An Album of Memories: Personal Histories from the Greatest Generation Summary and Reviews

An Album of Memories: Personal Histories from the Greatest Generation
by Tom Brokaw

An Album of Memories: Personal Histories from the Greatest Generation
List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $5.46
You Save: $9.49 (63%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Tom Brokaw
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2002-04
ISBN: 0375760415
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks

Book Reviews of An Album of Memories: Personal Histories from the Greatest Generation

Book Review: The Many Honorable Dimensions of Sacrifice and Caring
Summary: 5 Stars

This book brings the dangerous and trouble-laden world of the 1930s and 1940s to life in a remarkably vivid and compelling way. Almost every letter comes with a photograph or memorabilia that make you realize that many of the servicemen and women were just kids when they moved into their place in history. They wanted to fall in love, marry, and raise a nice family. But first they had to take on incredible risk on land, on the beaches, at sea, and in the air around the world in places that they had never heard of. If they didn't become injured or killed, they knew that it was just a quirk of fate that they did not. Everyone lost family members, friends, buddies, and heroes. If they worked as a medic, they saw more ravaged bodies than we can imagine. Many still bear the pain of their wounds today. Nightmares continue to haunt the dreams of many others. Yet most have spared their families the full horror of that experience. Through Mr. Brokaw's books, we can better imagine some of what it might have been like...

This book contains many memories like these. Often written by family members, the introduction then puts letters from the veteran into evidence at the court of history for us to experience.

You will be powerfully moved by the stories of sacrifice (whether from being POWs, lack of supplies, discrimination, or the chilling experience being exposed to grave danger), loss (families losing their only child, wives losing husbands after just becoming pregnant, and veterans losing their buddies), and willingness to serve (great efforts to volunteer when too young or too old, to volunteer for tough duty, and trying to help all and sundry). One of the most powerful for me was the description of the horrors of a concentration camp that was considered well kept by the Nazis in order to make a good impression on the Red Cross. Most moving for me was the sense of forgiveness that many veterans felt towards their former enemies.

If you know someone who served in World War II (whether a family member or not), I hope you will consider giving them this book and saying "thank you." After a few months have passed, ask them if they will tell you their story. If they will share, why not ask them if they would be willing to let you make copies of old letters and memorabilia so that you can send them to Mr. Brokaw? In this way, we can capture more of what happened then, honor these wonderful people, and pass on their legacy to generations yet unborn.

May the best and most important of these memories live forever!

Biographies & Memoirs Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Some Good Books for the Lover of History
Salt: A World History ImageSalt: A World History
by Mark Kurlansky
Walker & Company; Published: 2002-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $42.11
Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews -- A History ImageConstantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews -- A History
by James Carroll
Mariner Books; Published: 2001-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.26
Price in other shops: $17.00
The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology ImageThe Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
by Simon Winchester
Harper Perennial; Published: 2002-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.92
Price in other shops: $13.95
Undaunted Courage : Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West ImageUndaunted Courage : Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
by Stephen Ambrose
Simon & Schuster; Published: 1997-06-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.94
Price in other shops: $18.00
Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture ImageBrunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
by Ross King
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2001-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops: $15.00
Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson ImageMaster of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson
by Robert A. Caro
Knopf; Published: 2002-04-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.93
Price in other shops: $35.00
The U.S. Constitution: And Fascinating Facts About It ImageThe U.S. Constitution: And Fascinating Facts About It
by Terry L. Jordan
Oak Hill Publishing Company; Published: 1999-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.50
Price in other shops: $2.95
A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present ImageA People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present
by Howard Zinn
Perennial (HarperCollins); Published: 2001-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.89
Price in other shops: $18.00
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World ImageCod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World
by Mark Kurlansky
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1998-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.19
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (Hinges of History) ImageThe Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (Hinges of History)
by Thomas Cahill
Anchor Books/Nan A Talese; Published: 1999-08-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $16.00
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction (Shorter Twelfth Edition) ImageThe Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction (Shorter Twelfth Edition)
W.W. Norton & Co.; Published: 2008-01-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $36.45
The Greatest Generation ImageThe Greatest Generation
by Tom Brokaw
Random House Inc; Published: 2005-10-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.08
The Greatest Generation ImageThe Greatest Generation
by Tom Brokaw
Random House; Published: 1998-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.00
The Greatest Generation with Tom Brokaw Boxed Set ImageThe Greatest Generation with Tom Brokaw Boxed Set
Release date: 2005-06-07; DVD
Best price: $15.21
Price in other shops: $29.98
Big Russ and Me : Father and Son: Lessons of Life ImageBig Russ and Me : Father and Son: Lessons of Life
by Tim Russert
Published: 2005-05-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.62
Price in other shops: $13.95
Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons ImageWisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons
by Tim Russert
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2007-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops: $13.95
A Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland in the Forties and Fifties ImageA Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland in the Forties and Fifties
by Tom Brokaw
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2003-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.50
Price in other shops: $13.95
Boom!: Talking About the Sixties: What Happened, How It Shaped Today, Lessons for Tomorrow ImageBoom!: Talking About the Sixties: What Happened, How It Shaped Today, Lessons for Tomorrow
by Tom Brokaw
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2008-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.30
Price in other shops: $18.00
The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections ImageThe Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections
by Tom Brokaw
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2005-10-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.85
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Greatest Generation ImageThe Greatest Generation
by Tom Brokaw
Random House; Published: 2004-09-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.20
Price in other shops: $74.85