I Remember

This pleasant biography relates episodes from Rather's childhood in the 30s and 40s. His life is shaped by his Texas heroes, river rafting like Huck Finn, selling newspapers on a Houston street corner, listening to war news on the radio and being confined for months to bed by rheumatic fever. I'm surprised that Rather didn't apply his wordsmithing to this, but worked with a co-writer. The result is not of the quality of Angela's Ashes; lacking compelling detail and life or death feelings. Still, it helps define the character building influences of a figure familiar to Americans from their daily TV news. It also gives a slice-of-life view of an era that feels like an old Saturday Evening Post cover by Norman Rockwell.

This book is a treasure. Dan Rather talks about his admiration for his mother and father, his early struggles in the work world, especially his blue collar labor times in early adulthood. It was neat how he admired his father so much for his strength, honesty and courage. In this book, we get insights into a very interesting man and one of the best broadcasters in history, Dan Rather. Rather's character shines through in this book...a character full of deep appreciation for life and the lessons it teaches. Jeffrey McAndrew author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy"