The Time of Our Lives
A conversation about America
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Who we are, where we’ve been, and where we need to go now, to recapture the American dream
Now with a new Foreword by the author.
“The best presentation of the challenges facing the country—and the possible solutions—I've ever seen.”—P. J. O’Rourke
Tom Brokaw, known and beloved for his landmark work in American journalism and for the New York Times bestsellers The Greatest Generation and Boom!, now turns his attention to the challenges that face America in the new millennium, to offer reflections on how we can restore America’s greatness.
Rooted in the values, lessons, and verities of generations past and of his South Dakota upbringing, Brokaw weaves together inspiring stories of Americans who are making a difference and personal stories from his own family history, to engage us in a conversation about our country and to share ideas for how we can revitalize the promise of the American Dream. Inviting us to foster a rebirth of family, community, and civic engagement as profound as the one that helped win World War II, built our postwar prosperity, and ushered in the Civil Rights era, Brokaw traces the exciting, unnerving changes in modern life—in values, education, public service, housing, the Internet, and more—that have transformed our society in the decades since the age of thrift in which he was raised. In offering ideas from Americans who are change agents in their communities, Brokaw gives us a nourishing vision of hopefulness in an age of diminished expectations.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Inspiring tales of how people from different walks of life have found ways to be of service to their communities and country.”—Walter Isaacson
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Legendary broadcast journalist Brokaw assumes an avuncular tone to discuss America's past, present, and future (the latter designated as "promise"). Addressing issues from lackluster education, military mindsets, public service, digitalization, and engaging anecdotes encountered during years of reporting, he also presents his and his wife's family histories in engaging fashion. The format meticulously frames perceptions of modern challenges versus simpler times and urges a proactive stance. Of America's leadership class, he writes: "We have too few of those voices these days." In the educational race with other nations, he suggests regionalizing college opportunities: "Consolidation is a logical place to begin." Brokaw (The Greatest Generation) strongly encourages advocacy groups for wounded veterans and suggests that although "mandatory public service may be a hard political sell bold, new initiatives are in order."