THE GREATEST GENERATION

Bathed in the glow of a television screen, NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw makes an imposing figure. As one of the Big Three network news gurus, Brokaw exudes honesty, integrity and a dogged earnestness. His charisma is so strong, in fact, that you're likely not to notice that the man has trouble pronouncing the letter "L." When Brokaw's voice sounds through the speakers of a Walkman, however, his speech impediment is much more apparent. Does this occasionally pull the listener away from the stories that he tells in the audiobook version of his bestseller, THE GREATEST GENERATION? How could it not? Does it spoil the experience of listening to him read passages from the book? The answer, fortunately, is no. In portraying the generation of Americans that fought WWII as brave, hard-working and self-sacrificing, Brokaw makes a convincing case. He shows his subjects as flawed--sexist, sometimes racist and often intolerant of opposing views--but still utterly worthy of respect. Throughout, Brokaw uses his fluid baritone voice to underscore his awe at this ``greatest generation'' in a manner admirable enough to cause any of us to swallow our "L's." D.A.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 99]