#ReadThis #THEBOOKOFCHARLIE By #DavidVonDrehle @SimonBooks @simonschuster
It's not who you know, it's WHOM YOU KNOW, and you ought to know CHARLIE.
If wisdom matters to you, and it should, you need to read this.
It's quite the contrary to a light beach read, but more entertaining because the substance trumps a lot of the unnecessary barrage of inconsequential and ephemeral nonsense that comes out of publishing marketing machines today. If you see us publishing less in read this it is not because we don't like books anymore, it's because it's harder to find quality that is new-so you might as well re-read Mark Twain again and may we suggest you do it while dining at Delmonico's like he did.
What do we love about Charlie?
Let us count the ways, and we'll show you, not tell you because he made an art of living.
He uses a golf club as a cane.
Even though life contains hardship, disappointment, loss and brutality it can concurrently be savored if you choose to see its beauty. (p. 10)
He doesn't have time for people with neighborhood angst. (p.13)
No baggage! (p.41)
View trauma as a painful choice to grow stronger. (p.42)
Find joy in everything, and befriend change.
Experts make mistakes and Warriors are known by scars. (p. 165)
And finally we LOVE THE TRAVIS ROY reference (p. 133). College hockey does not get any better than on Comm Ave in Boston, though we obviously prefer the western end.
One of the best quotes is found on page 86:
"'If you're negative, your whole body suffers. A negative person falls apart, because the food that is supplied with optimism is not present."
Also, this makes a great gift so snap to it with your holiday shopping!
...and Charlie, we hope you are reading upstairs.
The Book of Charlie is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
When a veteran Washington journalist David Von Drehle moved to Kansas, he met a new neighbor who was more than a century old. Little did he know that he was beginning a long friendship—and a profound lesson in the meaning of life. Charlie White was no ordinary neighbor. Born before radio, Charlie lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, Charlie mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom.
THE BOOK OF CHARLIE: Wisdom from the Remarkable Life of a 109-Year-Old Man (S&S; Hardcover; 5/23/23) might best be described as Mitch Albom meets David McCullough, and like those works, this one has universal messages—ones especially relevant to a nation that is suffering from collective trauma. Can you learn grit? How do you stay optimistic in the face of tragedy? How do you live a meaningful life? The answers are all there.
As a young boy, Charlie lost his father in a freak accident. He went on to survive an abusive counselor at camp, the bloodshed of World War II, and much later, the suicide of his wife. David Von Drehle came to understand that Charlie’s resilience, stoicism, and willingness to grow made this remarkable neighbor a master in the art of thriving through times of dramatic change.
Thus armored, Charlie’s sense of adventure carried him on an epic journey across the continent, and later found him swinging across bandstands of the Jazz Age, racing aboard ambulances through Depression-era gangster wars, improvising techniques for early open-heart surgery, and cruising the Amazon as a guest of Peru’s president. He made joy everywhere he went.
THE BOOK OF CHARLIE is a gospel of grit—the inspiring story of one man’s journey through a century of upheaval. The history that unfolds through Charlie’s story reminds you that the United States has always been a divided nation, a questing nation, an inventive nation—a nation of Charlies in the rollercoaster pursuit of a good and meaningful life.
About the Author
David Von Drehle is a columnist for The Washington Post, where he writes about national affairs and politics from a home base in the Midwest. He joined The Washington Post in 2017 after a decade at Time, where he wrote more than sixty cover stories as editor-at-large. He is the author of a number of books, including the award-winning bestseller Triangle: The Fire That Changed America. He lives in Kansas City with his wife, journalist Karen Ball. They have four children.
About the Book
THE BOOK OF CHARLIE
By David Von Drehle
Simon & Schuster
Format: Hardcover
HC ISBN: 9781476773926 | E-Book ISBN: 9781476773940
