And That’s the Way It Was

Tom Brokaw was one of the greatest anchors in the greatest era for anchors (the '80s?) and as such he had one of, perhaps thee, greatest newscaster voice -- a deep, roiling baritone that sounded like he had just come from the dentist, the NBC cafeteria, or FAO Schwarz (marbles). It had a lovely, inebriated bite, years away from Anderson Cooper's high-minded muttering and Katie Couric's robospeak. Lately, after decades in the seat on NBC, he's been on a victory lap of sorts, hosting Meet the Press, analyzing certain presidential elections, moderating certain presidential debates, and, starting this morning, signing your copy of his book Boom!: Talking about the Sixties: What Happened, How It Shaped Today, Lessons for Tomorrow, just released in paperback. A portrait of the '60s, the book measures other voices against his own, and is billed as a reunion of sorts of figures from 1968, including Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove, Nora Ephron, Gloria Steinem -- the book also has a picture of Dick Cheney in sunglasses, sitting on a motorcycle. If you want the true experience, skip the paperback and go for the audio book -- it’s read by Dan Rather. Kidding!
Fri., Nov. 28, 11 a.m., 2008