Tom Brokaw is the author of seven best-selling books: The Greatest Generation, The Greatest Generation Speaks, An Album of Memories, A Long Way from Home, Boom!, and The Greatest Generation Speaks. He is a South Dakota native who earned a political science degree from the University of South Dakota. Before joining NBC News in 1966, he worked as a journalist in Omaha and Atlanta. NBC News' White House correspondent during the Watergate scandal was Brokaw, who also hosted Today on NBC from 1976 to 1981. From 1983 through 2005, he was the sole anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.

Following the death of his friend Tim Russert, he hosted Meet the Press for nine months in 2008. He continues to work for NBC News as a reporter and producer of long-form documentaries, as well as providing expert commentary on breaking news events. Brokaw has received every major broadcast journalism honor, including two duPonts, two Peabody Awards, and a slew of Emmys. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.

He splits his time between New York and Montana.