The Time of Our Lives

Version: Unabridged
Author: Tom Brokaw
Narrator: Tom Brokaw
Genres: History, Social Science
Publisher: Random House (Audio)
Date: November 2011
Length: 7 hours, 6 minutes
Ratings:
Formats :
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  • M4B
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Overview

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.
"What happened to the America I thought I knew?" Brokaw writes. "Have we simply wandered off course, but only temporarily? Or have we allowed ourselves to be so divided that we're easy prey for hijackers who could steer us onto a path to a crash landing? . . . I do have some thoughts, original and inspired by others, for our journey into the heart of a new century."
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 offer 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 won 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. Offering ideas from Americans who are change agents in their communities, in "The Time of Our Lives, "Brokaw gives us, a wise, honest, and wide-ranging book, a nourishing vision of hopefulness in an age of dimished expectations.

Author Details

Author Details

Brokaw, Tom

Television journalist. Born February 6, 1940 in Webster, South Dakota. The eldest son of a construction worker and a post office clerk, Tom Brokaw graduated from the University of South Dakota with a degree in political science in 1962. He started as a radio reporter in college and worked as the editor of a morning news program in Omaha, Nebraska, following graduation. He also served as a news anchor and editor in Atlanta, Georgia, before becoming a KNBC late-night presenter in Los Angeles (1965-73).

As the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) Washington correspondent (1973-6), Tom Brokaw covered several top stories, including the Watergate scandal. He became Today show host (1976-82), leaving to become co-anchor of NBC Nightly News in 1982 with Roger Mudd. Brokaw took over as sole anchor in 1983 and remained in that post until 2004. During his tenure, he reported on the live opening of the Berlin Wall, conducted a historic 1987 interview with Mikhail Gorbachev, and called the 2000 Election to Al Gore before retracting it the following morning. After September 11, 2001, Brokaw postponed his retirement to cover the terrorist attacks. He retired from NBC Nightly News in 2004 and was replaced by Brian Williams.

Since his retirement from the anchor seat, Tom Brokaw has produced specials for NBC, including 2001’s The Greatest Generation Speaks based on his bestselling book, The Greatest Generation. He lives on a ranch in Montana with his wife since 1962, Meredith. The couple has three daughters.