October 30th, 2004 at 5:17 pm
Today I finished Big Russ and Me, an autobiography of the moderator of Meet The Press, Tim Russert. The author takes us through his secondary and college days in Jesuit schools, telling of the priests and nuns who influenced him; his times in law school and passing the Bar exam, which led him to working for Senator Patrick Moynihan and Mario Cuomo; and his career at NBC, where he talks about meeting the Pope and grilling Louisiana gubernatorial candidate David Duke.
Throughout his adventures he relies on common-sense insight from his dad of the same name. Russert quotes his father’s advice to display the character of that Irish Catholic who dodged death from a plane crash during his service in World War II. Big Russ is the ultimate class act.
There are some fun stories, from his football bets with Al Gore in the 2000 postseason, to a priest in the Jesuit high school who would give detention because he thought someone was up to no good. There are sober stories about where he was during the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. He tells of a poignant moment where he attended college near Kent State, during the riots where 4 students were killed by Guardsmen.
The book is a light read. Russert takes great pains to be self-deprecating and humble. There is nothing controversial in this book, and the author never asks, “What if…” or examines his life critically. Because of this, it’s not a must-read unless you are interested in the culture of South Buffalo, NY, where Tim Russert grew up.
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