The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man

Sydney M. WilliamsThe Book of Charlie, David Von DrehleAugust 27, 2023“Throughout his life, Charlie never imagined things to be any worse – or any better – than they really were,for he had learned at an early age that life is never as sure as we might think, nor as hopeless as it might appear.” The Book of Charlie, 2023 David Von Drehle (1961-)This is not about Charles I, II, or III. It is not about Charles Martel, or John Steinbeck’s Poodle. It is about an ordinary man and his extraordinary life. It is also a history of the changes that transformed people’s lives during the Twentieth Century, told through the life of Dr. Charles Herbert White. If you get an adrenalin rush when your plane goes ‘wheels up,’ if you thrill to a train whistle in the night, or if you the open road says to you, adventure!, you will love the story of this man on his way to 109.Von Drehle begins by noting that his children once asked him to write a book just for them. He was stymied, felt incapable. The world had advanced so much from when he grew up. What lessons could he impart? Then one summer morning, in 2007, he opened the door of the house he and his family had just moved into in Kansas City. Across the road was an elderly man washing a car, his girlfriend’s car, a plum-colored Chrysler PT Cruiser. Charlie was bare-chested, dressed in old swimming trunks. He was 102.He was a remarkable man, Charlie: “He had decided many years earlier how he would face the world…He understood that, whether we sail to a new continent or simply travel from one day to the next, we are always headed into the unknown. Charlie had learned to treat the unknown as a friend…”Born in Galesburg, Illinois, Charlie grew up in Kansas City at a time of disruptive innovation. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1943 song “Kansas City,” originally sung by Gene Nelson in Oklahoma, was about that change. The show was based on Oklahoma becoming a state in 1907, two years after Charlie’s birth. The lyrics illustrate what his formative years witnessed:“Everything’s up to date in Kansas City;They’ve gone about as fer as they can go.They went and built a skyscraper seven stories high,About as high as a building ought to grow.”When Charlie was eleven his father, a minister, was killed in a freak elevator accident in one of those buildings. His mother, to make ends meet, took in borders, some of whom were doctors, which decided Charlie on a career in medicine. Musical, as well as adventuresome – his trip to Los Angeles in a Model T Ford with two friends in 1923, and his return by hopping freight cars is worth the price of the book – he taught himself the Saxophone and played it to pay his way through Northwestern Medical School. As a doctor in World War II, he studied and then, in private practice, pioneered the field of anesthesiology.As for his long life, Von Drehle writes: “Charlie accepted his fortune and lived in the moment.” “What began among the horses and wagons of Galesburg, Illinois,” the author writes, “more than a century earlier, came to a close in a world transformed.” His book is a beautiful rendition of a long life well lived.

Loved listening to this on CD. Awesome story about an incredible man. Would have liked to hear more about his every day life but this was more history.

I normally don’t write up a review but for this one, I make an exception. David Von Drehle is a beautiful writer and what he created in this book was a reflection on how to live. Charlie did not cower to the changes and uncertainty to life. Instead, he embraced it all. I highly recommend this book, especially for those who may get stuck at times - it definitely inspires you to just “live,” and embrace your life.

The most fascinating part of this is realizing that this man lived and experienced first hand the advances in medicine that are available to all. And he thought it was a privilege to serve as a physician. What he and his colleagues did in those formative years made our lives better. My grandparents (I'm 72) were treated by what we would call quacks today. They did the best they could because they knew no better. Today, thanks to Charlie and his generation, we live better lives and are safer in the long run. I am giving this book to my granddaughter who will be entering medical school soon. I hope that what she will do and experience in her lifetime is as significant as Charlie's. A good read even if it is a bit quaint.

This was written with an eye for the integrity of history, characters, and time. It's a narrative of a friendship but also so much more. The excerpts from history and quotes of the famous and the not-so-famous add depth without being cumbersome. It's a thought provoking read that is worth the investment.

Charlie lived to be 109. Pretty impressive life, however I suspect he had a narcissistic personality. Highly intelligent and lived an interesting life, if you are a medical person you might really enjoy this book, Charlie was a physician who lived thru some very significant changes in medicine,

The media could not be loaded. I got to page 86 and immediately saw the change in print size from one page to other and when I looked at the page number it said 103! It jumped from page 86 to 103…. An entire section gone. As I kept flipping through the pages and got to page 118, it turned into page 103 again… I’ve never seen a print job this bad lol. However the book is very entertaining and full of knowledge about things I never knew. I will be returning this in hopes of getting a normal copy!Update: they were pages from a completely different book! The sentences did not follow along from one page to the other and included completely unrelated characters and storyline for a whole 15 pages..

I have learned so much from this book. It is beautifully written and I feel honored that for some reason the universe brought this book to me.

Meaningful and easy read. A LIFE LESSON.That’s was a very great story. Love it, worth read from page 1 to the end

Man, if only I had an centenarian to write ✍️ about and get rich 🤑💰 I do hope that some money made from selling the book is donated to a good cause, such as paying for healthcare services for elderly people who don't have insurance. The book is really lovely. I can imagine myself sitting next to Charlie and having a great time and conversation. I really have a lot of respect for the elderly, and I enjoy their company too, so I naturally enjoy reading this book. It's quite amazing to have had the opportunity to befriend and talk with a man who is so much older, as a Stay At Home Mom, I would love to fill some of my days doing just that! There's a lot to learn from someone who has lived through the very dramatic shifts of the early 1900's to the new Millennium, Y2K?! And fortunately 🙏🏼 he did not have to live through 2020 and the rest.

How times have change in this remarkable man’s lifetime.

amazing book for anyone at any age, live in the present and always stay optimistic, despite what life throws your way!

I believe everyone should read this book of Charlie…he lived life fully through many heartaches and challenges and shared his wisdom along the way.