The Greatest Generation

Rating:
Summary: Brokaw's collection is useful, but there are problems...
Review: Mr. Brokaw has done a valuable service for those of us who did not actually live through those years of depression and war. The stories he was able to collect are a series of brilliant recollections by men and women who lived and worked in those tryng times. Reading them is valuable to any present day American, because doing so helps us to understand who we are, and why we are the way we are.

Unfortunately, Mr. Brokaw's historical understanding is limited, despite his accomplishments in other fields, and his editorial comments should be accepted with caution.

Rating:
Summary: educational to a vet's daughter who was told very little
Review: It helps to read the experiences of those who served when my Dad did. He would never talk about it even tho he lived, and well, until 1984. He left his squadron booklet behind and the glory bars and medals but no stories as we're beginning to hear now. Our area in Southern MD had a recreation of the Guadalcanal landing last summer and it was helpful --- it made the few b&w snapshots we have more understandable.

Rating:
Summary: Thesis is narrow and short sighted
Review: Mr. Brokaw tells the story of forty-seven men and women who grew up during the depression of the 1930's, answered their country's call to war during the early 1940's and then used their post-depression, post-war drive and ambition to build a booming economy in the United States. Based on the personal sacrifices and successes of these forty-seven people, Mr. Brokaw concludes the whole generation of the 1930's and 1940's sacrificed and accomplished more in terms of victory at war and economic prosperity than any previous or current generation. Mr. Brokaw's single-minded and unrestricted praise for the "greatest generation" created a growing resentment as I read the book. He ignores the scoundrels infesting the "greatest generation" as well as the sacrifices and accomplishments of previous and subsequent generations. Studs Terkel, in his book "The Good War," presents a far more balanced insight in the 1930's/1940's generation. Mr. Terkel identifies and talked to the heros as well as the scoundrels and slime balls who saw World War II as a money making machine and an opportunity for a continuous party away from the responsibility of home. Remember the English concept of the "greatest generation" was over-paid, over-sexed and over-here.As biographical "snipets", the stories told by Mr. Brokaw were interesting. As for his thesis putting forward this group as the "greatest generation", it is narrow and short sighted. Ask the generations who had to fight the Cival War, WWI, Korea and Vietnam about sacrifice.

Rating:
Summary: A good book that goes on too long.
Review: While the begining stories of the Medal of Honor winners were fascinating - and the stories of the famous were interesting - some of the others didn't grab me. It would have been better if it were somewhat shorter.

I do agree with his premise - These people are from the "Greatest Generation"

Rating:
Summary: I only read half the book, more than I wanted to.
Review: I found the experiences of these people somewhat interesting but not enough to feel that it is a best seller. I was born in Britain and was there until my early twenties, and after reading the short stories of those people I felt as though my story could have been included but never ever thought that it was that interesting for it to be published. I lived through the "Blitz" and had acquaintances killed and bombed out of their homes. When I spoke of these experiences with my five children as they grew up, I could tell by their reactions that it was not one to dwell on. The book I found to be not that interesting. There are probably Tens of Thousands of stories like these, maybe more interesting than in the Greatest Generation.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting (but not as good as I had hoped).
Review: When I first began reading this book, I couldn't put it down. However, the further I got into the book the chapters became less detailed and less well written. It seemed as though the author hurried through the last half of the book. Also in the latter chapters of the book, very little information is provided on the wartime experiences and much more is given on the postwar experiences. Although I would still recommend this book, the author would've had to provide more detail to convince me that this was the "Greatest Generation."

Rating:
Summary: Superb!
Review: I was so shocked by this book. It took me only three days to read and it was awesome. Brokaw should write more books! I was stunned at all the people and their lives now after the war and depression. I liked how it centered around just the people and not all information and warheads and stuff like that. I was very happy with The Greatest Generation!

Rating:
Summary: Should have been a short story, too repetive
Review: The story was good for the first three chapters, then it was the same story over and over with new names. Highly overrated.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Generation Deserved Better
Review: Shame on Tom Brokaw for giving an epic title to a book that is clumsily written and tedious to read. I am totally underwhelmed by the lack of substance in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Brokaw's not so in-depth look at WWII generation
Review: Being a WWII buff, when I heard about this book I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. However, shortly after reading the first few stories, I was deeply disappointed. I have utterly lost all respect for Mr. Brocaw's journalistic ability. The book is simplistic (written at about an 8th grade level), repetitive and boring. It feels more like an article from People Magazine than any sort of historical record or work of literature. Devoid of facts and details, it contains very little of anything else.

The generation he is writing about deserves a better tribute than this. I suppose it is to be expected that a member of the info-tainment industry would write something with such little substance. I used to be a loyal viewer of NBC News, I think I'll switch that loyalty to Jim Lehrer and PBS.