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Book Reviews of Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069

Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069
Generations The History of America's Future 1584 to 2069
Author: William Strauss, Neil Howe
ISBN-13: 9780688119126
ISBN-10: 0688119123
Publication Date: 9/30/1992
Pages: 544
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 5

3.6 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: Perennial
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

shuffdog avatar reviewed Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 on + 31 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
It may be that I have a short attention span for sociological theory, but 500 pages is certainly overkill for understanding what is actually a very interesting theory of generations. I believe I was persuaded to the plausibility of the dynamic within about 30 pages. What was lacking was an exploration of why this would be true of specifically America over the proposed timespan, whether this speaks to any American 'constant' that throughout that timespan supports these cycles (as opposed to creating other types of cycles), whether any such cycles can be found in other cultures, and what are the causes in those cultures?

For 500 pages it was nothing but charts, more charts, discussion about diagonal lines running across time, parents and children, anecdote after uncited anecdote, and it was all very unorganized and forbiddingly verbose. But it might be that I have a short attention span.