<p>Hailed by national leaders as politically diverse as former Vice President Al Gore and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, <i>Generations</i> has been heralded by reviewers as a brilliant, if somewhat unsettling, reassessment of where America is heading.</p><p>William Strauss and Neil Howe posit the history of America as a succession of generational biographies, beginning in 1584 and encompassing every-one through the children of today. Their bold theory is that each generation belongs to one of four types, and that these types repeat sequentially in a fixed pattern. The vision of <i>Generations</i> allows us to plot a recurring cycle in American history -- a cycle of spiritual awakenings and secular crises -- from the founding colonists through the present day and well into this millenium.</p><p><i>Generations</i> is at once a refreshing historical narrative and a thrilling intuitive leap that reorders not only our history books but also our expectations for the twenty-first century.