Tom Brokaw’s “The Greatest
Generation” pays tribute to the everyday heroes we pass on the streets daily. These are the men
and women who came of age just before or during World War II. They fought in the war, took care of things at home, worked in the factories, and raised children.
For the first half of the book I felt that Brokaw had slighted women’s contributions during the war. Each chapter of the book is a
biography of a person, couple, or group of people. The chapters are then subdivided into the following sections: Ordinary People; Home Front; Heroes; Women in Uniform and Out; Shame, Love, Marriage, and Commitment; Famous People; and The Arena.
Some of the chapters are headed by the name of a couple, such as “Thomas and Eileen Broderick.” Although Eileen’s name appears in the chapter title, though, it might as well not. Eileen appears in the chapter as she relates to Thomas’s biography. I’m not accusing Brokaw of underestimating the value of women during the war; I’m accusing him of overzealous political correctness. It’s really okay to write a chapter about Thomas Broderick; just don’t pretend you’re also writing about Eileen when she’s just a sidenote.
The format of the book (short biographies chapter after chapter) also leads to tedium by the end of the book, which is unfortunate, because the information and stories included are informative and interesting. When each biography follows the same format (early years, joining the military, WWII experiences, effects of WWII on later life), the stories begin to mesh together in the reader’s brain, and we always know what to expect from the next chapter.
Despite these drawbacks, the book is worth the read. Readers come away from the book with a new respect for the people dubbed by Brokaw, “The Greatest
Generation.” And my generation (woefully called Generation X no doubt by some Star Trek fan) will realize how much we owe to those who had to fight as we’ve never had to.