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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
Buy Used: $6.48
You Save: $7.47 (54%)
New (47) Used (23) from $6.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  111 reviews
Sales Rank: 1325
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
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
Condition: cover slightly worn, inscription on first page Used - Good
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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 106 more reviews...
 10 star great book May 24, 2006
93 out of 107 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
63 out of 72 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.
 INTIMACY, COMFORT, TRAUMA, & LIFE LESSONS. July 29, 2008
43 out of 46 found this review helpful
The book is 297 pages & is divided into 21 chapters. The most crucial ones for me were "Honor, Being There, Forgiveness, Missing Dads, The Protector, Discipline, & 75 Reasons."
What was so refreshing about this book was the theme of basic normalcy & decency that most people seem to have. This book should appeal to most people, but it is not only or truly a book about a "father-son relationship." It came across more as a memoir of intimate vignettes, some of which are negative. One of a son whose father missed out being a a dad because of his drug addiction which eventually killed him.
Two of the more positive stories were when a father comforted his son after he told his dad that he was gay, & Kerry a girl who grew up with a stutter, whose dad held her hand & told her "it's ok". There are many life lessons in these stories that are very applicable to people regardless of their own individual backgrounds, beliefs, & experiences. All in all a very inspirational & intimate read.
What an outpouring! Russert has touched many. June 2, 2006
21 out of 23 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.
Really nice :-> May 23, 2006
18 out of 22 found this review helpful
In 2004, Tim Russert wrote his first book (about him and his hard working dad, and the amazing example that he set for Tim everyday) and it struck a chord with so many people. He then was inundated with emails about their own dads from people who were touched by that book. Tim has compiled some of the emails and letters together to make this bok (60,000 were received).
Some of the common threads in these letters were that these fathers were not superheros, but normal people and the number one gift they gave all their kids was their time. It's all about the small moments, encouragement and simple things that to kids, is better than all the money they could have been given.
One funny example is a guy writing in about his dad who was diagnosed with prostate cancer and would not do any treatments for it, but wanted to stay around and 'romance' his wife. Over 8 years later, the father is sending his son the obituary for the oncologist who diagnosed him in the first place.
A girl called Kerry grew up with a stutter, and all it would take for her to stop was her dad just taking her hand and telling her it's OK and that was all she needed.
There are so many heartwarming and fun and moving stories in here that make you appreciate what you have (or had) and if you have a strained relationship with your dad, this might give you a chance to correct what needs to be fixed. This is such a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think everyone can gain something from reading this. It also will make a great gift to your dad, husband or son for Fathers Day.
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