Rating: 
Summary: Another Huge Success for Howe & Strauss
Review: Once again Bill Strauss and Neil Howe have outdone themselves. Their fourth book, "Millennials Rising," is the definitive work about the generation born from 1982 to the present. Having just read the book myself and been impressed by the sheer comprehensiveness of it, I believe marketers, scholars, futurists, historians and general interest readers alike will all find something eye-opening in its 430 pages. I know I did. Millennials have been maligned for years, but as the authors show, much of the criticism is misplaced. This group is destined to be America's next great generation, replacing the G.I.'s in the centuries-long cycle of generations. Definitely buy this book!
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Summary: An excellent book ...
Review: Strauss and Howe have done it again with a serious and easily readable book on generations. Millennials Rising takes a comprehensive look at the characteristics that make up the Millennial Generation and gives a more accurate view of youth today. This generation is not stupid or violent, but rather upbeat, political and confident. Definitely a good buy for teens, parents, teachers and others who need a new look at today's millennial generation.While I disagree on the start of the generation and have my own views on some aspects of the generation - www.emgen.com - this book begins the important conversation about today's youth and should be read by all who claim to know what kids are thinking about today! Scott Beale http://www.scottbeale.com
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Summary: Let's see how predictions turned out...
Review: This book is essentially a prediction -- a prediction of how a given generation of teens would turn out. As such, it is particularly easy to rate -- all one has to do is wait a few years and see whether the prediction came true. As defined by the authors, the first batch of Millenials graduated from college a year ago, and the second one will graduate in two month. So..
Academic performance throughout US colleges has remained at 1990's level: "high-octane academic achievement" did not materialize. Prediction failed.
Use of marijuana among high school and college students is INCREASING after a continuous decrease in 1980's and 90's. Prediction failed.
Alcohol abuse among the same group is holding steady, instead of decreasing. Prediction failed.
Teen pregnancies as a whole are decreasing, but pregnancies among unmarried teens are actually RISING; total statistic is due to sharp decrease of pregnancies among MARRIED teenagers. Prediction failed.
Politically, "Millenial" college students are more fiscally conservative and more socially liberal than any generation on record -- EXACT OPPOSITE of what Howe predicted. College Republicans are on the rise, and their Libertarian branch especially so. Prediction failed dismally.
If the authors were in weather forecast business, they'd be out of job by now.
Rating: 
Summary: Millennials offers thought-provoking insights
Review: In Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, authors Neil Howe and William Strauss present an intriguing analysis of the generation that follows the Boomers and then the Xers, the Millennials. Members of this generation are what I and my mother would have referred to as, "good kids." Intrigued to learn more after hearing about this book at a faculty meeting, I selected this book to read for a course assignment.
It seems the intent of the book was to provide a discussion of the population of Millennials as a whole. In this attempt, it was more than successful. Not only did the authors provide the background information about how this group was classified and why, Howe and Strauss provided an almost anthropological, evolutionary argument for the development of Millennials, as evolving from the Boomers and Xers. They also present a case for describing them as great; they far exceed the social responsibilities of any generation since the Depression-Era, World War II generation. In addition, they present some examples of Millennials throughout the world as similar to those in the United States even though their culture and lifestyles are dramatically different. Furthermore, they make predictions about the generation that will follow, a generation yet unnamed.
Interestingly, since I have read this, I have been able to understand some of my students and staff members who are Millennials so much better. Therefore, if another purpose of the book was to incite forward planning for the development of this generation, I believe the authors were also successful in this endeavor.
I think it would be hard to read this review without understanding my appreciation and high ratings for this book. Not only was I presented with information that was new to me, it was backed up by studies and analysis, for which I am always grateful. The authors are schooled and experienced in economics, history, journalism, political science, and the performing arts. These are hardly the credentials from which one might expect such a noteworthy analysis. I highly recommend this book. It is important reading for anyone who is influenced by Millennials because their children, students, co-workers, patients, neighbors, and friends are Millennials. However, it is also important because the Millennials will be leading the rest of us through our careers, retirement, and life. Howe and Strauss provide an enlightening look on the people who are directing our futures.
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Summary: The New Kids On the Block
Review: The authors William Strauss and Neil Howe continue with their theories about history being affected by different generations because of the the way the generations are raised behave a certain way. This time they focus on the youthful Millennial generation which they say will be quite unlike Gen X or the Boomers. They say they will be more conformist and better behaved than these other generations because they have been raised in a heavily monitored environment in which team playing is emphasized. Their weakness may be that they could be become big brother's dream children since they may be unable to think or act independently from the group, even when their peer group may be going in the wrong direction.
Strauss and Howe's theories seem to have justification, but there are other theories that historians and social scientists have come up with and the authors do not address the validity of these theories very much. One being that a civilization rises to its peak with traditional values and then falls apart gradually by rejecting these traditional values for new gods and liberalism. It would have been interesting to have them react to such a theory. I also thought that by not addressing other theories of civilizational history, it made their some of their comments on the increasing multiculturalization of America seem naive at times. Given the previous theory I have mentioned, such multiculturation of America will cause its decline, not improve it.
This book is one of their more entertaining books that I have read by them. They have sidebar comments from millennials and about millennials that are amusing and interesting much of the time. They also have funny cartoons about millennials throughout the book. This makes the book more interesting than other books of social analysis.
Strauss and Howe say that the millennials will be the next hero generation that may be asked to fight another total war. That may be so, but in a way, I hope not. The more I study history, the more I learn that the wars we fight are usually total rackets and unjustified, no matter how much they are glorified afterwards because our soldiers sacrifice themselves in them. True heroic citizens stay informed and skeptical and make sure that the government is not hoodwinking them into another useless war.
That being said this is still a useful book and I use the authors' theories all the time when analyzing events, social institutions, and the arts and entertainment.
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