{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260414T102527Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1476773939?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1476773939","authors":["David Von Drehle"],"book_id":"9781476773933","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781476773933","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781476773933.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","description":"One of our nation’s most prominent writers discovers the truth about how to live a long and happy life from the centenarian next door in this “original and highly readable account of a splendid American life” ( The Wall Street Journal ). When a veteran Washington journalist moved to Kansas, he met a new neighbor who was more than a century old. Little did he know that he was beginning a long friendship—and a profound lesson in the meaning of life. Charlie White was no ordinary neighbor. Born before radio, Charlie lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, Charlie mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom. Thus armored, Charlie’s sense of adventure carried him on an epic journey of the Jazz Age, racing aboard ambulances through Depression-era gangster wars, improvising techniques for early open-heart surgery, and cruising the Amazon as a guest of Peru’s president. David Von Drehle came to understand that Charlie’s resilience and willingness to grow made this remarkable neighbor a master in the art of thriving through times of dramatic change. As a gift to his children, he set out to tell Charlie’s secrets. The Book of Charlie is a “genuinely original, formula-shattering” (Bob Woodward) gospel of grit—the inspiring story of one man’s journey through a century of upheaval. The history that unfolds through Charlie’s story reminds you that the United States has always been a divided nation, a questing nation—a nation of Charlies in the rollercoaster pursuit of a good and meaningful life.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781476773933","publication_date":"20240521","publisher":"Simon &amp; Schuster","slug":"the-book-of-charlie","subtitle":"Wisdom From the Remarkable American Life of a 109-year-old Man","title":"The Book of Charlie"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"ART015020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"American Art","score":0.7463,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"20th-Century America","score":0.743,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"BIO002010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Black & African American Lives","score":0.7374,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"ART015020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"American Art","score":0.7463,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"20th-Century America","score":0.743,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"BIO002010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Black & African American Lives","score":0.7374,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"BIO006000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Lives in History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036060","confidence_band":"high","label":"20th-Century America","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SEL016000","confidence_band":"high","label":"The Pursuit of Happiness","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"American Art","score":0.7463,"slug":"american-art"},{"label":"20th-Century America","score":0.743,"slug":"20th-century-america"},{"label":"Black & African American Lives","score":0.7374,"slug":"black-african-american-lives"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy American Art","Good for readers interested in book club","Good for readers who enjoy American Art and 20th-Century America."],"related_lists":[{"intro":"","slug":"shelf-bio002010-african-american-black","title":"African American & Black Books","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/lists/shelf-bio002010-african-american-black"}],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Johnny Cash","Patrick Carr"],"book_id":"9780060727536","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780060727536.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":18.8832,"title":"Cash","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780060727536"},{"authors":["Jonathan Eig"],"book_id":"9781250335647","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250335647.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":12.701,"title":"King: a Life","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250335647"},{"authors":["Gayle Feldman"],"book_id":"9781400060276","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781400060276.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":12.2465,"title":"Nothing Random","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781400060276"},{"authors":["Tracy Kidder"],"book_id":"9780812977615","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780812977615.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":11.5482,"title":"Strength in What Remains","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780812977615"},{"authors":["Stephen Starring Grant","Simon & Schuster Audio"],"book_id":"9781668018040","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781668018040.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":10.3337,"title":"Mailman","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781668018040"},{"authors":["Lara Love Hardin"],"book_id":"9781982197674","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781982197674.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":10.2761,"title":"The Many Lives of Mama Love","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781982197674"},{"authors":["Sam Giancana","Chuck Giancana","Bettina Giancana","Tim Newark"],"book_id":"9781510711242","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781510711242.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":10.1935,"title":"Double Cross","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781510711242"},{"authors":["Rinker Buck"],"book_id":"9781501106385","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781501106385.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":10.1564,"title":"Life on the Mississippi","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781501106385"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:good life"],"label":"Life","score":0.1448,"slug":"life"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:stoic philosophy"],"label":"Philosophy","score":0.1142,"slug":"philosophy"},{"evidence_refs":["phrase_map_match"],"label":"Book Club","score":0.0914,"slug":"book-club"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:20th century history"],"label":"Century","score":0.083,"slug":"century"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:good life"],"label":"Good","score":0.0724,"slug":"good"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Life, Philosophy, Book Club.","Reading lane: American Art and 20th Century America.","Publisher: Simon &amp; Schuster."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":3249,"goodreads_ratings_count":12176,"goodreads_reviews_count":1524,"quality_score":0.9849}}