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vladco's review against another edition
2.0
This is what used to pass for excellent autobiography. It doesn’t hold up in our era of far braver, far more insightful work.
srvest's review against another edition
4.5
Although this is a personal memoir, it’s really a story of the time between the wars in America. A humorous and enjoyable book.
brianlokker's review against another edition
4.0
Growing Up is a warm, humorous, intelligent, and honest memoir from long-time New York Times columnist Russell Baker.
Born in 1925, Baker tells the story of his early boyhood in rural Virginia and his subsequent move with his widowed mother first to New Jersey and then to Baltimore. Growing up in very humble circumstances during the Great Depression, he was frequently reminded by his mother that he should do whatever he could to “make something of himself.” His own ambition didn't always match his mother's ambition for him. But after training as a Navy pilot during World War II and getting a degree from Johns Hopkins on the G.I. Bill, he landed a job with the Baltimore Sun and embarked on what was to become a very successful newspaper career.
Baker says that he wrote the book for his children, so that they could know something about where they came from, before there was no one whom they could ask. “We all come from the past, and children ought to know what it was that went into their making, to know that life is a braided cord of humanity stretching up from time long gone, and that it cannot be defined by the span of a single journey from diaper to shroud.”
Baker was born just a few years after my father, who also grew up in humble circumstances, not far from where Baker lived in New Jersey. Baker's story reminded me of some things that my father talked about and gave me additional insights into what life was like for him growing up. So I felt a little more of a connection with the book, maybe, than the average reader might. But I think most readers will enjoy the warmth and humor of Baker's memoir.
Born in 1925, Baker tells the story of his early boyhood in rural Virginia and his subsequent move with his widowed mother first to New Jersey and then to Baltimore. Growing up in very humble circumstances during the Great Depression, he was frequently reminded by his mother that he should do whatever he could to “make something of himself.” His own ambition didn't always match his mother's ambition for him. But after training as a Navy pilot during World War II and getting a degree from Johns Hopkins on the G.I. Bill, he landed a job with the Baltimore Sun and embarked on what was to become a very successful newspaper career.
Baker says that he wrote the book for his children, so that they could know something about where they came from, before there was no one whom they could ask. “We all come from the past, and children ought to know what it was that went into their making, to know that life is a braided cord of humanity stretching up from time long gone, and that it cannot be defined by the span of a single journey from diaper to shroud.”
Baker was born just a few years after my father, who also grew up in humble circumstances, not far from where Baker lived in New Jersey. Baker's story reminded me of some things that my father talked about and gave me additional insights into what life was like for him growing up. So I felt a little more of a connection with the book, maybe, than the average reader might. But I think most readers will enjoy the warmth and humor of Baker's memoir.
jmmerril's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
shelbs_can_try's review against another edition
3.0
One of the greatest books I've read for a class.
paperbackwriter's review against another edition
4.0
Written before the current popularity of the memoir, and way before the typical memoir form became so creative, this book was far ahead of its time. Russell Baker passed away recently, and after reading this obituary I picked up this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Baker was a top-notch writer, checking off all the boxes like clarity, persuasive voice, organized thread, and engaging. He's the kind of writer one would enjoy having a cup of coffee with after reading their work.
posadafan's review against another edition
3.0
Although I'd heard of Russell Baker, I'd never read any of his works before this. I was charmed by the tales of his mom and all uncles, aunts and assorted relatives, and also enjoyed the depictions of himself as a sort of aimless slacker kid (who obviously "made it" later in life).
Surprised that this book won a Pulitzer Prize...his writing is not that tight (i.e., he repeats thoughts, phrases and words an awful lot). The stories and characters, though, are entertaining. I especially liked the description of his first encounter with the civil rights movement. He really "puts you there."
Surprised that this book won a Pulitzer Prize...his writing is not that tight (i.e., he repeats thoughts, phrases and words an awful lot). The stories and characters, though, are entertaining. I especially liked the description of his first encounter with the civil rights movement. He really "puts you there."
komet2020's review against another edition
5.0
Russell Baker had a well-deserved reputation as a journalist, and this memoir reflects that. It reads as a vital, engaging, at turns funny and poignant story of Baker's life from his earliest years spent with his paternal grandmother and relations in a backwoods Virginia community in the late 1920s that remained rooted in the 19th century, to New Jersey, Baltimore (where Baker graduated from high school at 17), his naval service in World War II as an aviation cadet and pilot, his student life at Johns Hopkins University postwar, his subsequent career as a journalist, and marriage.
I soo loved reading this memoir with its rich, varied cast of characters from Baker's family, friends, and relatives. It was so good that I felt like I was a guest at Russell Baker's table as he regaled me with the story of his life. This is a memoir that should serve as a blueprint for anyone interested in telling his/her life story.
I soo loved reading this memoir with its rich, varied cast of characters from Baker's family, friends, and relatives. It was so good that I felt like I was a guest at Russell Baker's table as he regaled me with the story of his life. This is a memoir that should serve as a blueprint for anyone interested in telling his/her life story.