The Fourth Turning

I'm reading a book titled "The Fourth Turning" by William Strauss and Neil Howe. Strauss and Howe have written about history and the development of generations in societies. Mixing solid understanding of present generational divisions, with some fairly broad generalizations, Strauss and Howe attempt to move from history to prophecy.

"In The Fourth Turning, authors Strauss and Howe apply their generational theories to the cycles of history and locate America in the middle of an unraveling period, on the brink of a crisis. How you prepare for this crisis--the Fourth Turning--is intimately connected to the mood and attitude of your particular generation. Are you one of the can-do "GI generation," who triumphed in the last crisis? Do you belong to the mediating "Silent Majority," who enjoyed the 1950s High? Do you fall into the "awakened" Boomer category of the 1970s and 1980s, or are you a Gen-Xer struggling to adapt to our splintering world? Whatever your stage of life, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for America's next rendezvous with destiny.

Although in the book they expect this era of crisis-- the fourth turning-- to begin by 2005 and last until 2025, They give leeway in saying "give or take a few years." It seems clear with present trends it is just around the corner. We are (and will be) witnessing a massive global realignment that could be the precursor for what they envision: World War III."

This book was published in 1997, but I am amazed at the discussion of the fourth turning (predicted to begin around 2005 plus or minus 3 or 4 years), given the events of September 11, 2001. They made it clear that America was on the verge of a crisis.

This book has given me a whole new perspective on history and I understand better than ever how history tends to repeat itself. Human nature, after all, has not really changed over thousands of years.