Baby Boomer Rewind

This is the story of the Boomer Generation and what it was like growing up during the 1960s, arguably the most exciting and momentous time in our nation's history. Over 77 million Baby Boomers witnessed the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war, the moon landing, Vietnam, the civil rights movement, the women's movement, the sexual revolution and so much more! Whether it was school air raid drills, a first kiss, surfing escapades, Italian Sunday dinners, Christmas eve celebrations, visits to Brooklyn relatives, cross-country trips, high school proms, part-time jobs, college applications, sexual encounters, or family funerals, we all went through some variation of these adolescent experiences, all delightfully described in Baby Boomer Rewind in a series of entertaining stories. There will never be another Woodstock, nor another Beatles. The author recounts these and other memorable events as well as his personal experiences growing up in the 1960s with amusing stories that reveal what life was like in those amazing times, and how different life was then from now.

This is the story of the Boomer Generation and what it was like growing up during the 1960s, arguably the most exciting and momentous time in our nation’s history. Over 77 million Baby Boomers witnessed the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war, the moon landing, Vietnam, the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, the sexual revolution and so much more! Whether it was school air raid drills, a first kiss, surfing escapades, Italian Sunday dinners, Christmas Eve celebrations, visits to Brooklyn relatives, cross-country trips, high school proms, part-time jobs, college applications, sexual encounters, or family funerals, we all went through some variation of these adolescent experiences, all delightfully described in Baby Boomer Rewind in a series of entertaining stories. There will never be another Woodstock, nor another Beatles. The author recounts these and other memorable events as well as his personal experiences growing up in the 1960s with amusing stories that reveal what life was like in those amazing times, and how different life was then from now.

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.

This book traces the history of the baby-boomers, beginning with an explanation of the cause of the post-war baby boom and ending with the contemporary concerns of ageing boomers. It shows how the baby-boomers challenged traditional family attitudes and adopted new lifestyles in the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on 90 interviews conducted with baby boomers living in London and Paris, the book demonstrates how their aspirations for leisure and consumption converged with family responsibilities and obligations. It shows how the baby boomers emerged from an authoritative upbringing to challenge some of the traditional assumptions of the family, such as marriage and cohabitation. The rise of feminism led by the baby-boomers is examined, together with its impact on family forms and structures. The book shows how women’s trajectories veered between the two extremes of family and employment, swerving between the models of stay-at-home mother and working woman. It demonstrates how new family configurations such as solo parenting, and recomposed families were adopted by the baby boomers. Today, as they enter into retirement, the baby-boomers remain closely involved in the lives of their children and parents, although relationships with elderly parents are maintained primarily through a sense of duty and obligation. The book concludes that the baby boomers have both been influenced by and actors to the changes and transformations that have occurred to family life. They reconciled and continue to reconcile, individualism with family obligations. As grandparents often with an ageing parent still alive, the baby boomers wish to keep the independence that has been the hallmark of their generation whilst not abandoning family life.

This encyclopedia defines and contextualizes the Baby Boomer generation and the wide-reaching contributions of its members throughout modern American history. Comprising some 80 million Americans born between 1946 and 1965, the Baby Boomers have significantly changed every aspect of American history and culture. The members of this generation experienced some of the most tumultuous times in American history; indeed, the Boomers helped create these pivotal eras. From the advent of rock and roll to disco and rap, from the sexual revolution to the arrival of AIDS, and from race riots to the election of a black president, Baby Boomers have seen it all. Through nearly 100 alphabetically arranged entries, this encyclopedia gives later generations insight into the contributions of the Baby Boomers, and it helps members of that generation better contextualize their own experiences. Included entries are written in a clear and engaging manner, covering politics and activism, entertainment, the economy, gender roles, arts, pop culture, sports, religion, drug and alcohol use, and many other subject areas.

As I was preparing this work, I asked some young adults (early 20s of today) what they know about the baby boomers. One reply was, You had morals. Today, people dont. Another reply was, My grandmother is one, and she worries a lot. Then he qualified his statement with this idea, No, she really takes good care of us. Thus, he was implying that the baby boomers are very humanitarian. Naturally, each of these statements is a value judgment and is open to opinion, and everyone knows that every generation has good and bad people. However, I would qualify the statement that the first young man said with this idea: I do believe that the baby boom generation has been a generation of traditional values in a very special way that no others in modern times seem to have been. Another way to say that is to say that baby boomers followed their parents values in a way that no other generation of modern times has done.

Baby Boomers experienced a world growing up that is very different from the one we live in today. Some say it's better, and some say it's worse. We can all agree it's very different. These are humor columns about being a Baby Boomer. Baby Boomers came of age in a time when there were water fountains instead of hydration stations. Our childhood was filled with playing outside. When we were forced to stay inside it was tantamount to being punished. We spoke to people in person and understood body language. There was no cyber world. We all had to learn how to deal with reality. There were no computer games. There were pick-up sports based on who had a baseball, football, basketball or other sports equipment. Playing a game depended on if the sports equipment owners were willing to share. Card games were played with real cards. We camped out without adults, went on bike hikes, swam in creeks and more. Now we're middle age or older. Our bodies are changing, and the world around us continues to make less and less sense. This book is about the many common things experienced by Baby Boomers. Just like the song from the group "The Who", I'm "Talkin' 'bout my generation.

The Boomers are the generation that changed everything, from economics to politics to popular culture. This book examines the myriad ways and long-reaching consequences of the now fully "grown up" Baby Boomer generation on America. Once upon a time, the members of the Baby Boomer generation were young, idealistic, and hungry to change the world. And they did create sweeping, irreversible changes throughout American society—but probably not in the ways their younger selves imagined they would. Now that the Boomers are in their late-adult or retirement years, their tremendous legacy can clearly be perceived. In retrospect, the paths the members of this generation took to come to power—and how they came to terms with that power—are also apparent. This single-volume work supplies a broad yet detailed critical guide to the Boomer Generation, containing essays on key people, moments, and phenomena not only during the Boomers' 1960s heyday but also their extensive influences on American culture decades afterward. The contributors address key topics such as the rise of feminism; Civil Rights; the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement; the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, and rock 'n roll; gay rights; idealism, narcissism, and materialism; the influence of television on America, and vice versa; and the transition of Boomers from being "Yippies" to "Yuppies." This work is an ideal text for students in undergraduate or graduate courses in television studies, media studies, cultural studies, and American studies; and is highly appropriate as a supplemental text in literature, history, and philosophy surveys.