A veteran Washington journalist recounts his long friendship with Charlie White, the centenarian next door who, sharing his good and meaningful life, mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom as his sense of adventure guided him through a century of upheaval. When Von Drehle moved to the Midwest, his neighbor was Charlie White-- who was already a century old. In coming to know his neighbor, Von Drehle came to understand Charlie was a master in the art of thriving through times of dramatic change. Here he sets out to tell Charlie's secrets. The history that unfolds through Charlie's eyes reminds readers that the United States has always been a divided nation, a question nation, an inventive nation-- a nation of Charlies in the roller-coaster pursuit of a good and meaningful life. -- adapted from jacket