3.5
The Fourth Turning
ByPublisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Discover the game-changing theory of the cycles of history and what past generations can teach us about living through times of upheaval—with deep insights into the roles that Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials have to play—now with a new preface by Neil Howe.
“One of the best efforts to give us an integrated vision of where we are going.”—The Wall Street Journal
First comes a High, a period of confident expansion. Next comes an Awakening, a time of spiritual exploration and rebellion. Then comes an Unraveling, in which individualism triumphs over crumbling institutions. Last comes a Crisis—the Fourth Turning—when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history.
William Strauss and Neil Howe will change the way you see the world—and your place in it. With blazing originality, The Fourth Turning illuminates the past, explains the present, and reimagines the future. Most remarkably, it offers an utterly persuasive prophecy about how America’s past will predict what comes next.
Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history. The authors look back five hundred years and uncover a distinct pattern: Modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting about the length of a long human life, each composed of four twenty-year eras—or “turnings”—that comprise history’s seasonal rhythm of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth. Illustrating this cycle through a brilliant analysis of the post–World War II period, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for this rendezvous with destiny.
“One of the best efforts to give us an integrated vision of where we are going.”—The Wall Street Journal
First comes a High, a period of confident expansion. Next comes an Awakening, a time of spiritual exploration and rebellion. Then comes an Unraveling, in which individualism triumphs over crumbling institutions. Last comes a Crisis—the Fourth Turning—when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history.
William Strauss and Neil Howe will change the way you see the world—and your place in it. With blazing originality, The Fourth Turning illuminates the past, explains the present, and reimagines the future. Most remarkably, it offers an utterly persuasive prophecy about how America’s past will predict what comes next.
Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history. The authors look back five hundred years and uncover a distinct pattern: Modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting about the length of a long human life, each composed of four twenty-year eras—or “turnings”—that comprise history’s seasonal rhythm of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth. Illustrating this cycle through a brilliant analysis of the post–World War II period, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for this rendezvous with destiny.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Fourth Turning Reviews
3.5
“Interesting in concept, boring as a read, not worth the audiobook
Basically only read as a physical book. Too many tables & charts that dont translate well.
I really enjoyed the idea of cyclical time & generational archetypes but I also felt like this could've been more susinct. Lots of "to add to that thought..." instead of stating & moving on kind felt like an overly fluffy book. However you could tell the authors were well read, researched, & excited to share their findings. Maybe I'm not the right audience
Could be summed up in a couple poems/quotes on the idea.
"Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times." G. Michael Hopf
I think the most interesting part was their inferences / hypothesis regarding what was to come next. Reading this in 2026, knowing it was published in 1997 before Y2K, 9/11, & covid really seals the deal imo. Captivating enough for me to finish but was a slog to read”
About William Strauss
William Strauss and Neil Howe are the authors of Generations: The History of America’s Future and 13th-GEN and founding partners of the consulting firm, LifeCourse Associates. Strauss was a renowned speaker, writer, historian, and playwright. He was also the co-founder of the Capitol Steps, a political cabaret. Howe is a historian and economist who speaks frequently on generations, the economy, and social change. He is also the managing director of demography at Hedgeye, president of Saeculum Research, and a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Global Aging Institute. Howe lives in Great Falls, Virginia.
Other books by William Strauss
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