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"The Greatest Generation" is a term coined by journalist Tom Brokaw to describe the generation^[1] who grew up in the United States during the deprivation of the Great Depression, and then went on to fight in World War II, as well as those whose productivity within the war's home front made a decisive material contribution to the war effort. The generation is sometimes referred to as the G.I. Generation. It follows the Lost Generation of the 1880s who fought in World War I and precedes the Silent Generation of the 1930s. The Greatest Generation are the parents of the Baby Boomers.

Tom Brokaw's book

Broadcast journalist Tom Brokaw wrote in his 1998 book The Greatest Generation, "it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced."[1] He argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the right thing to do. When they came back they rebuilt America into a superpower. The book was a great popular success.^[2] Some critics and historians found the phenomenon overblown, or simplistic.^[3][4] Others felt an implied criticism of the Baby Boom Generation, and defended that generation's social values against those of the Greatest Generation.^[5]

In their 1991 book Generations, the historians William Strauss and Neil Howe use the term "G.I. Generation" to describe those born in the United States from about 1901 through 1924.

Famous members

• Jerry Colonna: (1904-1986), American radio personality
• Joe Foss: (1915-2003), WWII USMC fighter ace, Governor of South Dakota, featured prominently in Brokaw's book
• John F. Kennedy: (1917-1963), 35th President of the United States
• J.D. Salinger: (1919-2010), an author best known for the controversial 1951 novel, The Catcher in the Rye
• George H.W. Bush: (b.1924), 41st President of the United States
• Walter Cronkite: (1916-2009), reporter for CBS News from 1951 to 1997
• Joe DiMaggio: (1914-1999), famous player for the New York Yankees
• Billy Graham: (b.1918), televangelist
• Ted Williams: (1915-2002), famous baseball player for Boston Red Sox, fought in WWII and Korean War
• Richard Winters: (b.1918), WWII veteran of the 101st Airborne Division, famous for his portrayal in Band of Brothers
• Charles M. Schulz: (1922-2000), American cartoonist, served with U.S. 20th Armored Division in WWII
• Timothy Leary: (1920-1996), a professor who coined the phrase Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out and advocated LSD
• Jack Kerouac: (1924-1969), a famous Beat Generation author
• Howard Keel: (1919-2004), American actor
• Nao Takasugi: (1922-2009), American Politician, Japanese American Internee
• Ronald Reagan: (1911 –2004), 40th President of the United States
• Martin Luther King Jr: (1929-1968), American Civil Rights Activist, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
• Jackie Robinson: (1919-1972,) American Major League Baseball Player, Pioneer
• Rosa Parks: (1913-2005), American Civil Rights Activist
• Benjamin O. Davis Jr: (1912-2002), United States Air Force General and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen
• Sidney Poitier: (b.1927), American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.
• Malcolm X: (1925-1965), American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist.

See also

• Military history of the United States during World War II
• United States home front during World War II
• Great Depression in the United States
• List of generations

References

References

• The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw (1998) ISBN 0-375-50202-5 (hardback) ISBN 0-385-33462-1 (paperback) Depicts the Americans who came of age during the Great Depression and fought World War II.
• The Greatest Generation Speaks (1999) ISBN 0-375-50394-3 (hardback) ISBN 0-385-33538-5 (paperback)
• The Great Boom 1950-2000: How a Generation of Americans Created the World's Most Prosperous Society by Robert Sobel
• Generations by Strauss and Howe (1992)

External links

• Booknotes interview with Tom Brokaw on The Greatest Generation, March 7, 1999.