The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections

by Tom Brokaw

"I first began to appreciate fully all we owed the World War II generation while I was covering the fortieth and fiftieth anniversaries of D-Day for NBC News. When I wrote in The Greatest Generation about the men and women who came out of the Depression, who won great victories and made lasting sacrifices in World War II and then returned home to begin building the world we have today--the people I called the Greatest Generation--it was my way of saying thank you. I felt that this tribute was long overdue, but I was not prepared for the avalanche of letters and responses touched off by that book.
        
Members of that generation were, characteristically, grateful for the attention and modest about their own lives as they shared more remarkable stories about their experiences in the Depression and during the war years.
        
"Their children and grandchildren were eager to share the lessons and insights they gained from the stories they heard about the lives of a generation now passing on too swiftly. They wanted to say thank you in their own way. I had wanted to write a book about America, and now America was writing back.
        
"The letters, many of them written in firm Palmer penmanship on flowered stationery, have given me a much richer understanding not only of those difficult years but also of my own life. They give us new, intensely personal perspectives of a momentous time in our history. They are the voices of a generation that has given so much and wants to share even more.
        
"Some of the letters were written from the front during the war, or from families to their loved ones in harm's way in distant places. There were firsthand accounts of battles and poignant reflections on loneliness, exuberant expressions of love and somber accounts of loss.
        
"It seems that everyone in that generation has something worthwhile to contribute, and so we have included some pages in The Greatest Generation Speaks for others to share memories at once inspirational and instructive.
        
"If we are to heed the past to prepare for the future, we should listen to these quiet voices of a generation that speaks to us of duty and honor, sacrifice and accomplishment. I hope more of their stories will be preserved and cherished as reminders of all that we owe them and all that we can learn from them." --Tom Brokaw


Front-jacket "She said yes!" An American G.I. had proposed marriage to his girlfriend back home, and when her letter arrived, saying yes, he propped her photograph up in his helmet and had a buddy take this picture.
--(UPICorbis-Bettmann)

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, War, Biography, American History, Memoir

236 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Thomas John Brokaw is an American television journalist and author, previously working on regularly scheduled news documentaries for the NBC television network, and is the former NBC News anchorman and managing editor of the program NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. His last broadcast as anchorman was on December 1, 2004, succeeded by Brian Williams in a carefully planned transition. In the later part of Tom Brokaw's tenure, NBC Nightly News became the most watched cable or broadcast news program in the United States. Brokaw also hosted, wrote, and moderated special programs on a wide range of topics. Throughout his career, he has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors.

Brokaw serves on the Howard University School of Communications Board of Visitors and on the boards of trustees of the University of South Dakota, the Norton Simon Museum, the American Museum of Natural History and the International Rescue Committee. As well as his television journalism, he has written for periodicals and has authored books. He still works at NBC as a Special Correspondent.

Reviews

[Patti Pfister · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very interesting collection of stories about WWII from told from 1st and 3rd party perspectives. I haven't read The Greatest Generation yet, and will undoubtedly appreciate this book more after finishing the first book.

[Larry Bassett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an excellent book to listen to in the audible format since there are many voices that are done quite well and some apparently the actual people.

On the negative side this book is almost totally about World War II. This book is a follow up to The Greatest Generation. I was not paying close enough attention since I thought this was that book. But I do not think I will be following up by reading that book.

I am not fond of books that glorify war. I am not fond of books that act as if wars are about protecting our freedom. This book certainly recognizes that plenty of people don't come home from war but I think it leans heavily on the glory of the sacrifice. World War II is the war that people like to see as the one where we were all in it together and we were all fighting for the same thing. This book gives absolutely no alternative viewpoints.

Well let me take that back just a smidgen. There is the story about the 16 Negroes Who were trained to be paratroopers. After they were trained they were shipped up to Washington state to fight forest fires!

There was much mention in reminiscences by people who said their father never talked about the war. And there were some indirect (very indirect) references to the horror of war. There were statistics about how many tons of bombs and flights of the carpet bombing B-17s in Europe. But war was very sanitized. While I would have to say that it is hard to imagine a pro war book, this book leans a little that way. But given the title that should not be totally surprising. This is after all a book about American heroes.

[Jaclynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read, filled with letters from those who lived and fought during the Depression and WW2 time. Divided into sections for easier reading.
I appreciated the author taking the time to compose all of this into a book so we could experience (in a way) the lives of our grandparents, to know the sacrifices they made, maybe things they didn't or couldn't talk about to us in person.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have read The Greatest Generation when it first came out. It was published about 20 years ago. The stories of WWII soldiers, survivors and citizens who all contributed are still relevant but now most of the subjects are gone. The book refers to what they are doing now, but of course that was 20 years ago. The edition I read also included the second book, The Greatest Generation Speaks, which includes the letters of people who read the first book and wanted to comment and share their story. I found these stories even more compelling. These were ordinary people who had done some extraordinary things in the war but came back to live regular lives. Both books meant a great deal both to the veterans and people of that generation but also to their children and grandchildren because it helped them understand their family member and what they went through. It prompted conversations that had never taken place before. Tom Brokaw did a masterful job in including a huge variety of stories in the first and acknowledges in the second where he fell short. Selecting the people for both books must have been difficult.

[Owen Neumayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of letters and reflections from WWII vets and families, written and compiled by Tom Brokaw, is a wonderful piece of writing. Brokaw was able to make me eagerly connect to these individual stories from vets and their families by using their actual letters and conversations during the war. At multiple points I was very choked up reading these letters. The organization of the chapters based on different types of letters made this book much more enjoyable.

The people from the stories in this novel are an inspiration to me and should be to my entire generation. Everyone willingly gave the war effort all they could. And countless Americans paid the ultimate price during this brutal war. For that I am everlastingly thankful.

“There are many who have made the supreme sacrifice so that we have these happy homes of ours. To them we owe much of our freedom.” pg 235

[Ann Otto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers of Brokaw's The Greatest Generation send responses telling stories of their own or family members who served in WW2. It is inspiring yet not surprising that so many have similar but at the same time unique experiences to share.

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brokaw is as good a writer as he is a broadcaster. 5 great stars.

So I should say I have not read the whole thing. I gave this to my dad as a birthday gift. My dad is part of the greatest generation.

He adored it and I got to take a peak and read a bit of it. (This was not that long ago.) I loved it and plan on reading the whole thing.

I am a Generation XER..We will never be the greatest generation but we are still pretty cool. This is a great homage to the Greatest Generation..and they are pretty great! A wonderful 5 star book.

[Paul Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! In his first book, "The Greatest Generation", Brokaw wrote about people that went through the Great Depression, fought World War II, then came back to quietly give back to society and build a great America. In this book, he collects notes and stories sent to him from those who read his first. This is better than the first one because it is individual tales. Some are short, and a few are longer. There are recollections and comments. They are written by wives, children, grandchildren, and the actual participant in a few cases. But all come straight from the heart.

[Jdub Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation.

Initially I want to rate this book 3 stars. But upon reflection, I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the “author” did not write the book. Most of the letters are interesting and enlightening. Listening to the audiobook often caused me to think more about what the author of the individual letter actually looked like more than what they were saying.
The book is well organized and, overall, is content that deserves to be shared.

[Vicki Holt]

I was touched to read letters and interviews from WW2 vets and their families. My dad served in Europe and was in the battle of the Bulge and never talked about it until we were with him in ICU when he had hole in his heart at age 75 and we were allowed to stay with him for a few hours. It helped me understand him a little better when hearing many others went through the same emotions.

[AprilEhrig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me crying multiple times.

[Lindsey Barger · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was young, I stayed most weekends and summers with my grandparents. They had a small vegetable garden near Atlanta that had been in the family for 2 generations by then. I would hear family talk about my grandfather’s time as a soldier in the European theatre of World War II and his brother’s as a plane mechanic and painter for the Navy. Sometimes their friends would share stories about their own experiences overseas, but it wasn’t until a high school project had me interviewing the person who meant the most to me that my grandfather really shared his own stories. My grandfather, Wyndal Carter, started his time in Europe with the 777th Tank Battalion under (then) Lieutenant General Patton. He marched through an already battered France, then Germany. He served as a watcher who looked for piano wire trip lines and snipers looking to destroy their tanks and Jeeps. And he saw things no person should ever have to later in his career when he participated in the liberation of concentration camps and a POW prison camp. He quietly answered my questions, and shared artifacts with me that he was allowed to bring home from war like a Nazi flag that had flow at one of the camps, and copy of Mein Kampf in German picked up in an officer’s quarters in the prison camp. My grandfather never spoke of his time in the service after that day and I am honored that he trusted his memories to me.

The Greatest Generation Speaks is a follow up to Tom Brokaw’s earlier book about the people in my grandparents’ generation who saw atrocities, fought for righteousness, and saw America at the pinnacle of its grandeur. This book is a compilation of letters Brokaw received after the release of the early work – letters from veterans and their families discussing their own time overseas and the impact Brokaw’s book had on them. When the world went from World War II quickly into the Cold War, these veterans and their experiences were often forgotten about, especially as the US entered new battles in Asia. Brokaw honors their sacrifice and pain by giving them a voice to share their memories with the public.

I give The Greatest Generation Speaks 5 out of 5 stars. I chose the audio version of this book because I knew I wouldn’t be able to read some of these stories and keep moving forward through the pages. The letters detail the heartbreak of loved ones left behind and lives put on hold to protect our freedoms. It felt like I was sitting at a table drinking a cup of coffee with my grandfather and his friends again – the stories, the happy and not so happy memories. This book brought back so many of my own memories of my time listening to these men of the Greatest Generation giving me lessons I really didn’t understand as a teen. This book really puts the war into perspective and shows the impact a few short years had on the entire generation.

If, like me, you grew up listening to Brokaw report the news and some of the most poignant moments in American history, you will love this book. This is a great book for readers looking to read biographies or memoirs of the Greatest Generation. While not focused on one person, it really gives a glimpse into the overall mentality and shared trauma of the country during that era. If you have highschoolers who don’t have a World War II veteran to talk with, this would be a great read for them!

I chose The Greatest Generation Speaks for the Read With Lindsey Reading Challenge prompt “About World War II”. I originally thought about reading something about the Battle of the Bulge or another pivotal moment in the fighting, but this felt more appropriate for holiday weekend. Remembering the sacrifices this generation made for us as a whole and seeing how different our generation has treated war and service overseas was remarkable to me. My grandparents and their generation faced uncertain times, drafted into service in a war they didn’t want, but banded together to protect their families at home. I can’t say this is how our country would act in a similar situation today. Just 2 generations later and our world is so very different.

To all those in the Greatest Generation and those who have lost a loved one in service to our country – my words can never be enough to properly thank you for what you have lost. We remember the fallen and honor their legacies today and every day.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

In seinem Buch "The greatest generation" verbeugte sich Pete Brokaw vor der Generation seiner Eltern, die aus der großen Depression kamen und in den Krieg mussten. Womit er nicht gerechnet hat, war die Reaktion, die er auf sein Buch bekommen hat. Er bekam unzählige Briefe von den Kindern, aber auch von Mitgliedern der größten Generation selbst. Ihre Briefe hat er in "The greatest generation speaks" zusammengestellt.

Es sind Briefe von der Front, von Ehemännern an ihre Frauen und Kinder und an die Eltern. Auch wenn die Soldaten Schlimmes erlebt haben, klingen die meisten Briefe doch positiv. Sicherlich, weil man die Lieben daheim nicht mit den Erlebnissen belasten wollten. Aber auch, weil sie eine Verbindung zu einem normalen Leben waren und Normalität war etwas, nach dem sich alle sehnten. Manche Briefe, besonders die der Soldaten an Pete Brokaw, waren deutlicher. Mich hat die Selbstverständlichkeit, mit der auch über die schlimmsten Dinge geschrieben wurde, mehr betroffen gemacht als die Ereignisse selbst.

Auch die Ehefrauen und Kinder kamen zu Wort. So habe ich einen kleinen Einblick in das Leben während des Krieges bekommen. Auch, wie es war, wenn jemand gefallen ist. Oft haben sich die Angehörigen an die Kameraden gewannt, die dabei waren um zu wissen, wie die letzten Minuten des geliebten Menschen gewesen sind, in der Hoffnung, dass er einen schnellen Tod hatte. Diese Briefe haben mich am meisten berührt.

"The greatest generation speaks" ist ein ungewöhnliches Zeitzeugnis. Die Menschen wollte nach der langen Zeit immer noch darüber reden, was sie erlebt hatten. Auch wenn die Kriege heute anders geführt werden, zeigt das Buch deutlich, was sie mit den Menschen macht. Nicht nur mit denen, die direkt dabei sind, sondern auch mit denen, die daheim warten.

[Mona Ammon · Rating 3 out of 5]

TITLE: The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: Met my reading challenge criteria being connected to book before it, The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son On Life, Love, and Loss, book written by a television journalist
REVIEW: I wonder if I had read The Greatest Generation before listening to this follow up, I thought originally I was listening to the original, if my response to this book would be different. It felt lighter than I expected. Still the stories are very moving. The breadth of the stories was amazing (soldiers, wives, chaplains, children, different branches of military service, different nationalities). It definitely was a different time when things were clearer for most people. Already battling and sacrificing due to the Great Depression the war was just another obstacle. It is difficult to imagine a collective effort like that now a days. In some ways that is good and other sad.

[Dave Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

My father was a World War II veteran. He served in the Navy on a submarine (U.S.S. Hammerhead). I heard many many stories over the years from him about the war and his buddies in the war.

Reading the stories of these men in this book brought back many memories of not only the things my father would tell me but also the way he told them. Some with much fondness and laughter and others with a deep sense of loss.

While I think "The Greatest Generation" is a pretty wonderful - and, in a lot of ways, accurate - way of describing the men and women (of everyone, regardless of age, actually) living during that time I think it overlooks so many of their shortcomings. The institutional racism of their generation is staggering. (The story of the black paratroopers was great.)

I feel like it should be noted that The Greatest Generation is also responsible for raising the people who would become the Boomers. What would The Greatest Generation think of them?

[Sarah CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolute fun! I am a historical fiction lover. But actually letters/stories/journal excerpts were absolutely amazing! I really feel that maybe my generation really does need to experience a war like this. People loved each other back then. People prayed for each other. People prayed in the battle field together. People accepted God on the battlefield. People believed that God protected them. I wonder if our world can’t have this experience because we are so spoiled; Instant letters, instant telephone calls, instant pictures.

One if my favorite lines was even though the two a bombs were absolutely devastating and many women, children, and families died. Many, many more were spared because the war ended after this.

This audiobook was read by many, many different authors with different accents, so it really made this book come alive. There were also sound effects in the background.

[Heather Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from my Dad, not realizing it wasn't the first book (The Greatest Generation). I read it in less than a week. What an amazing narrative on the generation that saved the world! This should be read by every single American, so they can truly understand the sacrifices that generation made, to allow us the freedoms we have today. When you look at someone with a WWII veteran's hat on, don't think "oh, how cute are they?" Instead, think - he/she was a badass back in the day and risked their life for the greater good. We should all be grateful for everything this generation did for their country. Please do me a favor, and those that served, and educate yourself on this war, to understand the full magnitude of their patriotism.

[Patty Hooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in a "little library" while taking a walk one day. I would love to read "The Greatest Generation" now and probably should have read it first. I loved reading the stories about the very young and courageous men and women of this time. It is fascinating to hear their stories about the depression, their families, and being called off to war. They had a sense of duty, loyalty, and honor that I really feel is lost today. They all seemed to have a sense of pride in what they were doing and were truly a self sacrificing generation. You can see this in the marriages of this time as well. They knew how to treat each other and put others first. I loved this book and look forward to reading "The Greatest Generation."

[Kathy Matteson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the stories of the service members and their families and friends. So many losses and personal sacrifices made by that generation. Some may think WWII has been glamorized but in reality, for those who served, they don’t portray that at all. A clear theme is what we all should know and that is, sending our young people off to war is terrible and it really needs to be justified. Fighting in WWII was justified - I can’t imagine what the world would have been like if the Allies lost. The book also touched a bit on the racial and ethnic divides that occurred back in the 1940s and the hope that given time and teaching our children differently - that there would eventually be no discrimination. It’s 2023, and we still have a long way to go.

[D.J. Speckhals · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a heartwarming companion to Brokaw's classic, The Greatest Generation. At the same time, it's certainly not required to read one before the other. I loved how Brokaw simply let the men and women speak—their heartaches and joys, the the exhilarating and the mundane. Written in the late 1990s, the stories are told through letters written by people who were in their 70s, relatively young compared to what they are now in 2025. I'm thankful the author captured this sliver of time while the "Greatest Generation" could still recount their stories.

[Neal Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read only the first 150 pages which were stories from people who experienced WWII and reviewed them to the author;one of these was from a man who was a POW of the Japanese and was enslaved to work the coal mines that gave the Japanese the energy to fight the Allied forces after they had captured Pearl Harbor in 1941;
Another was what occurred at Normandy when American forces landed there.
Another to our Airforce planes attempting to retaliate.
All of these convinced me of the horrors necessary to respond to Adolf Hitler’s actions in Europe and Japan’s in the Pacific.I feel proud to be an American.

[J. T. K. Tobin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories inside bring a human touch to an often overly-romanticized war. Instead of just bulletproof war heroes in some long-past time, we see the real people that became known as the Greatest Generation. In some of the personal letters that were shared, we see elements of humanity that are still the same today. We see an awkwardness and a candidness that isn't depicted quite the same in the movies. In other words, we see people being people in a time that cannot be repeated.

And as in nearly all accounts of conflict, we see men and women who call upon God, wanting nothing more than peace, wanting nothing more than war.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the predecessor, but still interesting to hear the stories from the generation that saved the world for democracy. I listened to this on audio and appreciated the several narrators used to break up the letters read, and narrative provided by Tom Brokaw. I do feel, however, that there came a point when the stories all seemed to blend into one another and lost my interest. This is a re-read, and in the subsequent decades since the book's release, there have been many books, movies and TV shows that jumped on Brokaw's bandwagon, the stories do feel a bit watered-down (not that they lose any of their importance! I just don't like listening to war stories in general).

[Courtney Skelton · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is with great difficulty, discomfort and angst that I give The greatest generation speaks a low rating. I am most grateful for all this generation for myself as well as the world around me, yet I found the book itself had no flow to it. It raised way more questions that it answered. There are some insightful parts peppered though out the book, but they are too few and too far apart to make the read worth it. A lot of the stories are simply rehashed war stories with different voices. To bad. with the premise that was promised, it could have been so much better.

[John W. Carlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memories restored

How to read the greatest Generation book several years ago. Dad was aboard a Navy submarine tender during World War II. He enlisted in the Navy in 1939 and before the war was over he had made CPO. His ship the USS Holland was the last surface ship to make it out of Manila Harbor under blackout conditions before the Japanese bombed Manila in 1941. I was one of the children of those greatest Generation born in September of 1946. Dad always said I was an 11 month baby because he came home in October of 45.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is more a response from the greatest generation to an earlier book that Brokaw wrote entitled "The Greatest Generation." Despite this the book does well to stand on it's own even if you haven't read the preceding book. Based on the letters it sounds like the first book dealt with high profile cases of those that went away to war or stayed home during WWII. This book has letters and reactions from family members of the common soldier and I think you can really feel the pain and discomfort that many families had to bear while loved ones went away to war or stayed home.

[Gatherum Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading the words of those while loved, experiences and endured WWII. It brought a record on that the current generation know of very little the great sacrifices that were made for the comforts of today.

I was a little disappointed at how often The author reminded the reader of his other book, and interjected himself in the book. It was full of humble brags. Remove the authors insertion of how great his work was, this book would be on my list for required high school reading.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of members of the Greatest Generation, their children and grandchildren speaking about their experiences during WWII or the stories passed down. The recurring theme from the family members of the servicemen and women was that those that lived through the war didn't like to talk about it. Letters written between husbands and wives our boyfriends and girlfriends were also read. It was a very touching story.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. My father was a Master Sergeant in the US Army and was in Sicily, Italy, North Africa and Normandy D-Days. Reading the words of others brings my Dad back to life. He was stoic, hard working, no nonsense, but when he got together with his Army buddies for reunions (into his early 80s) the ties between them were heartfelt and genuinely moving. Reading this book helps me remember the few stories he would tell about the war.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a follow-up book to "The Greatest Generation" in which veterans and their families and others write to Tom Brokaw with their stories and letters.
I enjoyed reading this book. It was eye-opening to hear from the families left home while family members served. This generation saw a need and filled it. Just like many people in the book who didn't want to talk about their war experiences, neither did my father. But, I can tell you that he and my mother were the greatest.