The Greatest Generation
| Author | Tom Brokaw |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 1998 |
The Greatest Generation is a book by journalist Tom Brokaw which profiles those who grew up in the United States during the deprivation of the Great Depression, and then went on to fight in World War II, as well as those whose productivity within the war's home front made a decisive material contribution to the war effort. The book popularized the term "Greatest Generation", which some use to describe the G.I. Generation in the United States.[citation needed]
Brokaw profiles those who came of age during World War II in the US, stemming from his attendance at the D-Day 40th anniversary celebrations. In the book, Brokaw wrote, "it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced". He argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the "right thing to do".[1]
Recruit quality[edit]
Although Tom Brokaw claims in his book that the generation that fought in U.S. forces during World War II were the greatest any society has produced, militarily this view has not been supported; since the U.S. soldiers were "significantly less well trained than their opponents, three out of four American soldiers did not shoot to good effect in combat" [2] and "despite the fact that the US Army was willing to accept virtually anyone over five feet tall who weighed more than 105lb and who had 12 or more of his own teeth, 40 percent of citizens failed these basic criteria."[3][4]
See also[edit]
- Military history of the United States during World War II
- United States home front during World War II
References[edit]
- ^ The greatest generation - Tom Brokaw - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013-12-16.
- ^ Niall Ferguson,The War of the World: History's Age of Hatred, Allen Lane, 2006, ISBN 0-7139-9708-7, page 521
- ^ Andrew Roberts, The Storm of War: a New History of the Second World War, Allen Lane, Aug 2009. ISBN 0713999705.
- ^ Daily Telegraph review of The Storm of War
Bibliography[edit]
- The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw (1998) ISBN 0-375-50202-5 (hardback) ISBN 0-385-33462-1 (paperback), depicts the Americans who came of age during the Great Depression and fought World War II.
- The Greatest Generation Speaks by Tom Brokaw (1999) ISBN 0-375-50394-3 (hardback) ISBN 0-385-33538-5 (paperback)
- The Great Boom 1950–2000: How a Generation of Americans Created the World's Most Prosperous Society by Robert Sobel (2000) ISBN 0-312-20890-1
- Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 by Strauss and Howe (1991) ISBN 0-688-11912-3
External links[edit]
- Booknotes interview with Tom Brokaw on The Greatest Generation, March 7, 1999.
- Amazon.com's book reviews and description
- OnTheIssues.org's book review and excerpts
- One last time they gather, the Greatest Generation
 | This article about a non-fiction book on U.S. history is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
