The Time of Our Lives: A Conversation About America: Library Edition

Featured: A Letter from Tom Brokaw

My fellow Americans,

When you hear that phrase from a politician, does it seem insincere or anachronistic? Wouldn't it be more honest if they said, "My fellow members of the Divide America club"? For that seems to be the objective these days across the political spectrum--divide, not unite.

For almost a half century I've been reporting on American politics, the American culture and the American dream. I don't remember a time when there was so much anxiety about our common values, vision, and legacy.

So, in The Time of Our Lives I set out to reflect on how we got here, how we may emerge from our current frustrations, and how much we owe future generations. It's at once a personal book, written from the perspective of my working class roots, journalistic background, and the lessons I learned in writing an earlier book--The Greatest Generation. I also wrote this book as a grandfather who felt a certain urgency about providing my grandchildren the same choices and opportunities I had.

You 'll meet a lot of familiar people--President Obama and Rush Limbaugh among them--but the real lessons come from ordinary Americans, past and present, who love their country and worry it has lost its greatest asset: its ability to make this immigrant nation stronger than its many parts by working together.

I begin with a simple question: what happened to the America I thought I knew? I end with an enduring lesson from the American wilderness. In between I encourage everyone to re-enlist as citizens and join me in a conversation about who we are and where we want to go.

I hope you'll join our discussion.

--Tom Brokaw