This is the first and still-definitive account of the origins, impact, culture, and future of the baby-boom generation, the most influential in American history.

It is rare in history for people to link their identity with their generation, and even rarer when children and adolescents actually shape society and influence politics. Both phenomena aptly describe the generation born in the decade following the Second World War. These were the baby boomers, viewed by some as the spoiled, selfish generation that had it all, and by others as a shock wave that made love and peace into tangible ideals. In this book, Doug Owram brings us the untold story of this famous generation as it played out its first twenty-five years in Canadian society. Beginning with Dr Spock's dictate that this particular crop of babies must be treated gently, Owram explores the myth and history surrounding this group, from its beginning at war's end to the close of the 1960s. The baby boomers wielded extraordinary power right from birth, Owram points out, and laid their claim on history while still in diapers. He sees the generation's power and sense of self stemming from three factors: its size, its affluent circumstance, and its connection with the 1960s – the fabulous decade of free love, flower power, women's liberation, drugs, protest marches, and rock 'n' roll. From Davy Crockett hats and Barbie dolls to the civil-rights movement and the sexual revolution, the concerns of this single generation became predominant themes for all of society. Thus, Owram's history of the baby-boomers is in many ways a history of the era. Doug Owram has written extensively on cultural icons, Utopian hopes, and the gap between realities and images – all powerful themes in the story of this idealistic generation. A well-researched, lucid, and humorous book, Born at the Right Time is the first Canadian history of the baby-boomers and the society they helped to shape.

A portrait of the baby boom generation celebrates the bad trips, questionable politics, and outrageous styles of the author and his generation while analyzing how the boom shaped contemporary America.

Without the baby boom, the United States would be a different place. The Vietnam War would have lasted longer. Rock and roll would be less pervasive. The civil rights movement would have changed laws and attitudes more slowly. But women might be further ahead in job status and pay if there had been no baby boorr.. Hous ing would be cheaper. The economy would have done better in the 1970s, and people now in their 20s, 30s, and 40s would be making more money. For the past 30 years, the baby boom generation all those born between 1946 and 1964-shook American economics, politics, and culture. But the full impact of 7 8 PREFACE the baby boom is yet to come because the generation is just now gaining the economic and political power to de termine events. Though the baby boom is a diverse generation linked only by its date of birth, that link is critical. The gener ation spans 19 years, which means many boomers ex perience the same things at the same time-going to col lege, getting a job, marrying, divorcing, buying a house, starting a family. Because of this, the baby boom in fluences what America's businesses produce, what the media write about, and what the politicans support. It focuses the nation's attention on itself; its concerns be come the nation's concerns. Whatever age the baby boom is becomes the nation's age.

Between 1946 and 1964 seventy-five million babies were born, dwarfing the generations that preceded and succeeded them. At each stage of its life-cycle, the baby boom's great size has dictated the terms of national policy and public debate. While aspects of this history are well-documented, the relationship between the baby boom and Hollywood has never been explored. And yet, for almost 40 years, baby boomers made up the majority of Hollywood's audience, and since the 1970s, boomers have dominated movie production. Hollywood and the Baby Boom weaves together interviews with leading filmmakers, archival research and the memories of hundreds of ordinary filmgoers to tell the full story of Hollywood's relationship with the boomers for the first time. The authors demonstrate the profound influence of the boomers on the ways that movies were made, seen and understood since the 1950s. The result is a compelling new account that draws upon an unprecedented range of sources, and offers new insights into the history of American movies.

The New York Times–bestselling author looks at the sixties generation, and how he and his seventy-five million accomplices made America what it is today. A onetime editor-in-chief of National Lampoon who also spent years reporting for Rolling Stone and The Atlantic Monthly, P. J. O’Rourke is known as a conservative-minded political humorist and author of such bestsellers as Parliament of Whores. Not everyone knows that he was once a dedicated Marxist hippie type—living up to every stereotype of his postwar generation. In this book, at once a social history and a personal memoir (albeit with some impaired memory involved), he explores, with both fiercely biting wit and fondness, the mess that the baby boomers made, and the impact they’ve had on our world. “Dry wit that makes every chapter a delight . . . As a cultural analyst, O’Rourke’s ability and willingness to simultaneously lampoon and celebrate himself and his generation are unequaled.” —Publishers Weekly “A terrific American memoir, in tone a beguiling mix of Jean Shepherd and Animal House.” —Christopher Buckley, author of Boomsday “Simultaneously hilarious and brainy . . . holds a cracked magnifying glass up to the generation of Americans born between the end of World War II and the early 1960s. Sifting through demographic and economic data and combining the results with generous portions of personal memories, O’Rourke finds much to deplore in the boomer character, but even more to cherish and celebrate.” —Chicago Tribune “A comedic and caustic cautionary tale for future generations—and, for those of us who are Boomers, a nostalgic and hilarious diversion.” —NPR

Summarizes the results of a research on the economic status of the baby boomers and compares their financial prospects with their parents' generation. Presents projections of the income and consumption of the baby boomers at the age of 65.

From high school enemies To shotgun wedding! Growing up, heiress Randi Osterlund found the only person who didn’t care who her parents were was penniless Jason Heim—until a bitter exchange left bad blood between them. Now, years later, Randi needs Jason’s land for a business venture, but the self-made man refuses to sell. There was always something burning between them, and when their arguing turns into one unforgettable night, the consequences risk adding to the ’50s baby boom! From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past. The Osterlund Saga Two generations taking twentieth-century America by storm Book 1: Marriage or Ruin for the Heiress Book 2: The Heiress and the Baby Boom