The Fourth Turning
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First came the postwar High, then the Awakening of the '60s and '70s, and now the Unraveling. This audacious and provocative book tells us what to expect just beyond the start of the next century. Are you ready for the Fourth Turning?Strauss and Howe will change the way you see the world--and your place in it. In The Fourth Turning, they apply their generational theories to the cycles of history and locate America in the middle of an unraveling period, on the brink of a crisis. How you prepare for this crisis--the Fourth Turning--is intimately connected to the mood and attitude of your particular generation. Are you one of the can-do "GI generation," who triumphed in the last crisis? Do you belong to the mediating "Silent Majority," who enjoyed the 1950s High? Do you fall into the "awakened" Boomer category of the 1970s and 1980s, or are you a Gen-Xer struggling to adapt to our splintering world? Whatever your stage of life, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for America's next rendezvous with destiny.From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Save yourself some time and just watch the recap of this dull book.
We Are In A “FOURTH TURNING,” What Does That Mean?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeVyfiP0cLk&list=LL&index=2&t=5s
The Fourth Turning: Why American ‘Crisis' May Last Until 2030
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yfb2zQjKWE&list=LL&index=1
Strong men make good times.
Good times make weak men.
Weak men make hard times.
Hard times make strong men.
Most of us have heard this saying at some point. But have you thought of the implications of this? Is there reason to believe this is even true?
The authors have taken the time to look into this and recognize there is a recurrent pattern through the history of Anglo-American civilization. Generations have characteristics based on where they are in the cycle (which turning). Cycles come in roughly 80 to 100-year periods (called saeculum). Our saeculum started with WW2.
This book was written in 1997 and is remarkably prescient and accurate on timing. As I've read through it, I've been amazed at the things they point out and predicted. It somewhat reminds me of Asimov's concept of psychohistory from the Foundation books. It's hard to predict what specifically will happen, but they do predict that something significant will happen in the early 2000's to end the 3rd turning and send us into the 4th turning and that in 2020-2025 there will be a major crisis.
We're right on time, folks. One of the most interesting sections of the book was the end where they talk about what actions we should consider taking these things into account. Sadly, it appears our world's leadership haven't read the book as they're not doing ANY of the things mentioned. Sadly, on a more local and individual level people aren't either. At least that can be attributed to ignorance. Now that you've read this review, don't let yourself fall into that category. I wish I had read this 10-15 years ago.
