregation. Other members of the Greatest Generation describe their war—in such historic episodes as Guadalcanal, the D-Day invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, and Midway—as well as their lives on the home front. Starting with the Depression and Pearl Harbor, moving on through the war years in Europe, in the Pacific, and at home, this unique book preserves a people’s rich historical heritage and the legacy of a nation’s heroism in war and its courage in peace—in the shaping of their lives and of the world we have today.
Download Description
History comes alive in Brokaw's beautiful American family album of stories, reflections, memorabilia, and photos. Starting with the Depression and Pearl Harbor on through the war in Europe and the Pacific, this unusual book preserves a people's rich historical heritage and the legacy of a nation's heroism.
Customer Reviews:
More memories from the "Greatest Generation".......2004-08-04
Brokaw provides another moving tribute to what he refers to as the "Greatest Generation." Many of the letters included here are quite emotional and touching. This book also includes timelines for the war in Europe, the Pacific, and the homefront, as well as the depression, and also touches on areas not addressed in the two earlier books. There is also an abundance of period photographs and copies of documents, submitted by the letter writers. These help to put a human face on the various stories.
Wonderful gift for the older and greater generation.......2002-12-08
I found this book while searching on Amazon.com for gift ideas. I have not read the book but it seems to be just what I need to finish a gift for my father. My parents grew up during the Great Depression and as a result saved everything. Last year I cleaned out the attic of the family home and sorted through bags and boxes of what we now refer to as disposable items such as bags of pencil stubs (did they really think they would use them again...especially if they are stuffed in the attic?). However, being the child of "savers" has paid off. I am preparing an "album of memories" of the original letters that my father, Roger Griffith, a WWII Navy veteran, sent to his parents during the war. I plan to buy Mr. Brokaw's "An Album of Memories" as a companion to the my album. Mr. Brokaw has again made gift giving easier for the older and greater generation. Thank you.
Trenchant, poignant, touching!.......2001-10-31
Being a baby boomer, I have not truly experienced war, albeit was born during WWII and have never failed to be impressed by its stories of bravery, of sacrifice, of unrelenting determination to pursue the glory that awaits those WWII heroes who have not died in vain, for all of us, and for our country. I have only read the book reviews but I feel that I have read the entire book. I also fully concur with my fellow book reviewers that the WWII veterans are, perhaps, not the most recognized, to this writing, as opposed to those veterans of recent wars. Some of the WWII veterans have long died, as well, such as those from the Bataan Death March, waiting to be recognized in vain. This is what truly hurts the most.
Characteristic of Mr. Brokaw's deservedly multi-awarded journalistic style, he has, and continues to impress on the whole world how vital and necessary it is for us to love history (as does this Filipino-American journalist reviewer with all of my strength, my mind, my will, my heart, and my soul so much so that it runs in my veins).
The book is a must-read for all future journalists. I cannot but add it to my personal library.
The Many Honorable Dimensions of Sacrifice and Caring.......2001-08-27
This book brings the dangerous and trouble-laden world of the 1930s and 1940s to life in a remarkably vivid and compelling way. Almost every letter comes with a photograph or memorabilia that make you realize that many of the servicemen and women were just kids when they moved into their place in history. They wanted to fall in love, marry, and raise a nice family. But first they had to take on incredible risk on land, on the beaches, at sea, and in the air around the world in places that they had never heard of. If they didn't become injured or killed, they knew that it was just a quirk of fate that they did not. Everyone lost family members, friends, buddies, and heroes. If they worked as a medic, they saw more ravaged bodies than we can imagine. Many still bear the pain of their wounds today. Nightmares continue to haunt the dreams of many others. Yet most have spared their families the full horror of that experience. Through Mr. Brokaw's books, we can better imagine some of what it might have been like.
My Dad was pretty open about many of his experiences in the Eighth Air Force, but every so often a new one slips out. I suspect that even in these stories we are getting a censored version of what the actual experience was like. Dad did share the number of times that Luftwaffe bombs blew up part of his barracks (while he was sleeping there) and obliterated his sleeping area (when he was away on leave). What he remembered most searingly were the horrors of the shot-up crews returning from bombing runs over Europe (especially when they crashed in a ball of flames) and officers committing suicide by jumping off the top deck of his ship on the way home. As a youngster, I was terribly surprised and thrilled when former president Eisenhower came through our hometown and recognized my father in the crowd at the train station, and called Dad by name and rank. We had no inkling that Dad had met the president. Dad's response was simply that he had met a lot of the top brass, but he never told us any of their names.
Our family was lucky. My parents met because of the war, so my life was immeasurably influenced for the better. None of my father or mother's families were killed or physically injured in World War II. One uncle did experience shell shock as a teenager in the Battle of the Bulge, and had to avoid stressful situations for the rest of his life. From this book, I was able to imagine what it was like for families that were not so fortunate.
I was surprised to see that many of the veterans and their families had never been back to the battlegrounds and cemetaries. I asked Dad a number of years ago if he wanted to go back. He said he didn't care if he did or not (a typical Greatest Generation answer), but my Mother did. So my wife and I gave them a trip to England as a present. They had a ball, and saw many of the old sights. My Mother said that it seemed to do him a lot of good to see things back in peaceful circumstances. But there was no way that we could presuade him to go to France or Germany on the trip. He gave no reason. I suspect that the pain of the memories of those he had known who had died om bombing runs over that territory would have been too great for him.
Since then, I have attended a reunion of Dad's old unit, and was pleasantly surprised to see how much the men care for each other. I don't know of another man my father was ever close to after World War II, but here were dozens he knew well and liked. It was a side of him that I had never seen.
This book contains many memories like these. Often written by family members, the introduction then puts letters from the veteran into evidence at the court of history for us to experience.
You will be powerfully moved by the stories of sacrifice (whether from being POWs, lack of supplies, discrimination, or the chilling experience being exposed to grave danger), loss (families losing their only child, wives losing husbands after just becoming pregnant, and veterans losing their buddies), and willingness to serve (great efforts to volunteer when too young or too old, to volunteer for tough duty, and trying to help all and sundry). One of the most powerful for me was the description of the horrors of a concentration camp that was considered well kept by the Nazis in order to make a good impression on the Red Cross. Most moving for me was the sense of forgiveness that many veterans felt towards their former enemies.
If you know someone who served in World War II (whether a family member or not), I hope you will consider giving them this book and saying "thank you." After a few months have passed, ask them if they will tell you their story. If they will share, why not ask them if they would be willing to let you make copies of old letters and memorabilia so that you can send them to Mr. Brokaw? In this way, we can capture more of what happened then, honor these wonderful people, and pass on their legacy to generations yet unborn.
May the best and most important of these memories live forever!
TEN STARS.......2001-07-27
Also read The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections by Tom Brokaw since these really belong together.And they are books that young people will love as well as those older.
Got the books because my birth father was a POW in WW2 and all I had was memories of what others remembered of him and the basic TV, etc., series on WW2 etc. And I wanted to know more about what his generation was like. In reading both of Mr. Brokaws books I also have gained a whole new respect for the quiet nature of these heroes who live amongst us.
Buy the books and get copies for your local library and public school libraries. And if your parents are still alive consider reading them aloud to them and discussing the book, WW2, Korean War and what they remember.
Mr. Brokaw has reminded me that it is true "military cemeteries are full of books never written."
Book Description
"A hell of a gift, an opportunity." "Magnanimous." "One of the greatest advantages I ever experienced." These are the voices of World War II veterans, lavishing praise on their beloved G.I. Bill. Transcending boundaries of class and race, the Bill enabled a sizable portion of the hallowed "greatest generation" to gain vocational training or to attend college or graduate school at government expense. Its beneficiaries had grown up during the Depression, living in tenements and cold-water flats, on farms and in small towns across the nation, most of them expecting that they would one day work in the same kinds of jobs as their fathers. Then the G.I. Bill came along, and changed everything. They experienced its provisions as inclusive, fair, and tremendously effective in providing the deeply held American value of social opportunity, the chance to improve one's circumstances. They become chefs and custom builders, teachers and electricians, engineers and college professors. But the G.I. Bill fueled not only the development of the middle class: it also revitalized American democracy. Americans who came of age during World War II joined fraternal groups and neighborhood and community organizations and took part in politics at rates that made the postwar era the twentieth century's civic "golden age." Drawing on extensive interviews and surveys with hundreds of members of the "greatest generation," Suzanne Mettler finds that by treating veterans as first-class citizens and in granting advanced education, the Bill inspired them to become the active participants thanks to whom memberships in civic organizations soared and levels of political activity peaked. Mettler probes how this landmark law produced such a civic renaissance. Most fundamentally, she discovers, it communicated to veterans that government was for and about people like them, and they responded in turn. In our current age of rising inequality and declining civic engagement, Soldiers to Citizens offers critical lessons about how public programs can make a difference.
Customer Reviews:
An Opportunity Lost.......2007-02-27
The GI Bill is the subject of a great book. The human interest stories of people affected by this landmark legislation should inspire us all. Unfortunately, this is not that book. It reads like a doctoral dissertation (which it may well be), with all the dryness and academic disinterest that implies. We get statistics and conclusions, with random personal impacts thrown in as filler. Never once do we get engaged in the subject. I looked forward to this book, but I read to the end out of a sense of duty, not because I really wanted to. The opportunity for a great book about the GI Bill was there. Ms. Mettler wasted it. The stars are for the stats, not the story.
Essential read for anyone interested in the history of successful American public policy.......2006-10-22
This book is such an articulately composed analysis of one of the United States' most successful public policies. In "Soldiers to Citizens," Suzanne Mettler outlines how the educational provisions of the G.I. Bill created what she refers to as "the greatest generation." The G.I. Bill not only fulfilled its intention of rewarding veterans for their selfless acts of patriotism, but it provided the opportunity for upward mobility, it increased civic engagement and strengthened political involvement.
With the constant media bombardment of negative political images, it's easy to gain a sense of cynicism toward our government. "Soldiers To Citizens" provides an optimistic view of how our government can positively affect our citizens through the implementation of strong public programs. Through personal interviews and extensive research, Mettler provides an intriguing analysis. I am fortunate enough to be a student of Mettler's. Simply put - she's brilliant.
I recommend this book to US politics and policy students, public servants, veterans, those in academia or anyone who has a genuine interest in American public policy.
Average customer rating:
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Child of War (Oorlogskind)
Terry Wooten
Manufacturer: The Wordsmith Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1893972283 |
Product Description
The second in Terry Wooten's series of living oral history poem sets, Child of War contains the recollectons of Hannie Kuieck as a young girl before, during and after the Battle of Arnhem in Holand, the worst Allied defeat of the war and the largest airborne battle in history. As Peter R. Brumlik, Professor of History at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs writes: "Like the living victims of the holocaust, who fade into memory as the years pass, these poems are in fact survivors as well." 83 pages with color photgraphs perfect bound.
Product Description
THE 1939 TEXAS AGGIES details the incredible story of the 1939 national football champions, the Texas A&M Aggies. From a program on the verge of being eliminated in 1934, award-winning sports writer Mickey Herskowitz describes the stunning climb to the national championship the Aggies experienced in 1939, with a near repeat in 1940. Led by a former baseball player, Homer Norton, the Texas Aggies recruited a remarkable collection of young men, including John Kimbrough, Marion Pugh, Marshall Foch Robnett, and Tommie Vaughn. Under Norton's leadership, he forged a collection of boys into a team of young men still revered in Aggieland. This masterful story of the national champions includes a game-by-game account of the 1939 and 1940 seasons, player bios, rare photographs, and interviews with members of the team. This book is a must have for all Texas Aggie football fans. Makes a great gift!
Customer Reviews:
Exciting Football - it comes alive.......2007-08-29
I do not read newspaper accounts of sports events, so buying this book was out of character for me, except that I had some distant family on the '39 Aggie Team (Cotton Williams) and wanted to know more about him and the team. To my surprise the book was captivating. The first part covers the history of football at Texas A&M in a way that makes you feel like you are part of each era. The coverage of the '39 and '40 seasons utilizes press clippings from that time. Then, prior to widespread media access, the newspaper writers covered the games in detail and with flair. The detailed coverage of the players lives - before and after their football careers - gives the book a satisfying completeness. If you are a Texas Aggie, this book is essential. If you are a football fan, with a touch of respect for football history, this book will be your favorite.
Excellent read!.......2006-11-28
Every Aggie should read this book. I was amazed at the story Mickey weaves, not just the game-by-game, but the backstory and anecdotes which brought the players and coaches to life. This is more than a "football book," it's an inspiring story that taught me a lot more than history. Gig 'em.
Football was merely a warm-up for the real thing.......2006-10-01
In 1939, the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas was an all-male, all military institution -- and World War II was just erupting. These guys beat the hell out of their competition on the gridiron, then they donned uniforms to beat the hell out of Germany and Japan. It goes without saying: They are the Aggies. Bless them every one.
Product Description
In 1941, Winston Churchill realized that if the Allies were to win the war, a new type of ship needed to be designed and constructed. A ship that could land directly on the beaches of Africa and Europe and discharge troops and equipment. This ship became the Landing Ship, Tank or LST. But the United States was already at war and there was a shortage of men in the shipyards. It was the women that went to the shipyards and built the LSTs. These women were not riveters - they were welders. These are the stories, remembered 60 years later, of the women welders who built the LSTs and the men who sailed on them.
Customer Reviews:
"Don't Call Me Rosie" is a very inspiring book!.......2007-06-28
"Don't Call Me Rosie" is very inspiring! These women and men are terrific role models and proud Americans. I gained a greater appreciation of my father's war experience after reading this book. Everyday people who made a difference!
A different view on a World at War.......2007-06-10
This was truly a different view on life in a world at war. Women and men building ships to defend our country and the type of people that applied to do the job. Truly an interesting and enlightened viewpoint to a time period I did not know. My father served on one of those ships that were built and I would like to thank the women who carefully built the ships and the way they suffered through cold and nasty weather and long days to make sure they were top notch. Thank you.
Book Description
The kids of the 1960s are the collectors of today, and their toys are among the hottest items in the collecting world.
Warman's 101 Greatest Baby Boomer Toys brings the past alive with historic details surrounding the creation and evolution of timeless childhood favorites of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. More than 300+ detailed color photos accompany production history and background about the toy industry the year each toy appeared on store shelves. From Barbie, Mr. Potato Head and Rock' Em Sock'Em Robots to The Beatles Flip Your Wig game, Twister and Hot Wheels, this book offers unparalleled insight to the best Baby Boomer toys.
-Features 300+ color photos of listed toys for easy reference
-Contains a toy price guide section for updated values
-Covers more than 20 years of toys
Books:
- The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club)
- The Message Remix 2.0: The Bible In contemporary Language
- The Message Remix 2.0: The Bible In contemporary Language
- The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing
- The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (20 Volume Set
- The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers
- The Photoshop Elements 5 Book for Digital Photographers (VOICES)
- The Power of Myth
- The Red Hat Society Cookbook
- The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 2)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- New Perspectives on Microsoft Office Excel 2003, Comprehensive
- Black Rose: In the Garden Trilogy
- Proteolytic Enzymes: Aspartic and Metallo Peptidases
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- California Dreaming: Reforming Mathematics Education
- A Perfect Glass of Wine: Choosing, Serving, and Enjoying
- Masters, Slaves, & Subjects: The Culture of Power in the South Carolina Low Country, 1740-1790
- Stone Circles: A Modern Builders Guide to the Megalithic Revival
- Trees in Britain: Wild, ornamental and economic, and some relatives in other lands
The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections
Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons
An Album of Memories (Tom Brokaw)
A Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland in the Forties and Fifties
Big Russ and Me: Father and Son--Lessons of Life
