David Von Drehle Looked Both Ways, Then Met His Latest Subject
After decades of covering well-known people, the Washington Post columnist was inspired by a man who lived on his block.
...Stoicism “has a bad rap as a philosophy,” Von Drehle said. “People think it has to do with not having feelings or not caring about the world. But what it teaches is, we can only control our own selves, our own will, decisions and actions. We don’t control people; we don’t control the world; we don’t control the future. I think Charlie finally drove home that wisdom for me.”
After White died, Von Drehle started thinking about what his friend had survived — including two world wars, a pandemic and the Depression — and realized his own children are up against similar challenges in this tumultuous century. That’s when he got cracking on “The Book of Charlie,” relying on recordings White had made with Voices in Time, an organization dedicated to preserving family stories. (White’s picture appears on their website, alongside other snapshots that make you wish you’d asked more questions of your grandparents.)
... https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/books/review/the-book-of-charlie-david-von-drehle.html?smid=em-share
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