About the Author

Tom Brokaw is the author of seven bestsellers- The Greatest Generation, The Greatest Generation Speaks, An Album of Memories, Boom!, The Time of Our Lives,A Long Way from Home, and A Lucky Life Interrupted. A native of South Dakota, he graduated from the University of South Dakota, and began his journalism career in Omaha and Atlanta before joining NBC News in 1966. Brokaw was the White House correspondent for NBC News during Watergate, and from 1976 to 1981 he anchored Today on NBC. He was the sole anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw from 1983 to 2005. He continues to report for NBC News, producing long-form documentaries and providing expertise during breaking news events. Brokaw has won every major award in broadcast journalism, including two DuPonts, three Peabody Awards, and several Emmys, including one for lifetime achievement. In 2014, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He lives in New York and Montana.

Reviews

"Tom Brokaw has delivered a gift to this and future generations by bringing us these inspiring personal stories of the average Joes, the GI Joes, the young men and women who served our country and shaped the foundation of post-war America. Although some became famous, most returned to their hometowns dedicated to building an even better world... Tom has held up a mirror to reflect what may be their greatest legacy" Stephen Spielberg about The Greatest Generation

"Tom Brokaw has delivered a gift to this and future generations by bringing us these inspiring personal stories of the average Joes, the GI Joes, the young men and women who served our country and shaped the foundation of post-war America. Although some became famous, most returned to their hometowns dedicated to building an even better world... Tom has held up a mirror to reflect what may be their greatest legacy" Stephen Spielberg about The Greatest Generation

Ever since he released his tribute to The Greatest Generation, Brokaw has been inundated, happily, by a generous and appreciative outpouring of responses from those who built modern-day America. Their voices in his sequel, The Greatest Generation Speaks, triggered even more memories of the American experience in WWII. To honor both these additional stories and the new WWII memorial in Washington, D.C. (proceeds from the book will help fund it), Brokaw has compiled this new collection of letters and photos in an arrangement that is, appropriately, both familial and formal. Most of the selections were written by men who served in the armed forces, but Brokaw also includes letters from veterans' wives, children and grandchildren who have inherited a legacy they want to share. Brokaw divides the contributions into categories such as "The Great Depression," "The Home Front" and "The War in Europe," and provides a brief overview of each period. Although his historical introductions are somewhat simplistic accounts of well-known events, he does include more controversial information on the internment of Japanese-Americans and the racism within the armed forces. But the strength of this collection lies in the engrossing and evocative letters. They document the actual experiences of men and women who risked their lives and endured great hardships for what they strongly believed was a good cause. Women widowed by the war provide haunting memoirs of the young men they loved and lost. Running through the correspondence are the values of patriotism, self-sacrifice and courage under fire that so characterized this wartime generation. 90 b&w photos, time lines and maps. Agent, Ken Starr. (May 8) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.