Melissa Bolton-Klinger

No lie. Generation Change: 150 Ways We Can Change Ourselves, Our Country, and Our World by Jayan Kalathil and Melissa Bolton-Klinger is truly the worst book I've read this year. It's clear political bias and condescending delivery far outweigh the many pearls of good advice sprinkled throughout.

The concept of the book is this: Barack Obama inspired many young people throughout the United States during his campaign and subsequent victory in the 2008 presidential election, now let's take that positive energy and apply it toward bettering our lives, the country, and the world. So far, so good. Sounds like a book worth picking up, right?

Published in 2009, the book capitalizes on the then-recent surge of energy and hope that many of the country's young people embraced.

One of the two main weaknesses I saw in Generation Change is that it takes that enthusiasm and energy a little too far - it's essentially a completely biased Obama love-fest. Quotes from him adorn the cover and supply the epigrams before each chapter, plus are used liberally throughout the text. One of his buzz words - "change" - becomes the name of an entire generation apparently devoted to his leadership. The writers assume that everyone in the generation they're addressing loves Obama. Or at least everyone who reads the book. Take this excerpt:

"Look at President Obama. How do you think he bucked the political norm to become president of the United States of America? If he had stopped and listened to all the naysayers who said there was no way he could win - he was too black, too liberal, too young - we wouldn't have gotten the best thing to hit politics since sliced bread changed the whole sandwich game" (pg. 72).

I want to say outright that while I have the utmost respect for President Obama and the office that he holds, I never "loved" him or thought him to be the savior of our nation, great change agent, hope of the world, etc. Today, even some of the people who did profess these kinds of opinions in 2008 or 2009 have tempered their views at least a little. I don't want to start any political arguments, so let's just say that the Obama-love in this book was just a bit overkill.

The second major problem I had with this book was the delivery. I don't know how old these two authors are, so I'm not sure whether they are a part of the generation they attempt to address (though the summary for it on Amazon declares that it is "by and for the Obama Generation"). Actually, I'm not really sure who, exactly, comprises Generation Change. An article in the Wall Street Journal in 2009 talks about the Obama Generation being made up of the "young" and "new voters". A New York Times article from 2008 implies that college students make up a significant portion of this Generation. So I think we're talking primarily about 20-somethings. That's me and my husband and most of our friends.

So why do these authors address us as if we are all idiots? The slang, the cursing, the overall very casual delivery felt condescending to me. If the authors are in the 20-something age range, I think they tried too hard to make it seem like we are all buds hanging out in the quad and hitting up that awesome kegger together. If they are older than the audience they're addressing, they grossly underestimate the ability of 20-somethings (who are, yes, adults) to read and converse in grown-up language. As if they felt they had to dumb it down so our pop-culture filled minds could comprehend it. Maybe they should have texted the whole thing to us: "hey chk out thes gr8 ideas!!!!". Here are some examples that I found particularly out of line:

"So who out there made and kept a New Year's resolution last year? Um, nope, not us. And why is that? Well, partially because we're too busy partying the night away to remember any resolutions we made the night before" (pg. 72-3).

"So the moral of this story, kids, is that in life, you gotta have some balls. And if you don't have any, well, you best start growing a pair" (pg. 38).

"Wow, this recession really sucks. Where did all of our money go?! Where did all of our jobs go?!" (pg. 97).

And apparently, we're supposed to think that our parents are elderly (mine are in their fifties):

"But if you really want to make a senior's day, the best thing that you can do is pick up the phone and call your parents or grandparents or an aunt or uncle right now" (pg. 95).

The blurb on the back of the book calls the writing "fun" and "witty", but it seems mostly insulting to me. It plays to stereotypes of superficial, drunk college kids. If the authors believe that is their audience, I'm surprised they trust them enough to make some of the changes they discuss in the book.

Speaking of which, it's a shame that the writing in this book is overly biased and condescending because many (not all) of the ideas within it are excellent. Here are some of my favorites:

Create your personal brand (pg. 7)
Be a lifelong learner (pg. 21)
Take a food adventure (pg. 41)
Know what's going on in government (pg. 84)
Plant a garden (pg. 89)
Appreciate being an American (pg. 92)
Be a mentor (pg. 106)
Support our troops (pg. 131)

The entire last section - Change Our World - is a great resource to learn some basics about global problems and causes, including HIV/AIDS, clean water, blood diamonds, land mines, the Great Garbage Patch, and more.

In essence, the information in this book is great, but the way it is presented needs work.… (mer)