The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "NO one should ever doubt the valor and sacrifice of the World War II generation-the much-celebrated Greatest Generation, as they've come to be known..." (more)
Key Phrases: Baby Boom, World War, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Baby boomers have been vilified as noisy, self-centered, childish, elitist and self-indulgent. Steinhorn forcefully and gracefully defends his age cohort against these stereotypes in a paean to the generation that has forever altered the face of American culture. The so-called "greatest generation," he says, imposed a cultural complacency whose worst elements included racism, sexual inequality and anti-Semitism. Boomers rebelled against their parents' values, striving to create an inclusive society that would recognize the contributions of all of its members. Defying and denouncing authority, the baby boomers protested against an unjust war and challenged an unethical political system. Even after the clamor of the 1960s quieted down, boomers refused to tolerate environmental violations, continued to challenge racial and sexual discrimination, rejected religious intolerance and defied racial and sexual taboos. And despite an apparent conservative turn in America, says Steinhorn, boomer values have in fact permeated our society to the point where a younger generation takes them for granted. This powerful book by Steinhorn, a professor at American University's School of Communications, reminds us that boomers continue to provide the methods and the impetus that are moving many young people today to challenge political arrogance, deceit and jingoism.
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Product Description

The Greatest Generation gets credit for winning World War II and braving the Depression. But the Baby Boomers? All they get credit for is knowing how to order a tall skim double latte. What really is the true legacy of the Boomers?

Summoning the amazing sea changes they’ve made in American culture, this controversial book recasts the much-maligned Boomers as a Greater Generation with a lasting legacy of tolerance and equality for all.

Farewell, Donna Reed: “For women, the Baby Boom era has been one of breathtaking change—in a single generation American women have effected one of the greatest social metamorphoses in recorded history. What women are able to do today would have been unimaginable four or five decades ago, at best the stuff of utopian fantasy or science fiction.”

Not Only Women: “The egalitarian norms of the Baby Boom have deeply changed men and will continue to do so for generations to come.”

Diversity as a Moral Value: For too long, America denied blacks, gays, and other minorities their dignity and rights, but in the Boomer era we have enlarged the melting pot to include those once scorned and excluded. Boomers have led a culture war “to upend the rigid social structure of the Fifties and challenge centuries of entrenched norms and attitudes about race, ethnicity, religion, and sexuality.”

The Greening of America: Under Boomers, environmental protection has become a powerful new norm in American society. No longer do we tolerate toxic run-offs and progress at any cost.

A Freer, More Open Society: Personal freedom, tolerance, openness, transparency, and equality—these are the values of the Baby Boom era, and we live them daily at home, work, school, and in our many relationships. The old ways—the prejudice, narrowmindedness, restrictive sex roles, smoke-filled rooms, double standards, rigid hierarchies—are going, going, gone thanks to Baby Boomers.

The media have it wrong: You don’t need to fight a war to be a great generation. America today is far more open, inclusive, and equal than at any time in our history, and Boomers are the foot soldiers who made it happen. The Greater Generation tells their remarkable story.

 

“The Greater Generation is a timely, passionate defense of the Baby Boom generation. . . . Leonard Steinhorn reminds us of the essential liberal spirit that defined the Boomers and how they changed our country for the better. In doing so, he illuminates the critical issues that continue to challenge them and their children.”

—Joe Conason, bestselling author of Big Lies and The Hunting of the President
“The Baby Boom generation changed the heart and soul of America. Leonard Steinhorn’s The Greater Generation shows us how much better off we all are as a result.”

—Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class

“Steinhorn has written a smart and inspirational book that will be a boost to all Boomers, and will show their children why Mom and Dad know best.”

—Iris Krasnow, author of Surrendering to Marriage

“In contrast to their parents’ idealized standing as the ‘greatest generation,’ Boomers have been gamely diminished as the ‘worst generation.’ And this book shouts ENOUGH!”

—Brent Green, author of Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (January 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312326408
• ISBN-13: 978-0312326401
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,093,459 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, January 17, 2006

By	Brent Crane (Kensington, MD) - See all my reviews

As a Generation Xer, it would be easy to buy into the unfortunate media cariacture of Baby Boomers as a largely materialistic and self-indulgent generation bent on exploiting the American dream for their own selfish desires.

But that is simply not the truth.

In a wonderfully written and meticulously argued book, Mr. Steinhorn has thoughtfully described how Baby Boomers have done more to hold America true to its values than preceding generations. On issues ranging from civil rights, womens rights, environmental standards, the workplace and education, the battles fought and won by Baby Boomers have made America a more open, free and egalitarian society.

I read with great interest this important, provocative book. While it may create controvery among those who Mr. Steinhorn describes as "cultural Luddites", nobody can dispute the facts presented by the author.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be prepared for major memory jogs, March 24, 2006

By	Chuck Nyren "Author of Advertising to Baby Bo... (Snohomish, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This book was on my desk for a few days before I dug in. The title had annoyed me a bit. Did the Baby Boomer legacy really need defending? I lived through all of it, was a part of it. Absolutely astounding accomplishments over the last forty years. Sure, I've heard the boomer-bashers, but does anybody take them seriously? They're clueless. Someone like Joe Queenan can be very funny, I've laughed out loud at some of his comments - but basically his whole shtick is to shock - and he's most well-known as one of Howard Stern's second (or third, or forth) bananas. You don't take someone like Queenan (or most conservative and all neocon boomer-bashers) seriously.

The book was still on my desk. I'd glance at it three or four times a day. 'Will this fellow talk about this and this and this? I bet he won't mention this and this and this. And I'm sure he won't talk about this or this or this, because those things aren't on the radar anymore. And I really want to know why this book even had to be written.'

I dig in. Professor Steinhorn is so far ahead of me. He discusses everything - including scores of topics and accomplishments that never occurred to me - even as I lived through them in the 60s, 70s, 80s. What a great read. Why did he feel the need to write this book? It's answered on the first page.

Obviously, I agree with most of the other readers posting here (and all the good reviews are taken) - so I'll simply give you some gut reactions:

Every chapter was a catalyst. I lived my life over and over again -- growing up in the 50s and 60s, politics, culture, social interactions, workplace issues, music, television, religion, women's rights - all dissected and discussed - and brought back all sorts of memories.

The racism ones (I haven't thought of these incidents in thirty or more years): When I was eight or nine, we were selling our house in White Plains, New York. A potential buyer came over, and my father called me downstairs and asked, "How many Negro boys and girls are in your class?" Well, I'd never considered such a question, had to think about it. I figured that almost half were, so I said something like "Probably twelve." No sale there! It was my first real experience with racism. My father was upset, but wasn't mad at me. However, he said, "The next time someone comes over and I ask you that question, say 'two.'" Gee, now it was explained to me that Negroes were bad, and lying was good.

My father wasn't some ignorant doofus, by the way. He grew up in the Midwest, and had a very, very good white collar job in the citadel of intellectual and cultural enlightenment: New York City.

Summer, 1965: Our family took a vacation to California, and I was on a flight with my father. The Watts Riots were happening, and if you know the flight path to LAX, planes fly right over South L.A. There was an announcement about it by the pilot (although everybody knew about it) - and there was a hush inside the plane as everybody took turns looking out the windows. I remember my father's comment: "Down there - those are nig***s. Back home, they're Negroes." I'm still not sure what this meant. I'm guessing that his only contact with 'Negroes' for most of his life had probably been the shoeshine guys at Grand Central Station and listening to Johnny Mathis and Nat King Cole.

1970: While visiting my maternal grandmother in Virginia during a college break, I was strolling around town and somehow started playing a bit of baseball with some Black children. Just for five or ten minutes or so. I can't remember why - but there I was, having lots of fun with a bunch of kids. When I told my grandmother about the incident, she was horrified. I could have been beat up, even shot by (I'm guessing) white folk seeing me playing with them. "And," she added, "Don't call them Blacks. They like to be called Darkies."

Hundreds of stories like the above (but the subjects and through-lines were different) popped into my head while devouring "The Greater Generation." If you're a Baby Boomer, be prepared for major memory jogs. If you're younger, this is a great history of the social changes since the 1960s.

If I start fashioning metaphors, drawing comparisons, it will get convoluted - but there's this movie: Pleasantville. "The Greater Generation" is the book. We laugh at Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver for different reasons than we might have when the shows first aired - because in retrospect it really was like that back then.

Do you want to know why leading-edge Boomers are so gaga over their grandchildren? The Millennials (roughly born between 1987 and 2000) are already showing signs of that odd combination of cynicism and idealism. And when did that last happen? The Sixties. Talk about inclusive - Millennials are all over the map ethnically - Asian and Hispanic cultures will be seriously mainstream. We're in for some rousing domestic fireworks in ten or fifteen years. They'll change our country for the better -- as we have.

I hope they outshine us in every way. This will be the real Baby Boomers' legacy.

Bonus: Steinhorn does a brilliant job deconstructing the sordid rhetorical techniques neocon pundits employ. From Brooks to O'Reilly, he denudes all these desperate, last-gasp Luddites. Watch a few episodes of The Colbert Report and read this book. It's all you'll need to know.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read, March 3, 2006

By	History Buff (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This is really a fascinating and stimulating book that not only challenges conventional wisdom on boomers but also offers an important perspective on our society and political culture. It'll no doubt anger the self-rightous boomer bashers, and it will certainly raise the blood pressure of social conservatives who wish a return to the social order of the Fifties. But for all the rest of us, this book speaks to our lives and experiences, and it does so eloquently and powerfully. Steinhorn's essential point is that we're a more inclusive and tolerant country than we were before the boomer years - that boomers brought about social change based on the essential values of equality, personal freedom, pluralism, and environmental protection. Unfortunately, we too often take these gains for granted. Boomers have their problems, and Steinhorn acknowledges them, but which generation didn't have problems? And does anyone realistically want to go back to the old ways? So read this book. It'll be an eye-opener.