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Tom Brokaw must think that people care about every facet of his dull life--because he has elaborated on it in so much boring detail in this book that even Brokaw fans will throw their hands up after hearing another insignificant story and say "who cares."Sadly, he comes across as a person who considered himself better than others and was incredibly insensitive when it came to class status. It may look like a long book of over a couple hundred pages, but the types is double spaced and there are about 30 pages of picture-only pages mixed in the middle of chapters, so the actual length of the book would be about 100 pages in a normal book.After reading this book any favorable opinion people have of Brokaw should decrease because he comes across as a smug, arrogant, rich guy who thinks his lowly upbringing was something special. First, as a teenager he headed to New York City to appear on a game show with the South Dakota governor and ended up cheating on the show.
If he thinks he is getting sympathy from the reader because he somehow grew beyond his bigotry it is hard to come to that conclusion through this book.Brokaw is trying to build on his past "Greatest Generation" reputation by painting a picture of his childhood on the South Dakota prairie. This is something he probably should not have revealed.Second, the only good thing about the book is that it tells the story of how this partying college kid was "counseled" to leave school by a caring professor who told him, "Get all the wine, women and song out of your system." Though this should embarrass the future anchorman, his professor used it to turn Brokaw's life around. He often mentions in the book whether someone is "working class" and he claims that in high school "I was a member of the ruling class.it was a white man's and white boy's world" and writes about racism issues that deal with his going to school with Native Americans.
Yes, he was part of the quiz shows scandals. But the problem is that it was a pretty boring childhood. Camp, summer jobs, trips to Minneapolis, fitting in at school--almost nothing happened to him that was anything unusual.There are two exceptions that are worth hearing about.
Tom dropped out of college then begged the professor to let him back in as a serious student.The book is also deceptive in length. It wasn't--he was raised the same way most other people were in the Midwest and nothing really changed for him until that college professor gave him a verbal kick in the pants to change his life.
Tom Brokaw has always projected to his viewers a caring, sincere presenceas he outlined the happenings of the day in our nation and around the world. Even if the news he broadcasted was sad or shocking he gave us the feeling that we could get through this together. This book offers the samewarmth and sincerity in describing my similar experiences in growing upduring and after WWII.
Been there and done that. Refreshing read. Stirred up many old memories and recollections.
He covered stories with some depth, and was rarely lazy or a liar, like Rather. One reviewer called this book "for simpletons by a simpleton." Well, as I have very little respect for today's mainstream media, especially Dan Rather and Katie Couric, Brokaw, though preachy, is better than most. This book is a simple book, but it's also pleasant and does lend insight into his modest upbringing in South Dakota---far different from what the elites usually value.I read it while I drove cross country, which is probably why I gave it 3 stars, rather than 2, as I appreciated it more.Brokaw may be biased and pedantic now, but he's no ninnyhammer either. And he worked hard to get where he was, without modern affirmative action. The stories of Big Sky country and the "tragedies" he observed befalling the "Natives" when he returned were unnecessary and awkward, though.He's still better than Brian Williams.
Brokaw gives a seemingly honest and direct account of his formative years. in the forties and fifties when so much of my own perception of the U. His respect and admiration for his parents gives him guidelines for a life in the limelight where it may be easy to loose one's footing.It is interesting to get a glimpse of the life in the heartland of the U. S. S. from a Scandinavian viewpoint was formed.Congratulations to Tom Brokaw for a fine book.
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