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Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics | 
 enlarge | Authors: Morley Winograd, Michael D. Hais
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.50
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Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 21905
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0813543010
Dewey Decimal Number: 320.973014
EAN: 9780813543017
Publication Date: March 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
It happens in America every four decades and it is about to happen again. America's demand for change in the 2008 election will cause another of our country's periodic political makeovers. This realignment, like all others before it, will result from the coming of age of a new generation of young Americans-the Millennial Generation-and the full emergence of the Internet-based communications technology that this generation uses so well. Beginning in 2008, almost everything about American politics and government will transform-voting patterns, the fortunes of the two political parties, the issues that engage the nation, and our government and its public policy.
Building on the seminal work of previous generational theorists, Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais demonstrate and describe, for the first time, the two types of realignments-"idealist" and "civic"-that have alternated with one another throughout the nation's history. Based on these patterns, Winograd and Hais predict that the next realignment will be very different from the last one that occurred in 1968. "Idealist" realignments, like the one put into motion forty years ago by the Baby Boomer Generation, produce, among other things, a political emphasis on divisive social issues and governmental gridlock. "Civic" realignments, like the one that is coming, and the one produced by the famous GI or "Greatest" Generation in the 1930s, by contrast, tend to produce societal unity, increased attention to and successful resolution of basic economic and foreign policy issues, and institution-building.
The authors detail the contours and causes of the country's five previous political makeovers, before delving deeply into the generational and technological trends that will shape the next. The book's final section forecasts the impact of the Millennial Makeover on the elections, issues, and public policies that will characterize America's politics in the decades ahead.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 MM the future political wind direction December 20, 2008
Quaismodo (San Diego)
Great read for educated American voters over the age of 55...especially awaking to those over 65 who just "don't get it!"
The message is hard to read after 50 or so pages. It isn't the language or the length of sentences; it's the level of information. This is a read for a quiet place, your Starbuck's and a sweet. I would compare this work to entering an art galley and trying to assimilate all the works at once.
For many seniors, this is entering a world of cultural shock.
The work could be cut and shortened; there are too many pathways presented.
Thoughtful and sobering December 19, 2008
Jon Hunt (Old Greenwich, Ct. USA)
"Millennial Makeover", a recent book addressing the changes occurring socially and politically in the United States, is a welcome addition to those who want to peel back the layers of understanding how and why the country is changing. The insights are fascinating and the presentation is revealing.
Authors Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais remind us of turning points in the nation's political history and these changes seem to happen every thirty or forty years. Beginning in 1828 with the election of Andrew Jackson, the cycles renew in 1860, 1896, 1932, 1968 and 2008. Written before this year's election (much to my surprise) the authors confidently predict the major modifications of the current election year. We are now headed into a "civic" era as opposed to an "idealist" one (from which we have just emerged) and the political ramifications couldn't be clearer. Winograd and Hais introduce us to the newest generation...the "Millennials"...those born between 1982 and 2003. How they differ from (and in some instances mirror) past generations is one of the more perceptible aspects of their narrative. "Millennial Makeover" is a solid book and one that should be read by those interested in progress and process.
 Explains why Obama won and the next 20 years November 10, 2008
Bob Stone (Los Angeles, CA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Written a year before the 2008 election, Millenial Makeover explains why Obama's election was no fluke and was not simply a reaction to the G W Bush presidency. Rather it was a result--just one--of the most significant demographical and cultural change since the baby boom of 1946-60. The millenials are very different from the boomers and from Gen X. Read this and learn what's in store for America in the next twenty years.
Millennial Makeover October 28, 2008
E. Payne
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A difficult book to read, but very challenging and informative. I enjoyed it very much.
 Political pop science for the convinced July 2, 2008
Stephen B. Waters (Rome, NY USA)
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
Winograd and Hais theorize that American political constituencies cycle and recycle every 40-years with each cycle fueled by new technologies that empower new constituencies. Ostensibly, the millennial "civic purpose" generation, by some astrological virtue, is poised to assume a mantle of power. If the authors are correct, then the Greatest Generation was great because of its place in a 40-year cycle and not because of the harsh reality of having to fight Adolph Hitler or die.
To support their theory, the authors would have us believe that "long periods of great stability in electoral outcomes" can be deduced from a pattern like Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush (D, R, D, D, R, R, D, R, R, D, R).
Often, in place of real historical events, the authors cite contemporary fiction -- video philosophy from Star Wars' Yoda or fictional facts from J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" that match their worldview. Potter may demonstrate fictional millennial virtues, but the authors avoid Dolores Umbrage, the teacher whose politically correct teaching ignores actual useful defenses against the dark arts. A champion of central authority, as the authors suggest millennials are, she and the Ministry of Magic avoid at all costs facing the "reality" of evil. Life seems so much easier when history begins at dawn.
The authors presume that Democrats alone can pull this generation's technological sword from the stone. Never mind that technology is a tool for whoever cares to learn enough to use it -- not just Democrats or Republicans, but fundamentalists, radicals, and reactionaries of all persuasions. The authors overlook the 60-year-old ideas of Marshall McLuhan, who warned of the importance of a medium's cognitive effects. Lose your content and you lose your bearings.
The book promotes now-ness, technological infatuation, and me-ness to suggest millennials deserve power because they are who they are -- which makes them ripe for picking by any chameleon-like leader. Look elsewhere for help understanding the past or planning a future because this book is a honey-pot of buzzwords for the convinced.
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