Big Russ and Me by Tim Russert (Hyperion, 2004. ISBN 978-1-4013-5965-2)
As an unabashed Liberal (note the large “L”) from a long line of unabashed Liberals (see the “books” tab in the dashboard and read the excerpt from my latest book, Mr. Environment), I of course loved Tim Russert’s political commentary. Not because he revealed his love and passion for all things left when he hosted “Meet the Press” but because he was one of the few commentators who refused to cow-tow to the thugs running Washington during the run-up to the Iraq War and thereafter. In this book, really a memoir of Tim’s life constructed around his roots and upbringing in South Buffalo, New York in the shadow of “Big Russ”, his father, we learn why Russert was not one to back down from a fight when interviewing the most powerful men and women in the world.
As a Protestant, I sometimes loathe, and oftentimes lament, the ritual and structure of the Catholic Church. Russert’s life story, growing up in an Irish Catholic working class family (his father worked two jobs to support Tim and his siblings) puts Catholicism in perspective and gave me a new appreciation for the depth and power of traditional faith in the formation of morals, family values and ethics. The snippets of life lived in parochial schools, from elementary school to law school, are priceless treasures and give perspective to the story of two ordinary men; a father and his son, who strove for, and at least, in terms of the the son’s short life, achieved the American dream. Russert’s depiction of meeting the Pope in Rome when he was working on the “Today Show”, left me in tears.
We miss you Tim. I have to give the book 5 of 5 stars. Even though it may not be Germinal or Lonesome Dove in terms of literary merit, it’s a great read about two extraordinary ordinary Irish Catholic Americans.
