Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life | 
 enlarge | Author: Tim Russert
Publisher: Miramax
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $7.50
You Save: $6.45 (46%)
New (38) Used (25) Collectible (4) from $6.73
Rating:  134 reviews
Sales Rank: 1273
Media: Paperback
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 1401359655
Dewey Decimal Number: 070.92
EAN: 9781401359652
ASIN: 1401359655
Publication Date: May 11, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Accessories:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Veteran newsman and Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert is known for his direct and unpretentious style and in this charming memoir he explains why. Russert's father is profiled as a plainspoken World War II veteran who worked two blue-collar jobs while raising four kids in South Buffalo but the elder Russert's lessons on how to live an honest, disciplined, and ethical life are shown to be universal. Big Russ and Me, a sort of Greatest Generation meets Tuesdays with Morrie, could easily have become a sentimental pile of mush with a son wistfully recalling the wisdom of his beloved dad. But both Russerts are far too down-to-earth to let that happen and the emotional content of the book is made more direct, accessible, and palatable because of it. The relationship between father and son, contrary to what one would think of as essential to a riveting memoir, seems completely healthy and positive as Tim, the academically gifted kid and later the esteemed TV star and political operative relies on his old man, a career sanitation worker and newspaper truck driver, for advice. Big Russ and Me also traces Russert's life from working-class kid to one of broadcast journalism's top interviewers by introducing various influential figures who guided him along the way, including Jesuit teachers, nuns, his dad's drinking buddies, and, most notably, the late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, whom Russert helped get elected in 1976. Plenty of entertaining anecdotes are served up along the way from schoolyard pranks to an attempt to book Pope John Paul II on the Today Show. Though not likely to revolutionize modern thought, Big Russ and Me will provide fathers and sons a chance to reflect on lessons learned between generations. --Charlie Williams
Product Description
Veteran newsman and Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert is known for his direct and unpretentious style and in this charming memoir he explains why. Russert's father is profiled as a plainspoken World War II veteran who worked two blue-collar jobs while raising four kids in South Buffalo but the elder Russert's lessons on how to live an honest, disciplined, and ethical life are shown to be universal. Big Russ and Me, a sort of Greatest Generation meets Tuesdays with Morrie, could easily have become a sentimental pile of mush with a son wistfully recalling the wisdom of his beloved dad. But both Russerts are far too down-to-earth to let that happen and the emotional content of the book is made more direct, accessible, and palatable because of it. The relationship between father and son, contrary to what one would think of as essential to a riveting memoir, seems completely healthy and positive as Tim, the academically gifted kid and later the esteemed TV star and political operative relies on his old man, a career sanitation worker and newspaper truck driver, for advice. Big Russ and Me also traces Russert's life from working-class kid to one of broadcast journalism's top interviewers by introducing various influential figures who guided him along the way, including Jesuit teachers, nuns, his dad's drinking buddies, and, most notably, the late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, whom Russert helped get elected in 1976. Plenty of entertaining anecdotes are served up along the way from schoolyard pranks to an attempt to book Pope John Paul II on the Today Show. Though not likely to revolutionize modern thought, Big Russ and Me will provide fathers and sons a chance to reflect on lessons learned between generations. --Charlie Williams
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
 By the Grace of Daily Obligations May 16, 2004
prisrob (New EnglandUSA)
157 out of 206 found this review helpful
Edit:
Tim Russert died unexpectedly on Friday, June 13, 2008. He was beloved by many and respected by many. He was one of the few political reporters that I believe gave us both sides of the story. He always spoke with eloquence and intelligence, and when he spoke, we listened.
"People do not die for us immediately, but remain bathed in a sort of aura of life which bears no relation to true immortality but through which they continue to occupy our thoughts in the same way as when they were alive. It is as though they were traveling abroad." ~Marcel Proust
We all know Tim Russert as the moderator of "Meet the Press", and now we meet Tim Russert, son of Big Russ. Tim Russert tells the story of growing up in Buffalo, and how he grew to be the man he is today has much to do with the father he idolizes. His father is his hero. This is a story of love, family love, religious love, love of sports, love of people and love of life.
Much of this book has to do with the lessons learned at the knee of Big Russ. Big Russ was a hard worker- he loved his family, a wife and four children. Big Russ learned his love of life in the Army. He was in World War II and was badly injured in a plane accident. Big Russ learned valuable lessons that day- he was saved from certain death by another soldier who threw caution to the wind to save his brother soldier. Big Russ is a reticent man who does not talk much about his experiences, as is common with WWII soldiers. It took Tim Russert many years to learn about his dad and about his experiences in the Army. Tim Russert once said the person he most wanted to interview was his own dad!
Tim Russert had an idyllic childhood, but it was not an easy life. He worked hard at school and hard at home. He came from a family who loved him and taught him many lessons. The family was Catholic, and his entire education was completed at Jesuit's schools. Food was a big part of their life. Big Russ worked two jobs to give his family a home, clothing and food on the table. There is an entire chapter talking about the food of the Russert home and the food of Buffalo. The roast beef weck sandwich is one of the famous foods of Buffalo but it is the Buffalo chicken wings that are the best known.
Tim Russert goes on to tell about his life, college, law school, working for Senator Moynihan and Governor Cuomo. He was well liked and as always a very hard worker. His work with these politicians was noted, and he was picked by NBC to work in the news division. He became the news Director of the Washington Bureau, and was later asked to be the moderator of "Meet the Press". He has made "Meet the Press' the most popular Sunday political show on television. He credits his success to Big Russ who told him to be himself, and to always tell the truth, and to ask questions the little guys would ask.
Tim Russert met and married a reporter, Maureen Orth, in 1983, and in 1985 one of the most important days of his life occurred with the birth of his son, Luke. Luke is a much beloved son, and from the stories Tim Russert tells, we know that Luke must idolize his dad much as Tim does Big Russ.
Tim Russert has made a success of his life. He attributes much of his success to his father. Tim Russert can best describe his father with this sentence taken from Gail Godwin's book
"Father Melancholy's Daughter".
"He lived his life by the grace of daily obligations."
This is a book to be read again and again. Full of stories of hope and goodness and love and life. It is a feel good book. A story of the life of one of our best political reporters. I believe that Tim Russert is one of the most respected man in America.
Tim Russert told us that Bruce Springsteen was one of the people he most wanted to interview. He was able to make enough money selling Bruce Springsteen concert tickets to attend college. One of Springsteen's songs:got a song to sing, keep me out of the cold
And I'll meet you further on up the road.
Further on up the road
Further on up the road
Where the way dark and the night is cold
One sunny mornin' we'll rise I know
And I'll meet you further on up the road.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sY__dua_pEg&feature=related
Highly Recommended. prisrob 2004
Big Russ and Me is a very good book. May 17, 2004
Robert G Yokoyama (Mililani, Hawaii)
43 out of 62 found this review helpful
I was interested in reading Big Russ and Me, because Tim Russert is one of the most respected journalists and one of the best political minds in the media. I wanted to learn more about this man who has been on television so much the last 2 decades. As the title states, this book is about the relationship and lessons a father teaches his son. Russert not only talks the relationship he has with his father He talks the relationship he has with his own son Luke and the passion of sports they both share.
Tim Russert has so much respect and love for his father, and he explains clearly why in this book. Big Russ, or Tim Russert Sr. prepared and inspected parachuttes during World War 2. He later held down later down 2 jobs as a trash collector and a newspaper delivery truck driver and never missed a single day of work in his life. Tim Russert learned from his father the value of hard work and to take pride in whatever he did.
Russert talks about the things he loves like baseball, food, cars. Russert is also proud of his strict Catholic upbringing, working in a church as a teenager, and attending Catholic schools throughout his life. He also talks and the other people who inspired him throughout his life like his 7th grade teacher Sister Lucille who made him editor of his school newspaper and gave him a love of writing and reading. Father Sturum was another teacher and influence who taught him discipline and accountability. Tim Russert worked as Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's assistant in the mid 70s. Moynihan became his political and intellectual mentor. The late senator taught Russert how to respect true intelligence, ask good questions, and how to disagree agreeably. This is a skill Russert does so well as moderator of Meet the Press every week.
Big Russ and Me is a very entertaining and heartwarming book about the lessons we learn from our fathers. It is also about how teachers and coworkers can play such an important part in our lives. I enjoyed it very much.
If you read the book, write about the book! May 29, 2004
W. P. Strange (Williamstown, MA United States)
30 out of 38 found this review helpful
First, those one star reviews tell nothing about the book, and are only intended as personal assaults on Tim Russert as an interviewer on Meet The Press. makes me wonder if they even picked the book up, never mind read it.
That said, I found it to be a celebration of a man whose son is justifiably proud of him. Those of us whose fathers (and mothers) grew up in the depression and survived World War II understand and and admire that generation beyond words. Sometimes the writing is a little sappy, but who among us doesn't get sentimental about parents they loved and admired. Maybe I'm an easy sell because I see so much of my own father (he passed away in 1996), and maybe it is also because my son and I have a close relationship, and love and respect for each other unconditionally.
If you weren't as fortunate as Tim Russert and his father it might be difficult to relate to these feelings, but there is more, much more than that here, and whether or not you like Tim Russert personally, you have to admire his willingness to put himself out there knowing that some people will use it as an opportunity to take a swipe based not on the book but a polititical agenda.
How many of us get the chance to send such an amazing, loving tribute to our fathers, a public thank you for all he has done without ever expecting anything in return?
Thank you Tim.
Cats in the cradle...Harry Chapin's song comes to life!!! May 15, 2004
Frederick A. Babb (http://www.frederickbabb.com)
33 out of 41 found this review helpful
The background story behind this book is learning from your elders. In this particular one, we are talking about Tim Russert and how he explains the way that his father's knowledge (something that most children never appreciate until after the fact) and experience shaped his life. We learn of Big Russ, as he refers to his father, and how he was raise in poverty, was a WWII vet with an admirable record and his ability to raise his four children and support his household while holding down two jobs for a good part of his life. That, in itself, shows the character of Big Russ.As is the dream of every parent, Russert's life is anything but representative of the suffering his father witnessed. A wealthy lawyer, Capital Hill insider and married to a celebrity journalist, Russert is the success story his father could brag about to any and everyone. The book provides a nostalgic walk through time as the author reflects on his own life as well as that of his country. By the time you finish the book, you can understand why Big Russ earns the biggest title that any father can ever dream of. That of being seen as a hero in his own son's eyes. No amount of money or honors can ever top such a title as that.
Stop judging a personal story with a political bias... June 12, 2004
J Francis Palamara (London United Kingdom)
22 out of 27 found this review helpful
What a great tribute to a Dad ,fatherhood and the family.
It's a shame the negative reviewers aren't as objective as
Russert Jr. is on his show. Stop judging a very personal story
with a political bias.
The book is a positive look BACK including the memories
compiled by a clever, idealistic and optimistic boy from 1950's
Buffalo NY. His memories are upbeat because he was upbeat.
What a wonderful gift for his family to share and for us to
enjoy observing, second hand. I can watch prime time TV if
I want to focus on the negative or dysfunction.
As for the politics of media...
I grew up with the tradition of news people speaking the facts
of the news. I don't care what Dan Rather or Brokaw vote for
or think about a particular political party. Just give me the news,
including both sides , and I will decide for myself. Russert Jr.
is the only news man who is objective. He doesn't make it,
invent it or prejudice it.He reports it.
That's a lesson well learned.Read the book.
I sent a copy to my Dad and my kids for Father's day.
|
|
|
