A Long Way From Home

Brokaw opens a window onto the prairie during the Depression years. With a newsman's eye for detail, he reveals vignettes of his family's hardscrabble existence and his own sometimes cocky push to the big time. Short in comparison to many famous reminiscences, this entrancing evocation might have had even greater potency were it read in Brokaw's own mellow tones. Talented as Cashman is as a reader, he lacks the fluidity of the well-known announcer. This becomes most apparent when quoting Brokaw's actual broadcasts. Nevertheless, there are ample reasons to be grateful for this recording. For charm and historic value alone, it should not be missed. S.B.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine


NBC News Anchor Tom Brokaw recalls his youth in three South Dakota towns, including Yankton, where he started his broadcasting career as a radio disc jockey. He also recalls his cordial but then unromantic relationship with Meredith Auld, his future wife, a Miss South Dakota who long saw him as irresponsible--and a rocky college career marred by partying. Brokaw's account is filled with nostalgia for an idyllic time that reflects the admiration he showed for WWII veterans in THE GREATEST GENERATION. Although it doesn't carry the weight of his previous book, this memoir will please fans of the earlier work. J.A.S. 2004 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine