Fascinating the contrast between the generations. Housing, income, education and future expectations.
An interesting read for anyone with an interest in economics, history or the future of the 20 plus year olds.

This was a really interesting and data-rich book about the differences and similarities between Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z. A deep dive into the roles of the times in which we live, the stage of our lives that we are currently in and the specific attributes of each cohort. I suspect this would be an even better read in hard copy - my ARC version didn’t have any charts, which would have helped enormously.

No matter when or even where we were born, talk about a generational divide is rife in the media. So often we take those thoughts at face value and fail to really consider the veracity of the comments being made. But that is where this book comes in to shake our preconceived ideas.

By means of thorough research, thoughtful open mindedness, and a desire to avoid stereotypical ways of thinking, Duffy draws our attention to the more subtle factors that help shape us, including culture, politics, cohort behaviour, socialisation and financial constraints.

Turns out there is more that unites than divides us, including issues like climate change which are far from being the sole preserve of the young. Our common humanity, our faith, and care for our loved ones and family, are great drivers in how we respond to life’s many challenges.

Written in a light, conversational format, aided by the use of visual statistics, the author managed to maintain my interest in a subject that might seem rather dry on the surface. A fascinating, engaging and erudite read that will make you think. Grateful thanks to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I always feel really intelligent when I’m reading a book like this, even though I don’t know what’s going on half the time. This book had the potential to be really technical and isolating for non-technical readers, but it wasn’t. It was clearly written and easy to digest.

I find this generation split fascinating. I was born in 1993 so technically am in “Generation Y”, and yet we’ve always joked that I was born already middle aged as I prefer the company of older adults, prefer a cup of tea over a cocktail, and like being in bed with a good book by 9pm, so in this sense I identify with a different generation. It is quite a simplistic view to say one person acts or thinks the way they do due to the year they were born.

It was fascinating to see how far back this generational divide goes - Duffy uses examples from Socrates, who was born around 470bc. I did like that Duffy didn’t take it at face value, he appreciated that factors like place of birth, economic background, social status, family etc. also have a major influence on who you are as a person, not just the era of your birth.

The kindle copy I received had no graphics in it, so the table/graph statistics were a bit jumbled for me, but I got the eking they’d be really interesting to read in the finished book.

You can tell Duffy is passionate about his interests as this was a thoroughly researched book, and you can feel the time and effort each chapter must have taken. Definitely food for though.

Generations -Bobby Duffy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Does when you are born shape who you are?”

A must read for those with interests in sociology. Duffy presents findings from a wealth of research surrounding the disparity amid generations; sensationalised through the media and perpetrated by stereotyping.

Many thanks to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this e-ARC.

Bobby Duffy has written a timely, very well researched book that dismantles sensationalist, often negative stereotyping that both the younger and the older generations receive in the media. A good recent example being climate change, perhaps because Greta Thunberg inspired thousands of schoolchildren to activism, climate activism is more associated with the younger generations although people of many ages are activists – founders of Extinction Rebellion being in their late forties and mid fifties.

Duffy shows that context is everything – what was happening in the world, what was happening in the place where you grew up, when were you socialised and so on, influences our thinking, actions and behaviour and looking at one set of factors alone will result in the types of skewed figures the media is so fond of, snowflakes, avocado hand and cancel culture to name some recent favourites. More importantly, Duffy looks at the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis and how it has increased inequality and he also considers the impact of Covid 19.

It’s an eye opening, well-argued book, easily accessible to general reader. I’d recommend it as a Christmas present to all Daily Mail readers.

My thanks to Atlantic Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read Generations.

Well researched book about challenging perceptions, detailed with plenty of graphs for visual aid. Sometimes the statistics did overwhelm me however I enjoyed it as have an interest in sociology.
It was an interesting take on how the generations act or behave in changing times. Lots of learning and a change in some of my perceptions. Only critique is that it could have maybe been more concise as it felt drawn out at times. Nonetheless an interesting read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

My copy didn't contain any graphs which made the statistics difficult to fully appreciate, probably something to do with the download. An interesting book, but it seemed very long and drawn out and I struggled to maintain my concentration. I can certainly relate to a lot of the points made but believe it could be more concise.

This is a very well-researched, scholarly book about generational thinking and its validity. The author warns about the dangers of generalisations and draws on a lot of data and research to come to his conclusions. It’s a shame that I couldn’t see any of the tables or charts as I accessed an early version of the book through Kindle. It is very interesting nonetheless, up-to-date and a must-read for anyone interested in sociology.

An interesting book, but it seemed rather long. It certainly challenged some of my assumptions about different generations, and as a member of "Generation X" I can certainly relate to a lot of the points made. My copy didn't contain any graphs which made the statistics difficult to fully appreciate.

Really interesting book about challenging out preconceptions. Well researched and fantastically detailed. It made me look at a number of my own assumptions in a critical light. Fascinating book.

I'm afraid I struggled with this. There is lots of interesting information, but I just felt totally overwhelmed by statistics.

For me, one thing that truly highlighted the inter-generational divide was the repeated use of the verb 'to bake' with no reference to the making of bread, cakes, etc. That's an example of the evolution of language which has clearly passed me by until reading this book!

This is a fascinating take on how the generations act or behave in different scenarios across the world based on data. The facts and figures hit you hard and offer an incredible insight. Do not underestimate how much research has gone into this. Not sure if its because I received an early copy, but I couldn't view the tables/graphs and this did hinder my understanding and enjoyment- I am a visual person so this was disappointing. Sure final versions will be tip top though. Learnt lots and perceptions did change.