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197 reviews for:
A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America
Bruce Cannon Gibney
3.35 AVERAGE
197 reviews for:
A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America
Bruce Cannon Gibney
3.35 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
No surprise, Bruce Gibney doesn't like boomers. He's a few years older than i am, but also in the tail end of Gen X. His college roommate founded PayPal, which seems to be where his money came from. He probably would have done well in any case, but that is a lucky break for anyone.
The biggest problem with the book is an assumed and implied unity on the part of the boomers (the white ones). he frames a lot of his assertions around a sort of boomer conspiracy to screw their pa\rents, children, and grandchildren to benefit themselves. I agree with him that the boomers made some bad decisions, supported bad, hypocritical policies, and seem to have grabbed more than their fair share of the pie. I don't think they had that kind of unity.
It comes off as a bit of a rant, but does review a lot of policies that have bearing on me and my children. It also pokes a few holes in common perceptions of history. Vietnam is the best example. My parents want me to think they always opposed Vietnam, and maybe they did, but they would have been out of step with their generation who were mostly hawkish until the draft really picked up.
The biggest problem with the book is an assumed and implied unity on the part of the boomers (the white ones). he frames a lot of his assertions around a sort of boomer conspiracy to screw their pa\rents, children, and grandchildren to benefit themselves. I agree with him that the boomers made some bad decisions, supported bad, hypocritical policies, and seem to have grabbed more than their fair share of the pie. I don't think they had that kind of unity.
It comes off as a bit of a rant, but does review a lot of policies that have bearing on me and my children. It also pokes a few holes in common perceptions of history. Vietnam is the best example. My parents want me to think they always opposed Vietnam, and maybe they did, but they would have been out of step with their generation who were mostly hawkish until the draft really picked up.
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I can't read books where the author refers to people as "blacks"
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Dense language, monotonous voice actor, depressing topic
Nuggets of wisdom buried in a whole heap of facts shoehorned into a clickbait-y mold. His premise that our country is deeply broken is not wrong, and to his credit, he offers specific fixes in the last chapter (many authors are content to simply relay the problem). But even as a millennial primed and eager to lay current problems at the feet of The Olds, his argument that they are literal sociopaths felt like a stretch.
That said, don't skip the afterword. Like a chili whose flavors meld overnight, the afterword synthesizes the previous 17 chapters into something mellower and that makes much more sense.
That said, don't skip the afterword. Like a chili whose flavors meld overnight, the afterword synthesizes the previous 17 chapters into something mellower and that makes much more sense.