Customer Reviews

The Boomer Century, 1946-2046: How America's Most Influential Generation Changed Everything

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was looking for a book that approached the boomers' effect on the future, what sort of housing, leisure pursuits, educational opportunities, etc.

What I got in this work was seventy-five percent super fluff nostalgia for how great we boomers are/were and twenty-five percent on, "now what are you going to do for us clever and adorable creatures".

The style of writing follows the script for the show they did on the same subject (full disclosure: I wouldn't watch such drivel so I'm going by the writer's statements) but the loose conversational manner of a documentary interview does not translate well to a book format. Many of the views of their so-called panel of experts were so clumsily written that it was necessary to read them three or four times to understand any of it.

And the "experts" all seemed to have the same delusional view that we can all be spoiled narciccists, live like theirs no tomorrow, and enjoy intergenerational piece and harmony in our old age while the struggling Gen X and Y slave like animals to pay for it.

Willful ignorance is the most dangerous drug of all.

This book offers a great overview of the boomer generation, past, present and future. It is the companion to a PBS documentary, but where the tv show gives us only a sentence, the book offers an entire paragraph (the entire thought) of a group of experts so diverse as to include Oliver Stone and Tony Snow. Now THAT'S diverse. It is informative, entertaining and often amusing. A great read not only for boomers, but for Gens X and Y as well.

I found this book to be very readable and entertaining. It brought back many memories of growing up (yes, I'm a Boomer). I thought it covered a lot of territory and provided a somewhat broad view of the generation.
About my only negative is that the book could have used more sources. Every chapter seemed to go back to the same folks. The sources were good, but more would have been better and more well-rounded.
Overall, the book is interesting even if a bit self-serving for a self-serving generation of Americans.

For those of us born after the post-WWII baby boom, the media's constant regurgitation of the images and events that "defined" that generation, including the Beatles, JFK, Woodstock, the moon landing, the Vietnam War and Watergate, among others, always seemed narcissistically nostalgic, as if taunting later generations to call up their own seminal events with similar, society-shaking consequences. PBS's "The Boomer Century 1946-2046: How America's Most Influential Generation Changed Everything" and its accompanying book take that self-congratulatory attitude to the extreme.

No one doubts that America and the world underwent turbulent times in the latter half of the last century and that many individuals responded in memorable ways, but the idea that some mass consciousness succumbed to Beatlemania; expanded its awareness with drugs; lost its innocence with the assassinations of both Kennedys and Martin Luther King, Jr.; and then became rich during the "Me Decade" and "Decade of Greed", washes out the richness of voices during those years and marginalizes the real struggles of minorities, women and laborers.

Other than serving as a marketing demographic and a lazy shorthand for post-WWII events, the idea of "boomers" adds little to the national discussion and even detracts from it, as most of the topics covered in "The Boomer Century" would be better served by a sharper focus, e.g. looking specifically at consumerism, the Cold War, the history of rock-n-roll, civil rights, etc. By throwing everything under the blanket of "boomer", they become nothing more than another step in the boomer development, like graduating high school.

So why give "The Boomer Century 1946-2046" five stars despite trite, repetitive essays by famous boomers that fail to form a compelling narrative or offer any real insight? Because the book and the PBS documentary do exactly what they set out to do, celebrate a group of people who happened to be born within the same 18-year period and offer them a nostalgia-filled trip down memory and commercial lane without seriously questioning the societal trends that resulted in slower economic growth in the past twenty-five years compared to the previous twenty-five and saw the greater increase in the mean over the median income. For all their expanded consciousness and world awareness, the boomers have done a wonderful job of increasing economic disparities at home and aggressive U.S. policies abroad.

Fascinating to reminisce about how we shaped America in the last half of the 20th century! And what might be accomplished at this time in our lives.

After reading the book a couple of times, and watching the PBS special 3 times, I came away with an excitement that we have so much more we boomers can do.

Of course, our boomer numbers are commanding. And yet, speaking for myself, this is a most expansive, change-filled time of my life. And I am not talking about rocking chairs and tee times!

You see, I have both a personal(family) and professional(high tech career)background that has gotten me very interested in actively persuing a career in the renewable energy field. Makes perfect sense. Like so many of us boomers, I love a good cause....and, a bit of a challenge to get the adrenalin going!!

So right now, both my wife and I are reinventing ourselves. Exciting times indeed. So much to do. So much time remaining thanks to a regular exercise regimen and good genes.