A Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland in the Forties and Fifties

He also tells about his own life; where he lived and the memories he has of the various places and people that were a part of his life. I was even impressed that he spent a considerable amount of time dealing with his shortcomings. One chapter tells how his pride and arrogance nearly cost him much of what he holds dear today, such as his career and his wife. I was impressed with the candor with which he discussed the events, rather than trying to excuse himself or simply hide a weakness. Another item that made me smile was telling about how the parents of a friend, who had gone through the Depression, had a difficult time using disposable paper towels, such a wasteful item.

While perhaps a nostalgic view of his life, I found it honest and sincere and I enjoyed listening to it.


You will learn much about Tom Brokaw --- and life in general   December 7, 2002
Bookreporter.com (New York, New York)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful

Just as my parents turned to Walter Cronkite to bring them the news when I was growing up, I have turned to Tom Brokaw. Through numerous presidential elections, world crises and the horrific days surrounding 9/11, his coverage has been the one I tuned to. To me, Brokaw has a way of delivering the news that makes it seem like a conversation among friends --- with a tone that has feeling and emotion, as well as authority.

A couple of years ago at an AOL Partners Conference, Brokaw was a guest speaker. He had just finished covering the funerals of Lady Di and Mother Teresa, traveling to both from his vacation at his home in Montana. His stories about two long trips to report on these high-profile events back-to-back gave new perspective on the high price that being in the news spotlight carries. His talk was personal as he referenced how the Internet has changed the way we receive news and what it --- and cable --- have done to the relevance of the kind of news he has delivered for the past couple of decades --- network news. Later I heard him moderate a panel about this same subject in the city with some leading journalists from Time, CNN and TheStreet.com. He was the consumate host, approaching the evening's discussion with one caveat. We would be finished by 8:00 as the Yankees were playing in the Playoffs and he was not going to miss the game on television. Sports, which brought him such joy when he was growing up, continue to be a passion.

While Brokaw is great to watch from the studio in New York, the pieces that he has done in Montana and South Dakota have been some of my favorites. He always seems more in his element there in the Heartland than he does standing or sitting at an anchor desk in New York. As he walks along a mountain ridge or a street in a small midwestern town doing an interview or a color piece, it is clear that his home and his history in South Dakota mean a lot to him.

Reading A LONG WAY FROM HOME: Growing Up in the American Heartland I see why. It's a memoir of the days before Brokaw left South Dakota to travel the country as a reporter, and then as a national media personality. What shaped him was a childhood in this desolate part of the country where success was measured on honest work and a God-fearing life.

One interesting note --- while television was available in most major cities by the mid-'40s, it did not find its way to South Dakota until the early '50s. News in this part of the country came from radio --- where the weather report led the news since it would affect everyone's livelihood, farming. He would watch David Garroway on the Today Show with his mom, not knowing that someday he would have that same anchor seat. He writes how his mom would comment on his broadcasts with the seasoned eye of someone who had watched the show for years before her son took over.

With a gift of gab from the time he was a young boy, Brokaw gave his first public speech at age four --- it began with "They said I was too young to speak a piece tonight" --- a line he still remembers. It was a harbinger of things to come.

Throughout the book he references friends from over the years, and how they have influenced his life. For all his celebrity there were a lot of stories about how he has woven his past and present lives together, asking old childhood friends to join him at events like the Olympics and other special athletic championships. This is a man who has moved on, but still remains connected to the place that raised him. He and his wife Meredith returned to South Dakota to celebrate their 40th Anniversary last summer. As a man who could afford to celebrate this event anywhere he chose, it is fitting that he returned to his roots for this.

The basic values are referred to again and again. His mom taught him and his brothers to handle household chores such as basic cooking, ironing and shopping, as well as guiding him in building self-confidence and getting a good education. At one point he mentions how he often will iron his own clothes in a hotel, rather than spend the time or money to call for valet service. His dad, Red, named for his flaming red hair, taught him the value of a hard day's work though he confesses he inherited none of his dad's handyman talent.

Brokaw does not glorify his early days. He spends a fair number of pages talking about his failures and what he did when his path went awry. There's a lot here for people to learn about Brokaw. At the same time there are some pretty strong lessons about mastering the basics in life.

--- Reviewed by Carol Fitzgerald


You can take the boy out of South Dakota, but...   January 2, 2003
Blues Fan (Lynchburg, VA USA)
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Tom Brokaw is ten years older than I, but I can identify with many of his experiences in growing up. Like him, I came from a small state that is often ridiculed by those from more urbanized areas (Arkansas in my case). Like him, I was lucky enough to be born to wonderful parents that instilled the right values. Like him, I don't really want to move back to where I came from, but I am eternally grateful for it, love to visit, and continue to be nourished by it.

Brokaw is a thoroughly appealing character in this book. His introduction cites his mother's assessment of the book: that his ego was showing through in some places. True enough, but it's not the sort of display that irritates you--more like the sort where you shake your head and are more than a little charmed. He doesn't spare himself in his account. He was told at one point by his future wife to basically shove off, since he was obviously heading nowhere fast--an assessment that one of his friends cooly confirmed to Brokaw's face. Given where he has gone since then, it's a little comforting to learn that he wasn't some ambitious machine checking off the steps on his ladder to success.

I especially enjoyed his discussion of how his consciousness was raised as regards treatment of American Indians. Time and again, a somewhat cocky Brokaw is shown not to be as smart as he thinks. The response of an Indian woman to his self-assured statement that he knew a lot about Indians since he was from South Dakota--I'll leave that to you to discover. It's a gem.

I've always had a weakness for tales told by people who are out of the limelight, who aren't the immediate images called up when you think of a particular era, who weren't in what some would consider the "mainstream". Tom Brokaw's South Dakota upbringing is just as integral a part of America in the '40's and '50's as that of someone not living in "fly-over" territory. He brings it to life in an engaging way.


Fun and interesting   January 19, 2003
Schmerguls (Sioux City, Ia USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I admit that the fact that Tom Brokaw used to be a local announcer on a Sioux City newscast--tho I don't remember watching him--and that he spent years in Yankton influenced me to read this book, but I think it can speak to many people about growing up and doing the right thing while doing so. I found his account of the struggles of his forbears in South Dakota poignant, his account of his time in Bristol, Igloo, Ravinia, Pickstown, and Yankton full of interest. If you liked Russell Baker's Growing Up (which won a Pulitzer Prize) I think you will also like this book, even tho it might not win a Pulitzer. You can read this in a few hours, and when you are finished I bet you will have warm and friendly feeling about the author. I surely did.


Excellent book   October 9, 2004
Daryl R. Gibson (Las Vegas, NV USA)
8 out of 10 found this review helpful

This is an excellent and heartwarming book about growing up in South Dakota. Brokaw, easily the most intelligent, fair and personable of the network news anchors, goes into what made him what he is today -- growing up in America's heartland, the struggles of his father and mother, his life growing up, and his temporary descent into idiothood -- before pulling back and marrying his college sweetheart.

An excellent and highly literate book! I heartily recommend it to anyone who likes biographies.