Slackonomics: Generation X in the Age of Creative Destruction (Hardcover)

by Lisa Chamberlain (Author)
Key Phrases: creative destruction, walkable urbanism, New York, Tangent Universe, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
The Yummy List e-newsletter
"Genius. Provocative. Wonderful,"

"Cleveland Plain Dealer"
"Studded with insight into pop culture and today's turbulent society."

BN.com's "Notable Reader"
"A Suzy Orman for the Deconstructionist set, Chamberlain is witty, brainy, fabulous. A necessary addition to any collapsing IKEA bookshelf."

Product Description
Why Gen Xers--waiting for Boomers to retire--have made the choices they have, and how their creativity can save us from economic ruin.

Generation X grew up in the greed-is-good 1980s, before the Great Middle-Class Squeeze and the roller coaster of economic insecurity and tech revolution began driving Xers' cultural trends, lifestyle choices, and sociological circumstances. And while some foresee a disastrous financial future for all but those at the very top of the pyramid, Slackonomics reveals how a generation forged in such destruction--with the creativity of apathetic slackers, damn-the-torpedoes daytraders, deficit-spending consumers, and permanent freelancers--can bring the economy back from the brink.

One part Freakonomics, one part Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Lisa Chamberlain's debut is a must-read for anyone interested in our nation's future as the Boomers begin handing over the reins to the Xers.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (July 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786718846
• ISBN-13: 978-0786718849
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #592,609 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars funny, engaging and revelatory, July 8, 2008

By	Mobileslacks (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

Lisa Chamberlain will make you laugh with her deadpan humor as she takes you back on a nostalgia tour. But, this book is not just about the beauty of the trifecta (Generation X, Slackers, and Nevermind all in 1991) for the slacker generation. It will affirm and validate the life choices you have made from when `you came of age' through `adulthood' given the economic and social forces at play influencing those choices. It wasn't just about separating ourselves from `the crowd' with our flannel shirts. I experienced many `ah ha' moments as I began to string together various experiences within the context Lisa lays out, from career decisions to quality of life considerations, where and how I want to live, the importance of friendships, relationships, etc... It just made a whole lot of sense. And the end has a message ...our responsibility and (more importantly) our ability given our sensibilities to address and tackle many of the challenges thrust upon us by the previous generation.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart and Timely, July 5, 2008

By	erin k "erin k" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Combining a knowing pop culture savvy with smart cultural analysis and a unique (and accessible) take on the economic trends that have shaped a generation, this book is a must-read for fans of Freakonomics, Malcom Gladwell, Douglas Coupland, Chuck Closterman and the like.

My story is featured in the chapter on comedy, and while I had a sense of the book's themes when I was interviewed, I was surprised at the revelations it offered when I read it through: I always thought my unstable, ad-hoc, creativity-driven, dot-com-influenced career and my irreverent take on employment and the randomness of "adult" life were totally original. Turns out I'm just a product of my generation, a fact that is comforting and disconcerting at the same time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marshal McGovern's Review of Lisa Chamberlain's Slackonomics: Generation X in the Age of Creative Destruction, October 23, 2008

By	Arthur M. Diamond, Jr. (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Length:: 9:55 Mins

Marshal McGovern's review was made as part of a critical review assignment for the Fall 2008 Honors Colloquium on Creative Destruction at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, taught by Art Diamond. (The course syllabus stated that part of the critical review assignment consisted of the making of a video recording of the review, and the posting of the review to Amazon.)