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

To the reviewer who wrote that this book saved him from 'killing his father and evil step-mother": I HEAR YOU BROTHER, loud and clear!! For me, it is somewhat the reverse: this book, and the concepts it details, went far for me, in explaining why my evil narcissistic mother and her wicked consort my evil stepfather, wanted to kill me. I in turn simply finally cut them both out of my life permanently. Plus, I always was told that I was part of the 'baby boom' generation being born in 1961--but my husband who was born in the 1950's has always said that my year was beyond the baby boom years. The only reason "they" expanded the boomer years to cover up to 1964, was for political reasons such as some stupid current (i'm writing this in 2017) govt program to force 'boomers' to get tested for hep-C, and all kinds of fake news nonsense government stupidity that kills people, like that. Yes, I'm angry. I find out I'm really Gen x and that does make a lot of sense. The 1970's was a generation that tried to kill its own children under the auspices of 'public education programs' and more. In the fourth turning it describes a generation that is protective of its children and a generation that literally sacrifices its children on the altars of such government programs, social experiments, etc. & so on. We gen x'ers were in the 'sacrificial' generation and yeah, it don't feel good, to put it mildly. That is why there is so much anger. That is why there is so much chaos in society - at least, that is one reason. We were offered like lambs to be slaughtered and this book explains it a bunch, as does The Fourth Turning. For me, I'm taking my life back from all that nonsense that was forced on me in the mid-1960s and throughout the 1970s. I'm over and done with that. It was the bad old days of the 1970s when attorneys made tons of money suing people and the culture of scorched earth lawsuits in the civil arena took over. Insurance companies paid like slot machines back then and lawsuits and 'civil extortion' was rampant. My family and my friends have all been victims of that as well, in various ways. Also, there was a med mal crisis in the state of California and elsewhere, part of that stupid litigious attorney attitude, that forever changed how doctors will treat people in that state, and as a result medical care in that state suffered. I believe it swept over the rest of the country as well but I got out a long time ago and where I live now doesn't have that problem so I don't know. I only know I feel like I have CPTSD from the culture of the 1970's. Not to mention the vietnam war and all of that. Too much to discuss here. Anyway - this is an excellent book. It really filled in a HUGE missing piece of the puzzle for me and my family. Thank you to the authors for writing it and also The Fourth Turning.

Major kudos to the seller! This book is in near brand new condition and packaged beautifully.I'm about halfway through, but far enough to give an accurate review.This is the most comprehensive & honest depiction of Gen X that I've read.It's full of charts, graphs, cartoons and quotes. Totally engaging! 10/10

Strauss and Howe had/have a breakthrough concept, and will keep a copy of Generations for my daughter. The book was scattered and jumping around, but it was deliberate. There were some good points, but not every gen x'er liked MTV and was a slacker, some do very well in life and will reap their own rewards. It was a good reflection on the environment: divorce, stress, neglect and new diseases. It all added up to "you're on your own pal", but I now realize this what real success comes from, not from being pampered and catered to.

Are you an X? Prepare to get kicked right in the gutt. Wonder why you are dissolutioned? Angry? Sad and at times feeling alone and hopeless? Yeah your an X and the good thing is this book will help you come to terms with your situation or really make you mad. The point is you are not imagining the social position you find yourself in....read Generations and the Fort Turning..... catharsis? Major!!!!

I read their previous book, Generations. I was, of course, most interested in their descriptations of my generation, 13er, and how much we were like Hemingway's Lost Generation, Mark Twain's Glided Generation, and George Washington's Liberty Generation.Strauss & Howe do a wondeful job of getting past the bad reputation of my generation, and show why we are the way we are. America may not appreicate our strengths right now, but we'll be the ones that'll save this country when the next Big Crisis, like World War Two, happens.

There were a few parts I did not really agree with, but for the most part, this book paints an accurate picture of what happened to Generation X...and what is going to be Gen X's ultimate destiny. I personally feel that until all the Boomers are retired, the economy and job market are not going to get much better.

I loved this book when it was new. One of the most accessible primers on generational studies.

this book helped shape my perspective on sociology