The Time of Our Lives

A Conversation about America

By: Tom Brokaw

Narrated by: Tom Brokaw

Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

A conversation about America: who we are, where we've been, and where we need to go now, to recapture the American dream.

Tom Brokaw, known and beloved for his landmark work in American journalism and for the New York Times best-sellers The Greatest Generation and Boom!, now turns his attention to the challenges that face America in the new millennium, to offer reflections on how we can restore America’s greatness.

“What happened to the America I thought I knew?” Brokaw writes. “Have we simply wandered off course, but only temporarily? Or have we allowed ourselves to be so divided that we’re easy prey for hijackers who could steer us onto a path to a crash landing? ... I do have some thoughts, original and inspired by others, for our journey into the heart of a new century.”

Rooted in the values, lessons, and verities of generations past and of his South Dakota upbringing, Brokaw weaves together inspiring stories of Americans who are making a difference and personal stories from his own family history, to engage us in a conversation about our country and to offer ideas for how we can revitalize the promise of the American Dream.

Inviting us to foster a rebirth of family, community, and civic engagement as profound as the one that won World War II, built our postwar prosperity, and ushered in the Civil Rights era, Brokaw traces the exciting, unnerving changes in modern life - in values, education, public service, housing, the Internet, and more - that have transformed our society in the decades since the age of thrift in which he was raised. Offering ideas from Americans who are change agents in their communities, in The Time of Our Lives, Brokaw gives us, a wise, honest, and wide-ranging book, a nourishing vision of hopefulness in an age of dimished expectations.

©2011 Random House Audio (P)2011 Tom Brokaw

Good storytelling; will have you nodding

Any additional comments?

One of those books that will make you nod your head in agreement, like, "Yes, that IS messed up," or "Amen, we need to fix that!" Listening to this for me was a bit like hearing my parents/aunts/uncles tell stories of when they were my age (I'm in my 30s) and I think, "Houses and cars cost HOW MUCH less than they do now and you made as much or MORE than I do today at a similar-level job? No wonder I feel poor and unsuccessful... it was so much easier back then to have the 'American Dream'! ...And don't even get me started about college!"

Excellent

I enjoyed this book and it brought back so many memories of my childhood. I was a trip back in time to a very different world. I could listen to Tom Brokaws voice for weeks.

Very good book on the state of today's world

Listening to Tom Brokaw's deep voice was a joy. Loved his perspective on today's world.

A great story

Would you listen to The Time of Our Lives again? Why?

Tom Borkaw is a great story teller and let's us into stories about his family. We hear about his roots and what shaped him into the person he is today.

Vintage Brokaw

If you could sum up The Time of Our Lives in three words, what would they be?

Tom Brokaw! A great story teller

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

A sane voice in these days of the 24 hour new cycle

Any additional comments?

Enjoyed the read.

Grandfather Tom offers solid advice

First, listening to Tom read the book was divine...there's a reason he was so pleasant on the news for all those years.

The book does come across in conversation form of Brokaw's experiences and insights on America and how where we've been has gotten us where we've gotten. In a very grandfatherly way, he offers advice to Americans of all generations about how we can improve ourselves, our country and our world. I agreed with most of what he said and so found myself often thinking, "preach it!" as he talked about the need for service, living within our means and escaping the curse of materialism.

Just Okay

Just okay - Most of the ideas I knew about, Lots of anecdotals stories, Kind of felts like a lot of feel good news stories put together plus a history of his life

Indifferent

I thought I would enjoy this book but I found it some what boring. There were no great moments for me. I finished this book just a few days ago but find myself already forgetting most of the things that were in it.

I was surprised to find myself a little annoyed with his voice by the end of the book.

Good...but

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed the theme of this book.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Tom Brokaw?

Anyone else. For the nightly news I enjoy Tom Brokaw's voice. For a 7 hours book....no.

Engagingly descriptive!

The descriptive accounts of history coupled with the juxtaposition of Tom Brokaw's life events is interesting and masterful. Great book!