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"When I set out to write The Greatest Generation, I was inspired by these people and by the realization that my world of endless possibilities, despite all its imperfections, was the work of these men and women. By writing their stories, I had finally found a way to say thank you. I wanted that book to be my gift to them, an expression of admiration for all they had achieved, and for the legacy they passed on to future generations. Of course, I hoped that the book would be well-received by the people about whom I was writing. As for younger generations, I wasnt sure what to expect. So many of the people I talked with from the World War II generation told me their kids werent much interested in hearing about the Depression, the war, the sacrifices of the fifties. As for their grandchildren- a generation coming of age in a time of personal computers, digital video, and unprecedented prosperity- to them, stories about the Great Depression and World War II were like grainy black-and-white images in dusty schoolbooks or on late-night television. Wouldnt stories about peoples lives during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s seem like ancient history to a thirtysomething or to a teenager shaping a life for America and the world in the twenty-first century? And so the enthusiastic response to The Greatest Generation has been not only a pleasant surprise, but also deeply gratifying in ways I could never have predicted. From what people say to me on the street and write in letters, some of which appear in this book, The Greatest Generation seems to have inspired within many families, communities, schools, and even corners of the political arena a reevaluation of the past, and a dialogue about the core values of that time and of the present."
Tom Brokaw