Letter to a Great Grandson
A Message of Love, Advice, and Hopes for the Future
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- £7.99
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
''When you are a great grandfather you will experience something so much more powerful and meaningful than being a father or a grandfather, that you will look at the march of generations with new eyes.''
When his great-grandson Alexander was born in 2002, Hugh Downs suddenly gained a rare perspective on the world -- he had seen the evolution of American culture through five generations (his parents', his own, his children's, his grandchildren's, and now his great-grandson's). Once Downs realized the extraordinary amount of love he experienced for his brand new descendent, as well as the profound connection he felt between them, he decided to write him a letter, to be read at different stages of Alexander's life. Letter to A Great Grandson offers wisdom, advice, and speculation about how life was, how life is, and how life may be in the future. As one of America's most trusted commentators, Downs is a grandfather figure to many, and his words will resonate with readers everywhere, at any age.
Letter to A Great Grandson presents a completely new system for categorizing life. Downs has divided it into seventeen stages, ranging from infant, to post-puberty minor, to "young old," to ancient, and everything in between. This unique organization allows him to offer specific thoughts on each stage, making the book pertinent to all age levels, ideal for reading over and over again during different periods in life. Downs discusses the common problems and achievements in each stage, and along the way offers his characteristically erudite and conversational thoughts on relationships, science, sex, education, careers, literature, and life in general. He also includes touching tidbits from his own childhood, and those of his family, illustrating that sometimes one must look back, in order to look forward.
Though Letter to A Great Grandson is not a how-to book, it does teach by example. It stresses the importance and joy of sharing your thoughts and feelings with the children in your life, and of actively maintaining family connections -- before it is too late. This makes it a wonderful model for great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents alike. Considering the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren (and great-grandparents and great-grandchildren), surprisingly few books address this important relationship. When this vital, n0 heartwarming subject matter is combined with Hugh Downs's unique wisdom, wit, and warmth, the result is a book that will truly be treasured.
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Although Downs has written this brief, epistolary tome for his great-grandson, Alexander, portions of it are likely to make sense to anyone. His assessments of what to expect at all stages of life, from early childhood to old age, will coach readers on setting goals, choosing an appropriate career, finding true love and giving in to frivolous impulses every once in awhile. Broken into chapters corresponding with the decades of life, the book speaks directly to Alexander (who's sometimes referred to as"Xander"), and reveals a good number of anecdotes from Downs's own illustrious life. The former co-anchor of 20/20 and host of the Today show is now in his early 80s, and certainly has his share of valuable advice to impart. However, when he lapses into specific family references (e.g.,"Three of your four grandparents are living. Six of your eight great-grandparents are living. And you have one great-great-grandmother..."), readers outside the Downs family might find their eyes glazing over. Nonetheless, this humorous, sometimes saccharine, but always kind book of life guidance would make an appropriate graduation gift.