History lovers will want to check out “The Book of Charlie:Wisdom From the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man” by David Von Drehle. This true story was written by Charlie’s neighbor, a journalist, who lived across the street from Charlie for the last 7 years of his life.
Charlie White was born in 1905 and lived through dramatic changes in American culture, medicine and technology. He suffered tremendous loss, but also had great successes and lived his life with a sense of optimism and trying to ‘do the right thing.’ Charlie became a doctor, married 3 times and had a life full of adventures. I loved reading about the 20th century through Charlie’s eyes!
This novel is only 191 pages and Charlie is a real spitfire of a character! I enjoyed reading about his adventures, felt sad at his great losses and smiled at his joy for life. (The author sometimes puts in his own opinions, which I didn’t like as much as I liked Charlie’s actual story.) I love history, so Charlie’s 109 year life during great American change was really interesting. The novel also gave me hope for the future – because if Charlie could survive and make a meaningful life through his hard times, we can all do the same . . . work through our challenges and keep it simple . . . ‘Do the Right Thing.’
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