X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking | 
|  | | | Title: | X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking | | Author: | Jeff Gordinier | | Publisher: | Viking Adult | | Type: | Book / Hardcover | | Publication Date: | 27 March, 2008 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0670018589 / 9780670018581 | | List Price: | $21.95 | | You Save: | $7.02 | | Amazon Price: | $14.93 | |
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Product Description
A shrewd and hilarious call to arms for the generation that fell between the cracks
Jammed in between the garish showboating of the baby boomers and the tabloid- trash stunts of the millennials, the discerning generation that gave us Yahoo! and Nirvana has been quietly and inexorably changing the face of American culture. The men and women who came of age in the era of Lollapalooza have been underrepresented for too long in pop sociology, but reporter and essayist Jeff Gordinier argues that it’s time for the slackers to rise up and take charge. Taking off from his controversial Details essay “Has Generation X Already Peaked?” Gordinier takes the reader along on an enthralling, eye-opening journey—from the expatriate garrets of Prague to the amped-up offices of dot-com San Francisco, from the muddy fields of Woodstock ’94 to the celebrity-obsessed media machine of Us Weekly—in his quest to find the essence of X. Along the way he shows how Gen X innovations in art, comedy, technology, activism, and (gasp!) business have come to define the way we live now. A proud, accomplished, and unrepentant X-er, Jeff Gordinier writes with insight and biting wit about the generation that time forgot—and makes a convincing case for Gen X as maybe, secretly, the “greatest generation” of all. Like Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs and The Tipping Point, X Saves the World flips conventional wisdom on its head and expertly captures the spirit of a strange and crucial era in American society.
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Customer Reviews:
• Food For Thought, If Not A Call To Arms 07 May, 2008
This was a gift from my father, who said I'd enjoy it. I figured it had to be pretty good, since Gordinier drops the f-bomb early and often and my father does NOT tolerate foul language. If Dad was recommending this in spite of the cursing, I figured I was in for a good read.
I appreciate Gordinier's view that the term "Generation X" doesn't necessarily encompass or exclude those born during a vague time frame--even though I am pretty solidly in the accepted birth date range. "Generation X" is, by Gordinier's definition, an attitude of antipathy towards the manufactured monoculture.
I have two complaints about Gordinier's examples of GenX culture. One is his heavy (and constant) adoration of the band Nirvana. While I agree that their influence on music and culture was enormous, I don't know that they quite deserve the headline spot here. I don't think any single band would. The frequent lauding of Cobain gets a little tiresome. The second is his endorsement of Barack Obama largely because Obama presents an alternative to the Boomer (or older) candidates. If the Republican party had a young, charismatic up-and-comer who was interested in shaking up the system, would Gordinier give that person equal time? I'm not sure. Gordinier's excessively heavy focus on one particular band and one particular political candidate is the only reason I wouldn't give the book four stars. I'm not saying he shouldn't talk up his favorite band and political figure in his own book--I'd just rather he not do it in a book that is supposedly describing a fairly large segment of the population.
A reviewer complained that Gordinier attempts to turn "insipid pop music" into something "cheesily delightful." I believe that reviewer missed a crucial point of the book. I don't believe that Gordinier denies that a lot of music from his high school years was total crap. In fact, that's why he devotes so many words to the zeitgeist change brought about by (you guessed it) Nirvana. There wouldn't have been a need for change if everything had already been so wonderful.
Gordinier admits that the idea of "saving the world" is a bad cliche from a previous generation. Instead of trying to save the whole world he focuses on the small, the local, and (most importantly) the possible.
This book isn't a rallying cry. It isn't a defense. It isn't a manifesto. It's simply a reassurance that all is not lost--there are some like-minded individuals out there who are still fighting tiny, local battles against a homogenized, sterile system. A lot of those people seem to be winning, and Gordinier is encouraging other Xers to consider putting up a similar fight.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A4RPQ27PXASUB
• X Book Hits The Mark 28 June, 2008
As an Xer, I resonated with the viewpoints in this book. Generation X is overlooked because Xers don't push for ego recognition - it makes so much sense. The author gives good examples to bring his points home. The points that the author makes about the generational differences between Xers, boomers and millennials gave me insight on those of different generations and my own. Plus, it made me laugh out loud several times.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A304X6VUXYGUQC
• Oh I Used To Be Disgusted And Now I Try To Be Amused 15 April, 2008
I could not have enjoyed this book more. Gordinier sorts out key cultural moments and highlights striking generational exemplars, revealing a vivid image of a generation of people unlike those before or after. But his gift is not just inspiration and insight; it is also the wisdom not to take himself or his arguments too seriously.
If turning on PBS and seeing a Flo'n'Eddie Hippiefest fundraiser makes you want to scream or you find yourself nauseated by the the 20-somethings in your office strutting around in their $500 jeans like they own the place, this book will help cleanse you of your venom and turn toward the positive.
Aw, who am I kidding: Laughing at pathetic boomers or materialist, nihilistic millennials is just too much fun to pass up. Buy this book!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A150BZSVB1ZWYL
• One Thing That Doesn't Suck . . . This Book 27 May, 2008
I was born in the early eighties and am not sure that I belong to any particular generation (especially generation X), but it didn't much matter . . . this book is so amusing, I could have been a flapper and I would have been thoroughly entertained by it (though I may not have gotten as many of the pop culture and/or hipster music references). The best thing about this book is that it's so darn smart. Though I learned a whole lot from Gordinier's insights and research, the tone so whimsical and appealing that I barely noticed it until after I put the book down. Imagine Malcolm Gladwell with a wicked sense of humor and you're halfway there. Encore!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A8B9NARNLTDQH
• ...what's To Become Of My Kids??? 16 May, 2008
...laugh out loud wit, humor, sarcasm, and angst amidst buckets of factual information of cultural significance. Being born in 1960, I feel an honorary X-man myself, much more attuned to Gordinier's world view, and much less aligned with Dennis Hopper.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A309DTSN57DBBD
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