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Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons | 
 enlarge | Author: Tim Russert
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Rating:  109 reviews
Sales Rank: 2426
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 081297543X
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.8742
EAN: 9780812975437
ASIN: 081297543X
Publication Date: May 15, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.
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Product Description
What does it really mean to be a good father? What did your father tell you, that has stayed with you throughout your life? Was there a lesson from him, a story, or a moment that helped to make you who you are? Is there a special memory that makes you smile when you least expect it?
After the publication of Tim Russert’s number one New York Times bestseller about his father, Big Russ & Me, he received an avalanche of letters from daughters and sons who wanted to tell him about their own fathers, most of whom were not superdads or heroes but ordinary men who were remembered and cherished for some of their best moments–of advice, tenderness, strength, honor, discipline, and occasional eccentricity.
Most of these daughters and sons were eager to express the gratitude they had carried with them through the years. Others wanted to share lessons and memories and, most important, pass them down to their own children.
This book is for all fathers, young or old, who can learn from the men in these pages how to get it right, and to understand that sometimes it is the little gestures that can make the big difference for your child. For some in this book, the appreciation came later than they would have liked. But as Wisdom of Our Fathers reminds us, it is never too late to embrace it.
From the father who coached his daughter in sports (and life), attending every meet, game, performance, and tournament, to the daughter who, after a fifteen-year estrangement, learned to make peace with her difficult father just before he died, to the son who came, at last, to appreciate the silent way his father could show affection, Wisdom of Our Fathers shares rewarding lessons, immeasurable gifts, and lasting values.
Heartfelt, humorous, engaging, irresistibly readable, and bound to bring back memories of unforgettable moments with our own fathers, Tim Russert’s new book is not only a fitting companion to his own marvelous memoir, but also a celebration of the positive qualities passed down from generation to generation.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 104 more reviews...
 10 star great book May 24, 2006
MotherLodeBeth (Sierras of California)
92 out of 113 found this review helpful
Ok a book like this may seem sappy, but trust me there are enough stories and variety to speak to everyone. Personally I loved his chapters on fathers titled Forgiveness, The Protector, Baseball, Mr. Mom and Daddy's Girl.
Reminded me a great deal of Tom Brokaws book from people who wrote him after his excellent book The Greatest Generation which is also a must read book in my opinion.
Mr. Russert is such a gifted writer. The kind that you pray will write another book, and then another. There are enough stories of such a wide variety that the book will appeal to males as much as it will to females.
Great gift for Dads as well as their kids. Though provoking and so much wisdom that one comes away a wiser person. A wiser parent.
Mr. Russert and his wife Maureen have one son but having read Big Russ and Me: Father and Son--Lessons of Life and then this book, one comes away wishing a dozen more had been dropped on their porch.
Great book about Dad just in time for father's day May 23, 2006
calvinnme (Fredericksburg, Va)
67 out of 83 found this review helpful
This book by "The Grand Inquisitor" of Meet the Press, is largely what you would expect - a variety of touching vignettes from sons and daughters throughout America written about both big and little moments with their fathers that became big life lessons for them. Most of them are largely positive - a father telling his daughter that he would marry her if he could to help her get over a break-up with her boyfriend, the touching response of another father to his son telling him that he was gay, one son even using memories of learning to shave with his dad as a child to get over the post-traumatic stress of being a crime victim - specifically the scars from the attack that he saw on his face each morning as he was shaving. However, don't let that make you shy away from this book even if your father was not a great person. There are other letters where the writer has had a terrible role model, such as one man whose father was largely absent from his life due to his chronic drug addiction who ultimately died in a hotel room of an overdose when the man was still a child. The lesson that this son got from his father - "My father missed out on getting to know a terrific son". Thus, there really is something in this book for everyone no matter what your relationship with your father is or was. I highly recommend it, especially if you liked Russert's book about his relationship with his own father - "Big Russ and Me", since it was the publishing of that book that caused all of the people with stories in this book to write to Russert describing their own experiences with their fathers.
What an outpouring! Russert has touched many. June 2, 2006
R. Shaff (USA)
27 out of 33 found this review helpful
Regardless of what one thinks of Tim Russert (I happen to think he is a quality journalist and very simply, a good man), WISDOM OF OUR FATHERS is an incredibly touching, diverse, and fulfilling book. Russert's previous effort, BIG RUSS AND ME, was superb also.
Russert fields and publishes the letters he received as a result of those reading BIG RUSS. These letters are personal, intimate portraits of readers' relationships with their fathers. Whether it was what your father told you, the lessons learned, a touching moment, or just the great times, the outpouring of emotion and storytelling from readers of BIG RUSS is moving.
Russert has indicated in many of his interviews that readers saw BIG RUSS as an invitation to tell the story of their dad, and the avalanche of those telling those stories was daunting. This abundance of interest was what pushed Russert to publish the letters in an effort to share these moving, sad, and funny stories.
This book is not just for fathers, it is for all to read and enjoy. There are a number of lessons applicable to all in all walks of life. I am not going to share any of the stories in this review because I cannot do the letters justice. I would strongly suggest this book as a gift for most anyone, but more than that, I would suggest that everyone get a copy of this book and read it. I rarely recommend a book this strongly, but I certainly do recommend this one.
Inspiring June 22, 2006
Robert W. Kellemen (Crown Point, IN United States)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
After receiving an avalanche of e-mails and letters about "Big Russ and Me," Tim Russert couldn't resist writing "Wisdom of Our Fathers." Both books share a firm commitment to honoring fathers of "the greatest generation." They may not have parented the way "yuppie parents" parent, but they certainly touched the hearts and souls of their sons and daughters. Those who consider the book "sappy" likely haven't read it or simply hold a not-so-hidden disdain for Russert for political reasons. The varying vignettes are touching but not sappy. They honestly share stories about imperfect men who were imperfect fathers, yet who were real men and real dads. We all have much to learn about fathering from them.
Reviewer: Bob Kellemen is the author of "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and "Beyond the Suffering" (which honors African American founding fathers and mothers).
a feel-good book December 10, 2007
Len (Connecticut USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a simple book, much more about love than wisdom. The letters Tim includes are poignant and heartfelt. He clearly spent many months selecting the best ones. His personal stories about his father Russ and son Luke are strong glue holding the letters together. The book paints a wonderful portrait of shared humanity.
I listened to Wisdom of our Fathers unabridged on audio, narrated by Tim Russert and several other readers - male and female - who do a fine job delivering the character and emotion of the letters. My highest recommendation for this very 'human' work.
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