Rating: 
Summary: Brokaw needs a little perspective.
Review: Tom Brokaw has written a decent book applauding the WWII generation for their undeniable achievements, integrity, and character (although this has been going on literally non-stop practically since the day the Big War ended, despite the preposterous claim of one of Amazon's reviewers that "it's about time" this generation was appreciated). But "greatest generation?" Compared to whom? Greater than the giants at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century who fought for, defined, and created this country? Greater than the Civil War generation that endured over 600,000 deaths in order to ensure that the nation would continue and that slavery would be ended? Greater than the generation of Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Marshall, MacArthur, and Nimitz who led Brokaw's "greatest generation" to victory in WWII? And as for the much-maligned Baby Boom generation: if the Boomers are such relative slackers, what does that tell you about the parenting skills of their parents, who were, after all, the very same members of Brokaw's "greatest generation." And, of course, that "greatest generation" includes the same mental giants who sent the Boomers to Southeast Asia for so long. A far, far better history of the WWII generation is Steve Ambrose's "Citizen Soldiers." Ambrose captures the same undeniable virtues, but with vastly more perspective and an absence of hype.
Rating: 
Summary: A bad and dangerous book
Review: This is a bad and dangerous book. It's a bad book because it's boring, repetitious, simplistic and naive. The entire book is an ovation for those who participated and were heroic during WWII. I am not criticizing the fine people Mr. Brokaw portrays. I am criticizing the repetitiousness of Mr. Brokaw's effort. He's banging the same drum for 400 pages, and it's very tedious. Mr. Brokaw is naive in his praise of the veterans 'modesty' in not discussing their WWII experience. The failure to talk can be caused by trauma, selfishness or hidden pride. The WWII stories my dad told me were funny, scary, rude and more entertaining than anything Mr. Brokaw tells in his book. The book is dangerous for the following reason. If we accept his argument that this was the Greatest American Generation,then to be a good generation, we have to go fight a war, and be heroic in a variety of ways. It's blatantly militaristic and contemptuous of those of us who work hard, and help our kids have happy lives. I'm going to reread Catch 22, and watch the Best Years of Our Lives to get the bad taste out of my mouth. I give Mr. Brokaw 1 star because he writes well.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat disappointed
Review: Being a fan of Tom's, having a strong interest in history, and having a deep admiration for whom he correctly describes as the greatest generation, I eagerly anticipated reading his book. After reading it though, I came away somewhat disappointed. I remember asking myself when I was done, "This is it?" I suppose it is due in part to searching out and reading about experiences of this generation in the past and thus making the stories in this book repetitive to me. Granted there are endless stories to tell, but there are too few told here and they tend to be told of those who went on to be highly successful afterwards. I would have liked to have seen a more well rounded series of stories. Also, a number of stories were so brief that I wondered what point or example he was trying to get across by including them. Although I can't say I truly enjoyed the book, I would say it should be recommended reading for those generations that are fast becoming removed from this generation and don't realize how important this generation was/is. Hopefully it will then spark their interest to learn more, or to seek out a grandfather or that retired neighbor to hear their personal stories. Hopefully as well, it will open up this greatest generation more to tell their personal stories before they are gone .
Rating: 
Summary: Mr.Brokaw found a light switch,and turned it on
Review: My Dad jumped on D Day, 82nd Airborne(Devils in Baggy Pants}was wounded before he landed and spent the next few mos as a POW.As in Mr.Browkaws book these men never really talked about their total experience but I could sense it remained with him the rest of his life.Id like to thank Mr.Browkaw for reminding the rest of us what a true hero really is.
Rating:
Summary: This is a must read book for the children of the WWII vets.
Review: I've read countless books and seen all the great movies about WWII. Both of my parents served in the American Army during the War. My father was a teacher turned Sergeant in a Medical unit. He landed on Omaha beach on D-Day. My mother was a nurse who served as a Captain in the Paris Hospital as the war in Europe came to an end. Tom Brokaw has given me a view that I hadn't seen before. I now have a greater understanding of what my parents sacrificed. The book truly tells the rest of us what my parents could not. Through all the movies and documentaries, my parents seldom spoke of their trial and tribulations. I now understand a little more the reason why. I just wish the book would have been written prior to my father's death. I would have had so much to talk to him about, or at least appreciate more.
Rating:
Summary: Redundant and repetitious.
Review: "Tom...don't quit your day job."The Greatest Generation is both cliche-ridden and self-servng.This book is merely a platform for Mr. Brokaw's ultra-left leanings.Tom never tells us what some of these heroes think of our present "commander in chief."
Rating:
Summary: This book should be read by everyone.Excellent memories
Review: This book should be read by everyone.It is an unofficial thank you to the generation who asked for nothing and gave so much.Mr Brokaw brings so many things back to mind,good and bad.Which isn't bad. The book combinds humour and misty eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, eye-opening, heart wrenching
Review: Reading this book makes me sad that my Dad is gone and I never asked him "What did you do in the war, Daddy". What an opportunity I missed!
Rating:
Summary: Factual title, "The Greatest Generation"
Review: Mr. Brokaw couldn't resist sprinkling - and at times launching - his political views throughout a book that was touted to be a tale of 'the greatest generation'. Certainly, all who fought and died during World War II did so, in part, to protect Brokaw's Constitutional right to express his beliefs freely, even in a book (supposedly) about them. I was around during those war years, and remember all to well the stars in the windows, including the gold one right next door for a Navy Grumman TBF radioman, who had been like a big brother to me. From my perspective, Brokaw showed bad manners and poor taste in soap-boxing his own pellucid biases, and thereby did a disservice to all - including the less privileged not featured in his book Of course it could be that good manners and good judgment are just two more values that are dying off as part of the 'the greatest generation'. The one unadulterated aspect of the book is its' title, "The Greatest Generation" - That is factual. (Anyone who wants to write a chronicle of history, particularly one covering the WW II era, should STUDY and use Doris Kearns Goodwin's , "No Ordinary Time" as a primer.)
Rating:
Summary: A worthwhile topic but lacking focus and proportion.
Review: Brokaw's thesis is that a generation tested by (a) the Depression, and (b) WWII, rose to the challenge and deserves our respect and admiration. This may be true, but Brokaw does not prove it. His book lacks the kind of rich specificity which would be convincing. For the various people he interviews, he gives us very little on how they survived the Depression. And as the book advances, we get less and less of the particulars of how the subjects experienced the war. The problem may be that there are too many subjects, or interviewees, to be handled with the thoroughness or depth that is finally convincing. At the end, we are left only with the warm feeling that they have survived, and we can all be grateful for that, but not with a sense that we have come finally to know them, especially in their past, and how that past has shaped them, which is, after all, the point of the book.
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