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 into the 1930's/1940's generation. Mr. Terkel identified and talked to 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 but not worth the $25.00 to $30.00 for the hardcover book. As for his thesis putting forward this group as the "greatest generation", it is narrow, short-sighted and convoluted.
Ask the generation who had to fight in Vietnam about sacrifice. Don't however, ask when we can expect to see a book by Mr. Brokaw about them.
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