The Greatest Generation

Rating:
Summary: A BOOK FOR ALL GENERATIONS
Review: This book is wonderous and once read will ultimately become one of the reader's favorite reads. Tom Brokaw incorporates history with life stories of a wide variety of people to turn out a fast paced page turner. The Greatest Generation has great content and is fit for all ages. The book revolves around those raised during the Depression and those who fought in WWII. Truely this book will inspire the reader just as it has inspired so many, for without this generation the world would be a different place and the American dream would be obstructed. This book is a must for any literate person, no excuses.

Rating:
Summary: Autograph
Review: I enjoyed the book very much and would like to send it to Mr. Brokaw for his autograph. Could you help us get an address so we can send it along with return postage. Thank you. Please reply to Roger Martin, e-mail address rogerand [e-mail] Mailing address is 901 Verbon St. Boaz, Al 35957

Rating:
Summary: Expectations Unmet
Review: I will be the first to admit that Tom Brokaw has a place in my heart and in that of most of America. Unfortunately however, his book does not. Though it offers a much deserved tribute to a great generation- and perhaps a much more important lesson to the youth of today- it was at many points a tedious and dull read.

Conceptually it was interesting. Breaking it down into life synopsis' of those who were there was brilliant. However, they often read like a bad book report. "Here are the facts of this peron's life. Done." James Bradley's 'Flags of our Fathers' will leave you feeling much more obliged to the Greatest Generation.

Rating:
Summary: Good format, good writing, but it got old...
Review: I'm a teenage girl, but I've always been interested in history. I feel that The Greatest Generation is appropriately titled - I've always had a strong admiration for the WW2 generation, which includes both sets of my grandparents. I was actually looking forward to reading this book, and I knew I was going to have to stay involved, with 400+ pages to read.

What I found was a good, easy to read format, with a strong, straightforward narrative. Brokaw takes the facts from each person's lives and, for the most part, manages to craft a story worth reading. At times, I was eagerly devouring the pages; but at others, it was so dreary that I just plain skipped it. And by page 300, I was really wondering if I wanted to finish it.

I did, however, and I'm glad; Brokaw paints a warm, beautiful picture of America from the 1940s through today, with a strong emphasis on the baby boom. Sometimes he gets bogged down in the facts, as any reporter-turned-writer might, and that's what takes this down to a 4-star book. That's also why I had a hard time reading parts of it. However, anyone who experienced this period in history will certainly enjoy The Greatest Generation.

Bottom Line: Reccommended - especially for those who wish to learn more about the 'personal' side of WW2. For anyone over 65, this is a must read. Brokaw's book gives us a valuable archive which will be doubly appreciated 100 years from now.

Rating:
Summary: Please look at the facts
Review: Brokaw's "greatest generation" thesis is dubious and presumptuous. Some facts: In the years leading up to WWII, the US was fiecely isolationist. The "greatest generation" was not interseted in defeating fascism/nazism/totalitarianism until Pearl Harbor-- despite the fact that the war had been raging for more than 2 years in Europe. (There is mounting evidence that FDR orchestrated the Pearl Harbor debacle in order to rally a disinterested and apathetic public to the cause of war. FDR's next step was to violate the civil rights of Japanese-American citizens, intern them in "relocation" camps, and then have the arrogance to draft them into the war!) Whether we want to admit it or not, US military involvment in Europe was essentially a mopping up of a crumbling alliance of Fascist/Nazi troops whose best and brightest had perished at the hands of the relentless Soviet juggernaut. While US troops had to deal with Hitler's last offensive in the Battle of the Bulge, they were spared the mega-blitzkrieg assaults of Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kursk (the largest tank battle in history), in which the Soviets stood up to Hitler single handed, and defeated the dictator to win back their country (Soviet casualties in WWII are estimated to be 20 MILLION). One of the primary reasons that US-Soviet relations turned cold after the war was Stalin's justified belief that the US dragged its feet in opening a second front. The next gesture of arrogance and cruelty of this "greatest generation" was the decision to drop not one but two atomic bombs on mainland Japan, ostensibly to end the war, but in reality to demonstrate our military superiority to the Soviets-- a rather macabre and cynical gesture to our then-ally. Following the war, the "greatest generation" came back home and raised a "lesser" generation of kids who recognized the hypocrisy and shallowness of their parents' attitudes (racism, conformity, hyper-patriotism) and deeds (McCarthyism, Korea, Vietnam, and ultimately Watergate). Some more facts: I am neither Democrat nor Republican. I have sincere respect and admiration for the US soldiers who sacrificed in ALL wars, not just WWII. Those who fought in WWII deserve praise. However, ALL generations of Americans have contributed to the fabric of the United States and deserve praise as well. Why do we need to define who was "the greatest"?

Rating:
Summary: Good, but left me wanting a little more depth
Review: Brokaw supports his thesis that the WWII generation was the greatest, by providing a great many mini-biographies. Taken as a whole it is an impressive set of accomplishments and stories and gives insight into the values and motivations for what this generation the "greatest". But I found myself wanting more than just a few pages on each of these folks.

Rating:
Summary: luke warm
Review: book is luke warm of some small interest

Rating:
Summary: A Greatly Overdue Tribute
Review: This is the book about the generation that went through the great depression and WWII, which for most of us is our parents and grandparents. This generation has gone too long underappreciated as useless old farts by the Boomers, Xers and the latest generation. We forget that they built modern America thorugh their sacrifices and just plain old determination. While one might quibble with Brokaw's claim of this generation being the greatest (how about the revolutionary war and civil war gens), they are unquestionably the greatest alive today. Brokaw chronicles in easy-to-read vivid vignettes the lives of an assortment of WWII vets from all walks of life. While one might yearn for a bit more detail on the transition from wartime sacrifice to peacetime production, its still a must read for putting the accomplishments of this great generation into perspective.

Rating:
Summary: A poor tribute.
Review: I had hoped for a well-written and well-researched book about my parents' generation, and was disappointed that this book is neither. It appears to have been written by committee, as if a classroom of young journalism students (hmmm) were asked to write a 3-5 page essay about their parents' or grandparents' trials and tribulations in the Great Depression or in WWII. Were these stories then roughly stitched together by someones staff (hmmm) and sent on to a willing publisher who felt the name & face recognition of a network anchorman would sell almost anything (hmmm)......, voila, you would have a book! But it wouldn't be a very good book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books of the 20'th Century
Review: Filled with humorous, sad, and inspirational stories about the people who came of age in the 30's and 40's and who are slowly fading away now into our memories. This book should be a must read in every high school government class.