The Boomer Bookshelf

In the current issue of Newsweek, Malcolm Jones looks at the books that define the boomer generation:

Though really, boomers should probably be flattered that someone still considers us a target audience at all. But the underlying suggestion is valid enough: was there ever a time when the boomer generation could be defined by a common bookshelf? Certainly most people can, without much trouble, think of titles and authors and characters that serve as a kind of shorthand for readers who came of age in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Holden Caulfield needs no introduction. “Fear and loathing” is a catchphrase that won't die. Green eggs and ham are on everyone’s menu.

Clearly, what defines boomer reading material is in the eye of the beholder, as well as how you opt to determine the slice (opinions vary). Take, for instance, Jones’ nomination for the book that defines “his” generation. Please:

...if I had to nominate one book to stand for my generation, it wouldn’t be a novel, or a memoir, or a graphic novel. It would be The Whole Earth Catalog. First published in 1968, the brainchild of Stewart Brand went through many subsequent editions. In it you could find information on raising goats, building a geodesic dome -- just about anything.

You can read the whole piece -- and maybe make up your own reading list -- here.