People in Print
July 1, 1994
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
"The Baby Bust"
by William Dunn
American Demographics, $39.95
Reviewed by Jackson Crum,
pastor of small groups,
Lakeland Community Church,
Holland, Michigan.
In April, Kurt Cobain, 27-year-old lead singer of the alternative-rock group Nirvana, pressed a shotgun to his head and tragically ended his life. Some called Cobain "the John Lennon of the MTV generation." His music, life, and even his death symbolized the angst of a generation without dads, jobs, and hope.
Kurt Cobain's generation--those born after 1964--has been dubbed the "baby busters." That, actually, is one of their more flattering titles. They've also been called the "doofus generation" and the "nowhere generation" (mostly by snobbish baby-boomer journalists and sociologists). The buster label stuck because their numbers are smaller than the almost 80 million baby boomers who preceded them. "Generation X" and the "13ers" (the 13th generation since the Revolutionary War) are their two other popular names.
According to William Dunn, author of "The Baby Bust," this generation consists of 41 million Americans born between 1965 and 1976 (plus 3 million immigrants). If they were a nation, they would be one-and-a-half times the population of Canada. (Other analysts, however, include Americans born through 1983, which would bring the tally to more than 60 million.)
Up front, Dunn, former writer for USA Today and the Gannett News Service, admits his bias--he's a baby boomer. But he wants to correct the buster stereotypes--lazy, hopeless, directionless--trumpeted by the baby-boomer media.
"I find baby busters [are] overindulged in some respects," he writes, "and not in others, but clearly underrated as a group, paid too little attention to, and definitely ...
Like the preview? To read this complete article
and 20,359 more in the archive—JOIN NOW!
Easily find high-quality, well-researched materials that provide a Christian perspective on topics ranging from headlines to history.
Start using this invaluable tool TODAY for preparing your Bible studies, presentations, class lectures, sermons, meetings, and more.
|
It's easy and quick to join:
Brought to You by Christianity Today Int'l |  |
|
| 
Find similar articles
E-mail this page
