Book description
Snapshots of the U. S.'s last nine generations-from the creators of
the Mindset List media sensation
Just as high school graduates in 1957 couldn't imagine life without
zippers, those of 2009 can't imagine having to enter phone booths and
deposit coins in order to call someone from the street corner. Every
August, the Mindset List highlights the cultural touchstones that have
shaped the lives of that year's incoming college class. Now this
fascinating book extends the Mindset List approach to dramatize what
it was like to grow up for every American generation since 1880,
showcasing the remarkable changes in what Americans have considered
"normal" about the world around them.
- Expands Tom McBride and Ron Nief's popular annual Mindset Lists to
explore the mindset of nine generations of Americans, from 1880 to
the future high school graduates of 2030
- Offers a novel and absorbing way to understand the frame of
reference of Americans through history, whether it's the high school
grads of 1918, who viewed riding an elevator as a thrill second only
to roller coasters, or those of 2009, who have always thought of
"friend" as an active verb
- Puts a human face on the evolution of historical changes related
to technology, the struggle for rights and equality, the calamities
of war and depression, and other areas
- The annual Mindset List garners extensive media attention,
including on Today, The Early Show, the NBC Nightly
News, CNN, and Fox as well as in the Wall Street Journal,
the New York Times, USA Today, the Los Angeles
Times, Time magazine, and hundreds of international publications
Whatever your own generational mindset, this book will give you an
entertaining and important new tool for understanding the unique
perspective and experience of Americans over more than a hundred and
fifty years.
TOM McBRIDE
is a professor of English and Keefer Professor of Humanities at Beloit
College, where he was also the longtime director of the first-year
students' program.
RON NIEF
is the former public affairs director of Beloit College who developed
the Mindset List in 1998.
