''The Greatest Generation'' is a 1998 book by journalist

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...

that profiles those who grew up in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during the deprivation of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and then went on to fight in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as well as those whose productivity within the

home front during World War II The term "home front" covers the activities of the civilians in a nation at war. World War II was a total war; homeland production became even more invaluable to both the Allies of World War II, Allied and Axis powers. Life on the home front duri ...

made a decisive material contribution to the

war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative size ...

. The book popularized the term ''

Greatest Generation The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. Generation and the World War II generation, is the Western demographic cohort following the Lost Generation and preceding the Silent Generation. The generation is generally defined as people born ...

'' for the name of the cultural

generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...

before the

Silent Generation The Silent Generation, also known as the Traditionalist Generation, is the Western demographic cohort following the Greatest Generation and preceding the Baby Boomers. The Silent Generation is generally defined as people born from 1928 to 1945. ...

. Brokaw profiles those who came of age during

in the United States, stemming from his attendance at the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

40th anniversary celebrations. In the book, Brokaw wrote that "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."

References

Sources

*''The Greatest Generation'' by

(1998) (hardback) (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) (hardback) (paperback) *''The Great Boom 1950–2000: How a Generation of Americans Created the World's Most Prosperous Society'' by Robert Sobel (2000) *''Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069'' by

Strauss and Howe Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually re ...

(1991)

External links

Presentation by Brokaw on ''The Greatest Generation'', December 7, 1998

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

''Booknotes'' interview with Tom Brokaw on ''The Greatest Generation'', March 7, 1999

Amazon.com's book reviews and description

One last time they gather, the Greatest Generation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greatest Generation, The 1998 non-fiction books 20th-century history books American history books History books about the United States History books about World War II Non-fiction books about the Great Depression Random House books Sociology books

See also

References

Sources

External links