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

Sydney M. Williams The Book of Charlie, David Von Drehle August 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.

A friend recommended this, and we are both natives of Kansas City. I was interested in whatever history of the city I might learn. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it (not much KC history). Charlie was an interesting character who had gone through some pretty unusual and potentially devastating experiences in his young life, then chose a career that demanded his full time and attention, and still he managed to maintain a positive outlook throughout his 109 years. Von Drehle is an excellent story-teller and writer.

David Von Drehle renders a marvelous volume! The Story of Charlie is inspiring, enthralling, and challenging--all in one! The actual "story" of Charlie almost brought me to tears. Von Drehle reminds us that "resilience" is still in fashion, and the "size" is usually adjustable to the person needing it. I absolutely love this book. I'll be buying copies for friends, and their children.

It's a charming account of a senior's life achievements. Quite inspirational and a reminder as to how lucky we have it today!

What a story about a life well-lived! I’m only 79 right now but I’m inspired to live like Charlie!

INTERESTING READ

I thoroughly enjoyed learning the fascinating life story of Charlie. I appreciated how the author took Charlie’s experiences from several different sources and blended them in without commentary or evaluation. I did find the author’s habit of breaking up the storytelling with his personal asides distracting and disturbing. If the story continued along without the disruptions, the reader would not lose the momentum of Charlie’s journey..it may just be me but I found it to be off-putting. It was very interesting to see the development of medicine and medical care evolve throughout Charlie’s life. Only a masterfully creative and analytical mind could problem solve, find ways to circumvent obstacles, and help create his own destinies like Charlie did. This story is a reminder to “do the right thing.” Believe in yourself, never give up and always take good care of those around you.

This slim volume reads more like a lengthy magazine article without photos or footnotes about a memorable character who managed to live much longer than those who will read this review. Thus, I will not reveal any of the delightful anecdotes contained within the pages which need to be savored. Those who open the book will be charmed by author Von Drehle's skill with words and his ability to insert appropriate references from sources as disparate as Marcus Aurelius, Viktor Frankl, and G.R.R. Martin into the story of Charlie White M.D. which he wrote for his own children's benefit. Dr. White was, indeed, a real-life Forrest Gump and the book deserves to be read multiple times. As a retired physician who went to medical school in Kansas City, I found the fantastic details of this remarkable biography to ring with truth.

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

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.

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

A beautiful book. I’ve bought copies to give to friends who should read it.

Worth the read.