Big Russ's Bigger Son (14 cents)

"Big Russ and Me", Tim Russert's best selling book, was a bit of a disappointment. It is not really about his father, as much as it is a chronicle of his own life. But it is not the memoir of a journalist, but rather of an ordinary, Catholic guy growing up in South Buffalo. Why do I say "Catholic guy"? Because that is clearly how Russert thinks of himself, 24-7.

You learn some things about his father, obviously. He was poor, he was in the Army AirCorps during World War II, he worked two jobs, he went to church a lot, he was a baseball fan, and he hung out at the American Legion. He set a good example for the Russert kids, who thought he was an archtypical good guy. He was not educated, perhaps never read a book and, when his son offered to buy him a Cadillac, said that he preferred a Ford Crown Victoria, not because it was a better car, but because he did not wants his friends to think him uppity. That's an emotion I understand, but is it a virtue?

Big Russ certainly takes precedence over Russert's mother, who separated from his father when Russert was an adult and after thirty years of marriage. Is a second book coming out, or did she simply play second fiddle?

The bulk of the book is about Buffalo. The final 20% or so deals with Russert's career working for Moynihan and Cuomo and then going into broadcast journalism and getting the Pope (another Catholic) to agree to be interviewed by NBC News.

The nostalgic Buffalo stories could be written of any major older American city, 40 to 50 years ago. I have thought about what Russert says about Buffalo. And I decided that, while it is moderately interesting, it is really only interesting to people from Buffalo. Who else cares about the names of the brands of sausage, or what drug store he went to, or about the Catholic high schools of the city.

I think this is a great book for Russert's kids. For the rest of us, it just shows Russert as an ordinary (very ordinary) guy. But.....that is the way he comes across on TV, so I guess that what you see, is what you get.