A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

97. Yes, I have also read The Fourth Turning.

It's likewise wonderful.

I will make the case for the end year of Boomer birth to be 1960, as someone born that year has at least a half-way decent chance of remembering the JFK assassination, which Strauss and Howe consider the defining event for that generation.

I have occasionally gotten into rather strong discussions with people born in 1964 who think they are Boomers. Unfortunately, most designations of the Boomer generation go through 1964, because all they are looking at is the large number of births in the postwar period 1946-1964. But Strauss and Howe make a very strong case for generational experiences. I believe they go into that aspect more thoroughly in Generations.

Those born in the second half of the 60's are not Boomers. They are GenXers, although that term seems to have disappeared in recent years, which I find disturbing. I'm not sure if everyone is trying to pretend GenXers aren't still with us, or if they've simply been subsumed into the Millennial generation, which is very, very wrong for lots of reasons.

If you decide to read Generations, be aware that in that book they are calling GenXers Thirteeners, because that was the 13th generation since the beginning of their generational descriptions. A few other minor changes happened as they refined their theory in The Fourth Turning, but the earlier book is wonderful for giving a strong foundation to their whole theory, encompassing 500 years.