Slackonomics: Generation X in the Age of Creative Destruction

by Lisa Chamberlain

Generation X grew up in the 1980s, when Alex P. Keaton was going to be a millionaire by the time he was thirty, greed was good, and social activism was deader than disco. Then globalization and the technological revolution came along, changing everything for a generation faced with bridging the analog and digital worlds. Living in a time of "creative destruction" - when an old economic order is upended by a new one - has deeply affected everyday life...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786718846
• ISBN13: 9780786718849
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Another Rallying Cry for Generation X

Lisa Chamberlain manages to pack a lot into this small format, 188 page book about the role of Generation X (born 1961-1981) in modern society. The style is an easy read and most chapter contain interviews with iconic Gen X'ers. [...]Rather than focusing on pop-culture references, Chamberlain looks at the social and economic environment that Generation X now inhabits and what they are doing about it. Chamberlain is an excellent writer, with the sort of dry wit that most Gen X'ers appreciate. The chapters weave a subtle narrative of how our generation is coping with the challenging times we face today and why our pragmatic attitude is so important. I highly recommend the book for anyone trying to understand Generation X (and that includes many X'ers too!). Dave Sohigian [...]

I Wish I had Written this Book

Lisa Chamberlain had to duck and dodge her way through a publishing industry that believed a book on Generation X was not going to sell. In her final product she slipped the punches beautifully. By hitting the X from an economic perspective, Lisa identified many of the coming changes by focusing on the grounded way that Gen-Xers see the world. It is this hardened take on life and money that will be needed as we face the current wall street disaster. The Baby Boomers had sixteen years and two presidencies to fix the problems of corporate greed and extreme capitalism but not suprisingly, they have failed. Now, as the author acknowledges, it's time for a new Generation to take the reigns. I was thrilled to see this book on the shelf of my library. As a Gen-Xer and an author, it clicked with me on a very personal level. It made me feel more apart of a group and less alone than anything I had previously read. I only wish I had written it myself.

Made Me Want to Grab a Cup of Coffee with the Author

The theme of this book really struck a chord with me (and it made me feel like less of an "outlier" for not yet owning a home). I found it very engaging and accessible with strongly resonating cultural references.

funny, engaging and revelatory

Lisa Chamberlain will make you laugh with her deadpan humor as she takes you back on a nostalgia tour. But, this book is not just about the beauty of the trifecta (Generation X, Slackers, and Nevermind all in 1991) for the slacker generation. It will affirm and validate the life choices you have made from when `you came of age' through `adulthood' given the economic and social forces at play influencing those choices. It wasn't just about separating ourselves from `the crowd' with our flannel shirts. I experienced many `ah ha' moments as I began to string together various experiences within the context Lisa lays out, from career decisions to quality of life considerations, where and how I want to live, the importance of friendships, relationships, etc... It just made a whole lot of sense. And the end has a message ...our responsibility and (more importantly) our ability given our sensibilities to address and tackle many of the challenges thrust upon us by the previous generation.

Smart and Timely

Combining a knowing pop culture savvy with smart cultural analysis and a unique (and accessible) take on the economic trends that have shaped a generation, this book is a must-read for fans of Freakonomics, Malcom Gladwell, Douglas Coupland, Chuck Closterman and the like. My story is featured in the chapter on comedy, and while I had a sense of the book's themes when I was interviewed, I was surprised at the revelations it offered when I read it through: I always thought my unstable, ad-hoc, creativity-driven, dot-com-influenced career and my irreverent take on employment and the randomness of "adult" life were totally original. Turns out I'm just a product of my generation, a fact that is comforting and disconcerting at the same time.