Skip to Main Content (Press Enter)
The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
Add The Greatest Generation to bookshelf
Add to Bookshelf

The Greatest Generation

By Tom Brokaw

By Tom Brokaw

By Tom Brokaw

By Tom Brokaw

By Tom Brokaw

By Tom Brokaw

By Tom Brokaw

By Tom Brokaw

By Tom Brokaw
Read by Tom Brokaw

By Tom Brokaw
Read by Tom Brokaw

Best Seller
Paperback $18.00

May 01, 2001 | ISBN 9780812975291

Large Print $30.00

Dec 07, 1998 | ISBN 9780375705694

Hardcover $35.00

May 11, 2004 | ISBN 9781400063147

Ebook $9.99

Feb 23, 2000 | ISBN 9780375504624

Audiobook Download $12.95

Jul 05, 2000 | 223 Minutes

All Formats
+
    The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
    Audiobook Download
    Jul 05, 2000 | ISBN 9780739300466 | 223 Minutes

    Buy from Other Retailers:

    See All Formats (4) +
    • $18.00

      May 01, 2001 | ISBN 9780812975291

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • $30.00

      Dec 07, 1998 | ISBN 9780375705694

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • $35.00

      May 11, 2004 | ISBN 9781400063147

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Feb 23, 2000 | ISBN 9780375504624

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Jul 05, 2000 | ISBN 9780739300466

      223 Minutes

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Buy the Audiobook Download:

    About The Greatest Generation

    The instant classic that changed the way we saw World War II and an entire generation of Americans, from the beloved journalist whose own iconic career has lasted more than fifty years.

    In this magnificent testament to a nation and her people, Tom Brokaw brings to life the extraordinary stories of a generation that gave new meaning to courage, sacrifice, and honor.

    From military heroes to community leaders to ordinary citizens, he profiles men and women who served their country with valor, then came home and transformed it: Senator Daniel Inouye, decorated at the front, fighting prejudice at home; Martha Settle Putney, one of the first black women to serve in the newly formed WACs; Charles Van Gorder, a doctor who set up a MASH-like medical facility in the middle of battle, then opened a small clinic in his hometown; Navy pilot and future president George H. W. Bush, assigned to read the mail of the enlisted men under him, who says that in doing so he “learned about life”; and many other laudable Americans.

    To this generation that gave so much and asked so little, Brokaw offers eloquent tribute in true stories of everyday heroes in extraordinary times.

    Praise for The Greatest Generation

    “Moving . . . a tribute to the members of the World War II generation to whom we Americans and the world owe so much.”—The New York Times Book Review

    “Full of wonderful, wrenching tales of a generation of heroes. Tom Brokaw reminds us what we are capable of as a people. An inspiring read for those who wish their spirits lifted.”—Colin L. Powell
     
    “Offers welcome inspiration . . . It is impossible to read even a few of these accounts and not be touched by the book’s overarching message: We who followed this generation have lived in the midst of greatness.”—The Washington Times
     
    “Entirely compelling.”—The Wall Street Journal

    About The Greatest Generation

    Read Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation in Large Print.

    * All Random House Large Print Editions are published in 16-point type

    “In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, to Normandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the fortieth anniversary of D-Day, the massive and daring Allied invasion of Europe that marked the beginning of the end of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. There, I underwent a life-changing experience. As I walked the beaches with the American veterans who had returned for this anniversary, men in their sixties and seventies, and listened to their stories, I was deeply moved and profoundly grateful for all they had done. Ten years later, I returned to Normandy for the fiftieth anniversary of the invasion, and by then I had come to understand what this generation of Americans meant to history. It is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced.”
            
    In this superb book, Tom Brokaw goes out into America, to tell through the stories of individual men and women the story of a generation, America’s citizen heroes and heroines who came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America. This generation was united not only by a common purpose, but also by common values–duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family and country, and, above all, responsibility for oneself. In this book, you will meet people whose everyday lives reveal how a generation persevered through war, and were trained by it, and then went on to create interesting and useful lives and the America we have today.

    “At a time in their lives when their days and nights should have been filled with innocent adventure, love, and the lessons of the workaday world, they were fighting in the most primitive conditions possible across the bloodied landscape of France, Belgium, Italy, Austria, and the coral islands of the Pacific. They answered the call to save the world from the two most powerful and ruthless military machines ever assembled, instruments of conquest in the hands of fascist maniacs. They faced great odds and a late start, but they did not protest. They succeeded on every front. They won the war; they saved the world. They came home to joyous and short-lived celebrations and immediately began the task of rebuilding their lives and the world they wanted. They married in record numbers and gave birth to another distinctive generation, the Baby Boomers. A grateful nation made it possible for more of them to attend college than any society had ever educated, anywhere. They gave the world new science, literature, art, industry, and economic strength unparalleled in the long curve of history. As they now reach the twilight of their adventurous and productive lives, they remain, for the most part, exceptionally modest. They have so many stories to tell, stories that in many cases they have never told before, because in a deep sense they didn’t think that what they were doing was that special, because everyone else was doing it too.                                            

    “This book, I hope, will in some small way pay tribute to those men and women who have given us the lives we have today–an American family portrait album of the greatest generation.”
                    
    In this book you’ll meet people like Charles Van Gorder, who set up during D-Day a MASH-like medical facility in the middle of the fighting, and then came home to create a clinic and hospital in his hometown. You’ll hear George Bush talk about how, as a Navy Air Corps combat pilot, one of his assignments was to read the mail of the enlisted men under him, to be sure no sensitive military information would be compromised. And so, Bush says, “I learned about life.” You’ll meet Trudy Elion, winner of the Nobel Prize in medicine, one of the many women in this book who found fulfilling careers in the changed society as a result of the war. You’ll meet Martha Putney, one of the first black women to serve in the newly formed WACs. And you’ll meet the members of the Romeo Club (Retired Old Men Eating Out), friends for life.
            
    Through these and other stories in The Greatest Generation, you’ll relive with ordinary men and women, military heroes, famous people of great achievement, and community leaders how these extraordinary times forged the values and provided the training that made a people and a nation great.

    About The Greatest Generation

    The instant classic that changed the way we saw World War II and an entire generation of Americans, from the beloved journalist whose own iconic career has lasted more than fifty years.

    In this magnificent testament to a nation and her people, Tom Brokaw brings to life the extraordinary stories of a generation that gave new meaning to courage, sacrifice, and honor.

    From military heroes to community leaders to ordinary citizens, he profiles men and women who served their country with valor, then came home and transformed it: Senator Daniel Inouye, decorated at the front, fighting prejudice at home; Martha Settle Putney, one of the first black women to serve in the newly formed WACs; Charles Van Gorder, a doctor who set up a MASH-like medical facility in the middle of battle, then opened a small clinic in his hometown; Navy pilot and future president George H. W. Bush, assigned to read the mail of the enlisted men under him, who says that in doing so he “learned about life”; and many other laudable Americans.

    To this generation that gave so much and asked so little, Brokaw offers eloquent tribute in true stories of everyday heroes in extraordinary times.

    Praise for The Greatest Generation

    “Moving . . . a tribute to the members of the World War II generation to whom we Americans and the world owe so much.”—The New York Times Book Review

    “Full of wonderful, wrenching tales of a generation of heroes. Tom Brokaw reminds us what we are capable of as a people. An inspiring read for those who wish their spirits lifted.”—Colin L. Powell
     
    “Offers welcome inspiration . . . It is impossible to read even a few of these accounts and not be touched by the book’s overarching message: We who followed this generation have lived in the midst of greatness.”—The Washington Times
     
    “Entirely compelling.”—The Wall Street Journal

    About The Greatest Generation

    The instant classic that changed the way we saw World War II and an entire generation of Americans, from the beloved journalist whose own iconic career has lasted more than fifty years.

    In this magnificent testament to a nation and her people, Tom Brokaw brings to life the extraordinary stories of a generation that gave new meaning to courage, sacrifice, and honor.

    From military heroes to community leaders to ordinary citizens, he profiles men and women who served their country with valor, then came home and transformed it: Senator Daniel Inouye, decorated at the front, fighting prejudice at home; Martha Settle Putney, one of the first black women to serve in the newly formed WACs; Charles Van Gorder, a doctor who set up a MASH-like medical facility in the middle of battle, then opened a small clinic in his hometown; Navy pilot and future president George H. W. Bush, assigned to read the mail of the enlisted men under him, who says that in doing so he “learned about life”; and many other laudable Americans.

    To this generation that gave so much and asked so little, Brokaw offers eloquent tribute in true stories of everyday heroes in extraordinary times.

    Praise for The Greatest Generation

    “Moving . . . a tribute to the members of the World War II generation to whom we Americans and the world owe so much.”—The New York Times Book Review

    “Full of wonderful, wrenching tales of a generation of heroes. Tom Brokaw reminds us what we are capable of as a people. An inspiring read for those who wish their spirits lifted.”—Colin L. Powell
     
    “Offers welcome inspiration . . . It is impossible to read even a few of these accounts and not be touched by the book’s overarching message: We who followed this generation have lived in the midst of greatness.”—The Washington Times
     
    “Entirely compelling.”—The Wall Street Journal

    About The Greatest Generation

    The instant classic that changed the way we saw World War II and an entire generation of Americans, from the beloved journalist whose own iconic career has lasted more than fifty years.

    In this magnificent testament to a nation and her people, Tom Brokaw brings to life the extraordinary stories of a generation that gave new meaning to courage, sacrifice, and honor.

    From military heroes to community leaders to ordinary citizens, he profiles men and women who served their country with valor, then came home and transformed it: Senator Daniel Inouye, decorated at the front, fighting prejudice at home; Martha Settle Putney, one of the first black women to serve in the newly formed WACs; Charles Van Gorder, a doctor who set up a MASH-like medical facility in the middle of battle, then opened a small clinic in his hometown; Navy pilot and future president George H. W. Bush, assigned to read the mail of the enlisted men under him, who says that in doing so he “learned about life”; and many other laudable Americans.

    To this generation that gave so much and asked so little, Brokaw offers eloquent tribute in true stories of everyday heroes in extraordinary times.

    Praise for The Greatest Generation

    “Moving . . . a tribute to the members of the World War II generation to whom we Americans and the world owe so much.”—The New York Times Book Review

    “Full of wonderful, wrenching tales of a generation of heroes. Tom Brokaw reminds us what we are capable of as a people. An inspiring read for those who wish their spirits lifted.”—Colin L. Powell
     
    “Offers welcome inspiration . . . It is impossible to read even a few of these accounts and not be touched by the book’s overarching message: We who followed this generation have lived in the midst of greatness.”—The Washington Times
     
    “Entirely compelling.”—The Wall Street Journal

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Listen to a sample from The Greatest Generation

    Also by Tom Brokaw

    Never Give Up
    The Fall of Richard Nixon
    A Lucky Life Interrupted
    The Time of Our Lives
    Boom!
    See all books by Tom Brokaw

    Also by Tom Brokaw

    Never Give Up
    The Fall of Richard Nixon
    A Lucky Life Interrupted
    The Time of Our Lives
    Boom!
    See all books by Tom Brokaw

    Also by Tom Brokaw

    Never Give Up
    The Fall of Richard Nixon
    A Lucky Life Interrupted
    The Time of Our Lives
    Boom!
    See all books by Tom Brokaw

    Also by Tom Brokaw

    Never Give Up
    The Fall of Richard Nixon
    A Lucky Life Interrupted
    The Time of Our Lives
    Boom!
    See all books by Tom Brokaw

    Also by Tom Brokaw

    Never Give Up
    The Fall of Richard Nixon
    A Lucky Life Interrupted
    The Time of Our Lives
    Boom!
    See all books by Tom Brokaw

    About Tom Brokaw

    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,… More about Tom Brokaw

    About Tom Brokaw

    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,… More about Tom Brokaw

    About Tom Brokaw

    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,… More about Tom Brokaw

    About Tom Brokaw

    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,… More about Tom Brokaw

    About Tom Brokaw

    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,… More about Tom Brokaw

    Product Details

    Category: World History | Biography & Memoir

    Paperback | $18.00
    Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks
    May 01, 2001 | 464 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780812975291

    Category: World History | Biography & Memoir

    Large Print | $30.00
    Published by Random House Large Print
    Dec 07, 1998 | 560 Pages | 6-1/8 x 9-1/4 | ISBN 9780375705694

    Category: World History | Biography & Memoir

    Hardcover | $35.00
    Published by Random House
    May 11, 2004 | 464 Pages | 6-1/8 x 9-1/4 | ISBN 9781400063147

    Category: World History | Biography & Memoir

    Ebook | $9.99
    Published by Random House
    Feb 23, 2000 | 432 Pages | ISBN 9780375504624

    Category: World History | Biography & Memoir | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $12.95
    Published by Random House Audio
    Jul 05, 2000 | 223 Minutes | ISBN 9780739300466

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    Praise

    “A moving scrapbook…a tribute to the members of the World War II generation to whom we Americans and the world owe so much.”
    — The New York Times Book Review

    “Full of wonderful, wrenching tales of a generation of heroes. Tom Brokaw reminds us of what we are capable of as a people. An inspiring read for those who wish their spirits lifted.”
    — General Colin L. Powell (ret.)

    “Entirely compelling.”
    — The Wall Street Journal

    “Written with love and grace … a book I will keep forever on my shelves.”
    — Frank McCourt, author of ‘Tis

    “Heartfelt … A sweeping tribute to Americans who saved the world. It offers welcome inspiration.”
    — The Washington Times

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read

    Today's Top Books

    Today's Top Books

    Want to know what people are actually reading right now?

         An online magazine for today’s home cook

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook