AudioFile - JULY 2023
David Von Drehle warmly narrates his audiobook about his neighbor, Charlie. In search of a topic for a book he can share with his children, Von Drehle finds the perfect subject right next door. Charlie, who is 109 years old, shares stories with Von Drehle that "unlock the time machine of memory." Charlie's life is filled with fascinating experiences: He served in the military, then took on medical school, funding his studies by playing in a jazz band. Listeners familiar with Bill Bryson will recognize a similar approach here. Woven among Charlie's recollections are key moments of history through which the author provides deeper context and meaning to his story. Drehle's voice imbues the proceedings with a gentle folksiness. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
03/13/2023
In this feel-good entry, Washington Post opinion editor von Drehle (Triangle) collects life lessons from an enigmatic centenarian neighbor. Eager to help his children navigate the modern world, von Drehle sought a role model who’d weathered massive cultural shifts—a “true surfer on the sea of change”—and found one when his family moved next-door to then-102-year-old Charlie White (who died at 109, in 2014). Von Drehle befriended the former doctor and listened to stories from his life, which included train-hopping across the U.S. as a teen in the 1920s and working on cutting-edge anesthesia techniques in the ’40s. Von Drehle explains how White balanced optimism and realism, as when he decided to specialize in anesthesiology (at a time when almost no doctors did so) after recognizing the days of house-call doctors were dwindling. White also embraced uncertainty when he abandoned his medical practice at 36 to serve in WWII—an acceptance of the unknown that’s important in today’s volatile professional climate, the author writes. While White’s verbatim advice is sometimes trite (“Nobody’s going to do it for you. You’ve got to do your own paddling”), von Drehle’s detailed rendering of White’s life—especially his front-seat view of (and sometimes participation in) groundbreaking medical developments—is fascinating, and the men’s friendship affecting. This has a lot to offer. (May)
From the Publisher
"I gotta recommend this book, filled with history, wisdom, common sense, and laughs galore. I wish I had lived across the street from Charlie AND that I make it to 109!" — Tom Hanks, on Instagram
"An original and highly readable account of a splendid American life."
— The Wall Street Journal
"As is true of Charlie himself, this book is not just about goodness but grit, not just kindness but courage. It is also a shining example of the magic that can happen when a master storyteller with a deeply inquiring mind finds a subject that has hidden within it a million tantalizing opportunities to learn, to question, and to grow. To say that The Book of Charlie is inspiring is a vast understatement. I am a better person for having read it." — Candice Millard, author of River of the Gods
"No one writes as well about as many things as David Von Drehle, and his excellence is fully displayed in this slender examination of a well-lived life. In an era that elicits, by rewarding, incessant disparagement, he shows the beauty of elegant praise. You will never forget Charlie White, who was 102 when he came to Von Drehle’s attention." — George F. Will, syndicated columnist
"In every era, an author writes a genuinely original, formula-shattering book. David Von Drehle has done this in The Book of Charlie, a serious history of the last 100 years. Charlie is told through the personal story of one man, an accidental neighbor in Kansas, finding joy and what matters. I don't think it spoils the ending to divulge some of Charlie's lessons learned: 'Practice patience. Smile often. Savor special moments. Be soft sometimes.'" — Bob Woodward
"There is something rather magical that David Von Drehle—one of our nation’s most gifted chroniclers of history— met up with Charlie White, who lived longer than anyone you’ll ever know. This Kansas City-set story is about goodness and the American spirit. It is also about time, and the graciousness in which a life can be lived on this green earth." — Wil Haygood, Colorization: 100 Years of Black Films in a White World
"David Von Drehle's book is a monumental achievement cloaked in the experience of one ordinary American man of his time. In this stunningly true story, 100 years worth of American eras become breathakingly intimate experiences, history becomes personal, and a neighbor becomes a figure of deep nobility. You will never look at the folks next door the same way again." — Sally Jenkins, author of The Real All-Americans
"A marvelous parable of resilience and durability, full of surprises and grace notes. David Von Drehle is among our most astute observers of the human condition, and in Dr. Charlie White—physician, centenarian, bon vivant— he has found a large character worthy of his talent." — Rick Atkinson, author of The British Are Coming
"The Book of Charlie isn't just a loving look at an astonishing 110-year life, it's a look at ourselves." — Rick Reilly, author of Commander In Cheat
"Relevant, funny, and fresh....Barry masterfully weaves multiple overlapping plotlines into his text....Barry’s longevity as a writer seems to have only honed his skill. For decades now, Barry has been entertaining us, and his latest offering is hilarious." — Washington Free Beacon
“Excellent...Von Drehle gave his kids, kids in general, and people in general a how-to on life, and an important look back to the way life used to be. Hopefully it will alert them to how good they have it now. And is life ever good now. Read The Book of Charlie to see why.”— Forbes
"A splendidly woven, inspirational memoir that explores the meaning of life and the resilience of the human spirit... This deeply engaging personal portrait of a remarkable centenarian also offers an absorbing account of the inventiveness of U.S. citizens— and the U.S., as it continually strives to evolve and improve.” — Shelf Awareness
"Von Drehle’s detailed rendering of White’s life—especially his front-seat view of (and sometimes participation in) groundbreaking medical developments—is fascinating, and the men’s friendship affecting. This has a lot to offer." — Publishers Weekly
award-winning actor and New York Times bestselling Tom Hanks
I gotta recommend this book, filled with history, wisdom, common sense, and laughs galore.”
#1 New York Times bestselling author Bob Woodward
In every era, an author writes a genuinely original, formula-shattering book. David Von Drehle has done this in The Book of Charlie, a serious history of the last 100 years…told through the personal story of one man.”
syndicated columnist George F. Will
No one writes as well about as many things as David Von Drehle, and his excellence is fully displayed in this slender examination of a well-lived life.”
July 2023 - AudioFile
David Von Drehle warmly narrates his audiobook about his neighbor, Charlie. In search of a topic for a book he can share with his children, Von Drehle finds the perfect subject right next door. Charlie, who is 109 years old, shares stories with Von Drehle that "unlock the time machine of memory." Charlie's life is filled with fascinating experiences: He served in the military, then took on medical school, funding his studies by playing in a jazz band. Listeners familiar with Bill Bryson will recognize a similar approach here. Woven among Charlie's recollections are key moments of history through which the author provides deeper context and meaning to his story. Drehle's voice imbues the proceedings with a gentle folksiness. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2023-03-11
A journalist reconstructs the life of his neighbor before his death at age 109.
Regarding his motivation for writing this book, Washington Post columnist Von Drehle writes, “I needed to find someone whose early life would have been recognizable to farmers from the age of Napoleon, or of Leonardo da Vinci.” Born in 1905, Charlie White descended from aristocratic Virginia Confederates who shared a family tree with Gen. Robert E. Lee. A boisterous child, he once accidentally set himself on fire while hopping over a flame in fringed pants in an impersonation of an “Indian brave.” After his father’s untimely death in a freak elevator accident, White’s mother designated him “the man of the house,” a responsibility that didn't stop him from traveling across the U.S. in a Model T Ford. During the journey, he remembers complimenting a Navajo man on his English only to find out the man had graduated from Harvard. After medical school, White served as a doctor in the Air Force during World War II and trained in anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic. In 1948, his wife, Mildred, an alcoholic who also suffered from an eating disorder, committed suicide. Soon after, White married a pilot who divorced him for being “a little too possessive.” White’s third marriage ended when his wife, Lois, died of cancer. Von Drehle attributes White’s survival to his adherence to stoicism, a philosophy that requires focusing on what can be controlled rather than what can’t—an approach White was partly able to take because of his race privilege. In a well-researched and often poignant narrative, the author rarely interrogates White’s privilege; maintains his subject’s insensitive language without comments; and quotes from thinkers like Theodore Roosevelt and Rudyard Kipling but never women or people of color. Despite the nuggets of wisdom sprinkled throughout the text, these choices make it feel outdated.
A story of a 109-year-old man’s life told through a White male gaze.