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Life lessons for Father's Day
REVIEWS BY HOWARD SHIRLEY
Big Shoes: In Celebration of Dads and Fatherhood by Al Roker "and Friends" offers a charming compilation of memories and observations from celebrities, writers, athletes and more. Contribu-tors from Jimmy Buffet to Nina Totenberg share their experiences of their fathers and their thoughts on the importance and meaning of fatherhood. There are a few weak notes, but the majority of the stories are both warm and heartwarming, while others touch the soul with a bittersweet grace.
By Al Roker Hyperion, $19.95 208 pages, ISBN 1401301711
By Tom Mathews Broadway, $24.95 292 pages, ISBN 0767914201
By Michael Lewis Norton, $12.95 96 pages, ISBN 0393060918
Howard Shirley is a son and a father.
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Father's Day traditionally brings with it observations on what it means to be a father, a son and a man. Three new books examine fatherhood as we experience it today, from the fathers of the '40s and '50s—now grown long past gray—to the fathers of the '70s and '80s, and lastly to men who, while not necessarily our fathers, leave a lasting impression of what it means to be a man.
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Tom Mathews' Our Fathers' War: Growing Up in the Shadow of the Greatest Generation, is a moving look at the struggles between combat veterans of World War II and their sons. Mathews breaks through the unwritten code of silence to reveal the emotional turmoil of these veterans and shows how their experiences altered their views of life, family and their role as fathers. The book is an emotional tour of traumatic pasts and strained relationships (few more so than Mathews' own fractured connection with his father, a veteran of the 10th Mountain Division's bloody Italy campaign). For the civilian, it is a rare window into the shocking hell of war, confessed by men who descended into it and returned, wounded in body, mind and soul, unable and unwilling to explain their experiences to those they should be closest to. To read this book is to understand that the sacrifices of war don't always end when the combat does, and that even victory can leave scars that cross generations.
Our final book explores another growing gap today—the gap between what our fathers thought would make a boy a man, and what many of us now believe. Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life is a slim book, but no less powerful for that. Author Michael Lewis offers a fascinating study of an aging high school baseball coach and the enormous impact he had on the lives of the young men who were his charges. The story also explores the coach's confrontation with a new generation of parents who disagree with his strict—sometimes harsh—approach. The questions raised here remain open: are discipline and exacting standards essential to growth? Is self-esteem really the recipe for a happy, successful life? Coach is a must-read for Dads and Moms alike, or for anyone who's ever been challenged to be better than they thought they could be.