[.ca] The Greatest Generation (ISBN 0812975294)

From Amazon.com:
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

"The Greatest Spending Generation?" by RexCurry.net:
Very interesting book. Another fascinating aspect of the book is that it made Tom Brokaw, and the historian Rex Curry, the first journalists honored for exposing the "National Socialist German Workers' Party" to the public in Google News' search engine. Google News shows only Brokaw's and Curry's use of the full phrase in Google News archives. Google News selects from 4,500 news sources updated continuously. A google news search for the full phrase revealed only six uses, five belonging to Curry and one belonging to Brokaw. Brokaw's use was actually posted as a book review at MSNBC and was not actually a "news" item. All of the other uses were by Curry writing about the topic of public and media ignorance of the full phrase, including Curry's history-making story that the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance was the origin of the salute of the horrid National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis). Other news journalists can still join Brokaw and Curry as the first journalists to educate the public about the full phrase in the news media. News journalists can take third place, or make the top ten. Here's the excerpt that did it for Brokaw: "In Germany, a former painter with a spellbinding oratorical style took office as chancellor and immediately set out to seize control of the political machinery of Germany with his National Socialist German Workers party, known informally as the Nazis. Adolf Hitler began his long march to infamy." In comparison to the above, Google News indicates that the hackneyed shorthand "Nazi" has 9320 results from various news writers who all failed to ever mention the actual name of the monstrous Party.

They saved the world...and built modern America......:
The term Greatest Generation might smack of journalistic hyperbole or nationalistic jingoism, but the more I read the works of Stephen E. Ambrose (D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II, Band of Brothers) or watch any of the documentaries about World War II -- especially on this 60th Anniversary of the D-Day landings and other landmark battles of history's largest clash of arms -- that will air from Memorial Day till June 6, the more I am inclined to agree with Tom Brokaw's use of that term to describe the men and women who came of age in the 1930s and '40s and created modern America. Brokaw, one of America's best television journalists and anchor of NBC's Nightly News, not only coined the phrase "the Greatest Generation" when he wrote this amazingly fascinating and inspiring collection of personality profiles of men and women, some famous (Bob Dole, Julia Child, George H.W. Bush), some not-so-famous but prominent (Norman Mineta, Daniel Inouye), and some neither prominent nor famous yet vitally essential (Leonard Lomell, Jeanette Gagne Norton) who either saw combat, contributed to the war effort, or endured the hardships of being separated from loved ones without succumbing to fear or giving in to selfishness or self-pity. In the same concise yet utterly convincing style of his network news writing, Brokaw draws the reader into his chronicles of 50 men and women whose experiences encompass a wide spectrum of the American World War II experience. He captures, for instance, humorist Art Buchwald's seemingly unlikely stint as a Marine in the South Pacific, at first (and almost disastrously) loading ordnance onto Marine Corsair fighter-bombers, then more wisely reassigned to work on the squadron's newsletter and drive trucks. In five pages, Brokaw wonderfully gets the essence of Buchwald's satiric-yet-gentle personality, while at the same time revealing that the least-likely-to-be-a-Marine was given a parade by then-outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Colin Powell. The Greatest Generation is full of vivid personality profiles like Buchwald's. Some, such as that of Len Lomell, highlight bravery in combat; others are like Jeanette Gagne Norton's, whose husband Camille Gagne was killed in Holland during Operation Market-Garden. The recollections Brokaw presents here are full of drama and laughter, of happiness, love, and sometimes shame, but there is no bitterness or self-pity. For these are the men and women that saved the world from tyranny...and made our country what it is today.

The Greatest Generation:
The Greatest Generation is a beautiful tribute to the generation whose lives were most affected by WWII. The stories put together to form this book inspire the reader to live as a hero and fight through the trials of life today in 2004. Every story helps connect the reader with the heroes of that generation. This book inspires people of today to have respect for yesterdays heroes. I would recommend this book to people of all ages. It helps connect each and everyone of us to our past and helps us to respect one another as people, as a country, and as a community. This book highlights the struggles that our grandparents had when they were young and inspires us to overcome the little trials in our everyday lives.

Paying Tribute to Brave Americans:
I recommend this excellent book of true stories from the memories of brave men and women and their families who lived thru the great depression and fought in the second world war. Tom Brokaw walked the beaches of Normandy with American veterans who had returned for the fortieth anniversary of D-Day. He was inspired to reach out and collect individual stories from those difficult years so we will never forget the horrors of that war, the sacrifices by our service men and women and their families, and the results that followed. Finally, a memorial to this generation has been dedicated in Washington D.C. on this, the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day. THE GREATEST GENERATION should occupy a place in our home library, among the works of other historians. You will recognize some of the people in this book, you will be amazed at the achievements and the courage of these ordinary people who survived a perilous time in American history, and you will reflect on your own memories of that time if you are "over sixty". The author acquaints us with some of his own family history and why he feels it important for us to be forever grateful to all those who defend our American freedom and democracy. I thoroughly enjoyed this well researched and well written book.

Inspiring!:
Tom Brokaw's novel The Greatest Generation was amazing! As a granddaughter of a WWII vet, I now look at my grandpa in a new light. Brokaw honestly tells the stories of average men and women that fought for our country in WWII. Everyone had different experiences but they all shared the same traits about caring more about others then themselves. I loved the stories about the heroes fighting for our country, but I was also impressed with the many women that also helped defend the country. My grandpa has never said much about the war, until recently. He is beginning to open up and many other vets are sharing their stories as well. Brokaw's novel was so direct yet unexpected with all the thoughts and feelings with all the vets. I love hearing about how these men protected our country and never second guessed why they were fighting the war. I believe, like Tom Brokaw, they are a great generation but I believe that there will be many more "Great Generations" to come. Another group of people will be put to the test and they will also show their colors. For now though, these men and women are truly the greatest generation that the US has produced. I only wish that we all had more time to learn from these individuals.