The Greatest Generation

Rating:
Summary: Very Moving Reading...
Review: ...especially if you know someone who was in WWII. I bought a copy for my father - a retired AF Colonel, who was in WWII. We had the distinct pleasure of meeting Tom Brokaw at the VFW in South Dakota in Nov. 1998 as he toured the country looking for vets whose stories he could share on his television special in Jan. 1999. If you could have seen the look in my father's eyes as he relived some of his best and worst memories. If only I could have had an autographed copy of the book. I will settle for a picture of my father and me as we talked with Tom about his days growing up in So Dakota and his love for the brave soldiers that worked so hard to maintain the freedoms for all of us. God Bless you all.....all of you who have ever been to battle. Only you can know it's horror. Our thanks is all we have to offer.

Rating:
Summary: a cynical tie-in to 'Pvt Ryan' and millennial nostalgia
Review: 'the greatest generation'? well, one might agree, if one discounts the segregation, racism, sexual repression, disrespect of women, narrow-mindedness, anti-communist hysteria, and all the negatives of which the farmboy beltway elitist slick newsreading frontman of General Electric's flagship was all too aware before his ghostwriter put finger to word processor.mr. brokaw's apologies, and the copublication of a LARGE PRINT version for the elderly make nbc's cynical and commercial intentions all too clear. not since a ghostwriter penned jessica savitch's 'newswoman' has a more cynical tome been unleashed by the nbc newsguards.mr brokaw is most obviously cashing in on the success of spielberg's "private ryan"... the fact that he has no military service record and as nbc's chief newsreader made no protest of president reagan's tribute at bitburg make his intentions all too clear.besides, the five hundred pages of this book are a long rehash of the same story, similar to dan rather's writer penning an op-ed in the times under gunga dan's byline.does anyone believe this man actually researched and wrote this book?this is a scandal! and a boring one to boot! this is one of the saddest successes of the millennial festival.perhaps it would have made a yawnable one page readers digest story.additionally... one would caution buyers of the audioversion of this book, since the author cannot pronounce his "l's" or "r's.

Rating:
Summary: as good as it gets
Review: Everything I hoped and expected, then ten-fold

Rating:
Summary: a fine tribute to the men and women of an aging generaion
Review: Brokaw certainly captured the spirit of the 30's and 40's and he went right to the horse's mouth to do it.He offers biographial sketches of the big and the small, the rich and the poor who shared a common life defining experience in WW11. A wonderful gift book for the sons and daughters and grandchildren of this wonderful generation who took it all in stride and returned to devote a lifetime to continuing to build a strong America.

Rating:
Summary: A must-read for everyone!
Review: I am a student of history and knew the facts involving World War II before reading this book. But this book brought the war home to me, making me see it through the eyes of everyday people who were shaped by and helped to shape the events I have studied. I laughed and cried reading the various stories within this book. It also did something even more important for me. My father and mother are members of the generation shaped by the Great Depression and World War II. I now feel I understand them better because of Mr. Brokaw's book. It explained so much for me that I was never able to understand before about their views and actions. So many times, when I was reading this book, I said to myself, "This is my father or mother." For that understanding and for the throughly enjoyable weekend I spent reading The Greatest Generation, I thank Mr. Brokaw.

Rating:
Summary: the "greatest?" now wait a second..
Review: Now, I don't want to downplay the importance of WW2 and all the heroes, known and unknown, that contributed to the efforts of that struggle.. But to dub them the absolute "greatest" is an insult to both older and younger generations. What about the Revolutionary War or the Civil War, or WWI for that matter? What about the founders of our country who fought so desperately on the American frontier long before any of us were born.. Being 19, i belong to a younger generation, one that doesn't (at present) have any large scale wars to fight, though I'd like to think we can still amount to something and not have to live forever in the shadows of our valiant elders.

Rating:
Summary: A good account of those who influenced those of us over 55.
Review: As those of us who were born during "the War" look back upon history we realize how truly fortunate we were to have adults of that period as mentors, teachers, parents and friends. Brokaw does a good job of telling their stories. Some stories are similar and some portions are repeated and for those reasons the book tends to lose excitement. Not everything that is good is exciting, however. The book is interesting (I knew some of those people) and I would recommend it to any young person. If they read it, they will then know how many truly great sacrifices were made for us by those who were young adults during the war. A good book.

Rating:
Summary: This book gave me insight on what my parents went through.
Review: As Tom Brokaw said many times, the veterans didn't think they had done anything special & the people on the homefront did what they had to do also. As a baby boomer I have first hand experience of this, but really didn't understand it until reading this book. I hope all baby boomers will read this & come to understand their parents better. A fine effort by Mr. Brokaw.

Rating:
Summary: New Respect For Our Elders
Review: A great book, one that is truly needed to make us aware of our heritage

Rating:
Summary: Its about time someone wrote this book
Review: I have only skimmed the book thus far, but just wanted to respond to the critic who feels he has discovered the truth about Brokaw. The truth being that he wrote the book to cater to the generation most likely to "by" it. Learn to spell before you criticize someone else's writing. I guess members of the over priviledged generation are at a loss when their spell checkers are not there to help them.

As for the critic who feels the generation born in the 1920's created more problems than they solved, I'd like to point out the fact that hindsight is 20/20 and that actions involve reactions that can rarely be predicted. But I guess you could have mobilized for global warfare without burning fossil fuels. And you could have protected a nation and its people from an aggressive enemy without entering into a cold war or Vietnam. You also could have helped those in need face the rising costs of medical care with funds that don't come from taxpayer's pockets. The men and women of that generation gave their lives to protect the basic freedoms which you take for granted. In short, you now have the priviledge to debate these topics because of them, so show some respect.