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tophat8855's review against another edition
3.0
Did I read another autobiographical/memoir book by a writer without being familiar with their work? Third time this year! I'm on a roll.
This was fine- did you want to read a memoir about a guy in the Great Depression? Has some funny anecdotes.
This was fine- did you want to read a memoir about a guy in the Great Depression? Has some funny anecdotes.
shortsaga's review against another edition
3.0
If you are going to write an autobiography, it helps to live through an interesting time. Russell Baker did. He was born in 1925. He was a kid during the Great Depression. He was a young man during World War II. I cannot think of a sweeter set-up for a life full of stories.
Yet nothing interesting ever happened to him!
With the exception of a few mild characters he met along the way, his formative years were not remarkable. After reading Growing Up, I can see why. Baker took no interest in the world around him. He had no ambition. He didn't think Europe entering into war was big news. He is almost proud of his complete ignorance of Leon Trotsky, a man who shaped the time he was living in. He had no interest and no plans for the future.
About halfway through reading this book, I read the back cover and was shocked to learn it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982. Perhaps I am skewed by the current crop of memoirs. Today no one will publish you, it seems, unless you have lived an outlandish life. Despite the maelstrom Russell Baker was born into, he led a mundane existence. What I view as Growing Up's weakness, critics must view as its strength. Russell Baker is an everyman. His success lies in his analysis of people that we've all met and situations that we've all been through.
Yet nothing interesting ever happened to him!
With the exception of a few mild characters he met along the way, his formative years were not remarkable. After reading Growing Up, I can see why. Baker took no interest in the world around him. He had no ambition. He didn't think Europe entering into war was big news. He is almost proud of his complete ignorance of Leon Trotsky, a man who shaped the time he was living in. He had no interest and no plans for the future.
About halfway through reading this book, I read the back cover and was shocked to learn it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982. Perhaps I am skewed by the current crop of memoirs. Today no one will publish you, it seems, unless you have lived an outlandish life. Despite the maelstrom Russell Baker was born into, he led a mundane existence. What I view as Growing Up's weakness, critics must view as its strength. Russell Baker is an everyman. His success lies in his analysis of people that we've all met and situations that we've all been through.