13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?

After long being accused by writers as being "slackers" and "apathetic," finally a book comes along that explores Generation X in the historical context of being the 13th Generation - an exploration that forces the reader to reconsider their opinion of our misunderstood generation. Mr. Strauss explains that no generation can be defined in a vaccuum. Instead one must understand the preceeding generations as well as the social, political, and economic forces in place during the growth of a generation. Furthermore, generational characteristics and the social, political, and economic environment is cyclical, a theme which he explores in a later work, The 4th Turning.As a member of the 13th Generation, I knew I was different than my parents and much different than my younger siblings (all members of the Millenium Generation). I went to an elementary school where the classrooms had no walls and students were asked how they "felt" and facts were discouraged. The free-swinging 70's found Playboy and Penthouse in parent's bedrooms, available for the neighborhood kids to sneak and explore. I have been through 2 family divorces and now have 3 half siblings and 3 step siblings - 2 of whom are named Jeff. I have always felt a little lost and very much alone. Reading this book helped me to understand more about myself, without giving me too many "outs" to excuse my life choices. Instead, Mr. Strauss provides facts (and yes, a little opinion)so that myself and other 13ers may rethink our role in society (we're not all slackers) and begin to make our mark in history.

I agree with one of the other reviewers: this book describes the older end of the 13ers. I am a 13er (born in 70) and find this book to be an interesting and entertaining discussion about the differences between the generations.I see that many 13ers are offended at the book, and I can only think that these people take things WAY too personally.I also think that the book does a good job explaining how older generations don't want to give up control and have difficulty passing the torch to the up and coming generation.

This book is a must read for anyone who is twentysomething in the 1990's. It rebels against the common misconceptions of today's younger adults. As a 13'er (born in 1974) I adored the quotes the comments and the jokes, and appreciated the points that the authors were trying to make about education and the assumptions that the older generations, ie boomers try to make about where the world is heading with the MTV generation at the helm. The definitive bible of the generation, Generation X by Douglas Copeland should hand over its title to this work by Neil Howe et al. It is far more identifiable and much more entertaining. The cartoons are very well done as well. For example as a political activist I understood the cartoon of MTV's Rock the Vote(with someone attempting to vote via pressing a button on the remote control)altogether too well!! Just read it, you be glad you did.

When I first perused this book, I steeled myself for another flood of invective from former Education Secretary and baby boomer pit bull William Bennett and his ilk about how everyone and anyone born between 1961 and 1981 (the 13th generation born in the US) is an illiterate thug at worst or a attention-deficient con artist at best. I was pleasantly surprised. Neil Howe and Bill Strauss, with a format capturing my (I confess, I'm a 13er too) peer group's main modes of expression, slick images and reproduced Internet mail messages and chat, counterpointed by an abundance of statistical and historical data, produce a fascinating and ultimately hopeful assessment of an age group that to many "just doesn't fit." The authors think this is so because of key events in 13ers' early lives--the effect of a long parade of inept leaders, faddish educators and errant parents, a rising information overload and endless elder doomsaying. This, along with the gut-wrenching changes in the US society and economy that were and still are occurring, left them on their own emotionally and physically quite early and socially and economically so as time passed. Howe and Strauss believe these and related experiences taught 13ers to think pragmatically, act quickly and be ever-resourceful in the face of an often absurd and always overwhelming, fast-moving world. The authors dismiss the mainstream alarmist hype and conclude these and other streetwise skills of 13ers will serve the nation well when it's their turn to "take command" in the next century.

There is much misunderstanding of the generation which followed the baby boom. This book paints a rich, deep picture of what forces shaped the 13th Generation (aka Generation X) into the reactive generation it is. Taking evidence from census data, sociological statistics and cultural trends, this book shows the 13th Generation as babies when demon-baby movies (Omen, Exorcist, etc.) were popular, as the generation most affected by the 1980's recession (just as it was entering the workforce) and the generation for which social security will be bankrupt by the time it retires. But the book is not apologist. Rather, the book is an in-depth example of the generational paradigm of history put forth by Stauss and Howe in _Generations_ and shows that such a reactive generation is part of a larger historical cycle that has been operating since before the Pilgrims landed on American shores. The book has a great layout for the short attention span audience. The sidebars give great quotes to support the text, there is an ongoing e-mail dialog between the baby boom authors and a gen-x critic, and the mostly black humor cartoons are well chosen to illustrate the text. A must read for anyone who wonders why Gen X folks just don't behave the way they "ought to," or for those Gen X'ers who wonder why the world is so messed up