1584 to 2069, The History of America's Future

I began reading into generational theory after writing a novel about seven protagonists born in the second half of the "silent generation" (circa 1935-1942). I quickly found that the characterizations in Generations did not at all fit my own life experience as a "silent" born in 1941 or the characters in my novel ("The Duke Don't Dance" by Richard Sharp)based on cohorts born in the same time period. Some of the stereotypes in Generations might have fitted my sisters born in the 1925-1935 period rather well; others not at all. Regretfully, generational theory appears at best pseudo-science based on essentially arbitrary aggregations of time periods with equally arbitrary generational labels applied on top of them.

The "silent generation" is an excellent example of this: those born before 1935 experienced the Depression, remembered World War II vividly, may have participated in the Korean War and enjoyed the prosperity of the 1950s as young adults. Those born after 1935 had essentially no memory of the Depression, relatively little understanding of World War II, were still teenagers for much of the '50s and many became adults only in the 1960s. The Silent Generation stereotypes of the generation as conformity-oriented traditionalists, inaccurate as it is, is largely based on pre-1935 birth cohorts. In fact, the stereotype so obviously did not apply to those born during the war years prior to the post-war baby boom that many generational theorists either gerrymander the baby boom backwards to start in mid-war or leave wartime babies out of any generation. A lost generation if there ever was one!

Some folks happen to live through periods of rapid change where common cultural experiences cover much shorter time periods than the traditional 20 years applied to generations and those common experiences may be further confined by location or social or economic status. Get over it. So read the book for entertainment, not for scientifically-based enlightenment or ability to predict the future.

Reading this book in 2007, the accuracy of the predictions covering the past decade and a half, since it was written, is amazing and scary. Asimov's "psychohistory" came to mind, but that reference is a mere tangent to the importance of this book and theory. Strauss and Howe have organized human history into a recurring predictable cycle. The way I read it, they predict the next rendezvous with destiny to be in about fifteen years, give or take a few years. That means the current and next president should be well out of power. Thank God, because in their hands will be the fortune of an entire generational history. Be forewarned, reading this book may completely reorganize your previous concepts of history. What will be the impact of this knowlege on their theory itself and history? Time will tell.

In graduate school, an instructor once told me historians are the sociologists of yesterday. Reading this book convinced me how inaccurate this statement is. Sociologists should never attempt to write history because they haven't got a clue what they are writing about.

This book has potential and some plausible theses presented, but it just never clicked with me. First, they define the "Baby Boom" as those born between 1943 and 1960, and they seemed proud of their inclusion of the birth years 1943/4 into this group. I was born in 1961 and have never identified with the "Thirteenth" (what most now call "Gen X") generation. Most other sources extend the Baby Boom through 1964 and I agree that people born between 1961-4 have distinct beliefs and values that place them with the boomers and not the Xers.

Other reviewers of this book marvel at the authors' ability to predict the future. Hogwash. All they did was analyze the past and look for trends that repeat. This is nothing new. Market analysts and weathermen have been doing this for years (and getting it right less than 50% of the time). The four generational cycles, Idealist, Reactive, Civic, and Adaptive may reappear throughout history, but the circumstances of each make each generation more or less unique to itself. I look at my teenage children and see them disillusioned with school and the future. Thirty years ago I felt the same way. I look at my kids with trepidation as did my parents look at me. Are these generational traits or commonalities all teenagers and their parents go through. Unfortunately we all get to experience each of life's phases once so it is hard to say if the sentiments are always the same or not. We can only conclude from experience that they are.

I also found it odd that the historical evidence presented expanded greatly when these two authors started talking about those generations live (at the time they wrote this book) so they could actually talk with real life representatives of each generation. This is a sign of sociology, not history. A real historian would have top loaded the earlier generations based on evidence from primary sources. This book just didn't impress me with its historical presentations.

The truth is I just got bored with reading this book. I tried to give it a fair shake, but it just did not hit home with what I would have though a book like this would do for me. To me it doesn't predict the future at all. It offers some possibilities, but the authors themselves only entered question marks when they described the Millenial generation as "Civic." Maybe they will adapt civic traits, maybe they won't. Maybe the stock market will be up tomorrow, maybe it won't. Does it really matter?

Thanks to two brilliant authors, as a first born Gen-Xer (1961), I now understand why society treats my cohorts and I the way they do. This book is nothing short of genius. Strauss and Howe have helped me on a personal level and business level. Personally I completely understand my place in society today and the future. Furthermore I can alter that future if I choose too. On a business level, for marketing purposes, I now have a solid knowledge of the living generations. And the authors glimpse into the future is a tool I can use to help guide my business in the coming years.
Like Harry S. Dent, Ken Dychtwald and Larry Williams, Strauss and Howe support their future theories with rock solid evidence from the past. Over and over again their theories are validated. I can't thank them enough for the peace of mind their work has given me.
I'm really looking forward to reading their book, "The Fourth Turning".

Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069
I read this book fifteen years ago, and have recommended it to a huge number of people since then. I've the opportunity to view changes in history with the overview they provided so long ago--and their model always fits!! They provide the theory, and then go through each generation, showing how it fits. I refuse to lend anyone this book!! Get your own!

Generations have traits and those traits follow a cycle. Some generations quietly serve and sacrifice for the greater good, while other generations are consumed with self. If you agree with the authors and see the cycle that they quite clearly describe, then it is useful to learn what to expect from the generation which will be holding the power in the nation when your generation is either waiting to take the reins or, more importantly, when your generation is older and dependent on those in-charge to take care of their seniors. Will there be respect or will there be a "who-cares" attitude?

First, you have to believe that generations exist at all. That people born in a period of approximately 20 years will show different group values than people born in the next 20 years.

If you believe in generations, then this book presents the hypothesis that they are repeated in a cycle of four.

This book is so rich in ideas and information that I recommend it as one of the all-time best books I've read.

This was a readable, insightful book when it was published apx 15 years ago, and it has stood up remarkably well since. So long as you don't read it in a deterministic manner, it is filled with perspectives which will challenge everyone from demographers to political scientists and operatives, as well as marketers.

"Generations," by William Strauss and Neil Howe was the most important book I read in the whole decade of the 1990s. It was so seminal that I devoted a whole chapter (number 20) of my new book, "A Modern Approach to Graham and Dodd Investing" (Wiley) to discussing the implications of the different generations on the stock market. Strauss and Howe show how the "bad blood" during the mid-life "hand-off" between the post- Civil War "Missionary" generation and the "Lost" generation coincided with the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. A similar constellation between the post World War II Baby Boom generation and Generation X leads me to believe that a similar result is unfolding today. Apart from that, Strauss and Howe showed over ten years ago how the "crisis" era that is only beginning was not only possible, but almost inevitable.

More than any other book, Generations has given me insight into generational trends. I started the International Youth Hall of Fame, a non-profit that helps communities come together to value and appreciate their children, and Generations has helped me to better understand needs and trends of the different age groups I deal with. It has also helped me to understand that our patterns are cyclical. I found the closing to be especially hopeful and stimulating and use it often when I speak.

This book is a wonderful history and demonstrates the sociological patterns of our American history and provides insights for the future. "The Fourth Turning" written by the same authors ten years later, is a wonderful companion book. I suggest reading them in the order of publication to get the most out of both books.

As I was reading "Generations" I had to remind myself it was written fifteen years ago. The paradigm shift it has facilitated has made me feel connected to over four hundred years of American history. I'm inspired to read other books in the series and have just ordered Millenials Rising.

This is one more book written specifically to justify another pre-conceived notion.
Here's how to do it.
1. Decide how you and your special interest group want things to be.
2. Select facts from the past to tell your story.
3. Use words and sentences that appeal to your special interest group and look profitable to a publishing company.
4. Cash your royalty checks assuming you have not plagiarized your book.

Very eye-opening book about the various generations to have come thru in American history. The type of book you’ll revert back to 4 years to come. The generational concepts repeat in Cycles repeat like the seasons or the Zodiac or Chinese astrology “Year of” or time or any thing that’s repetitive. Totally worth it.