The lucky few: Between the greatest generation and the baby boom

Abstract

Born during the Great Depression and World War Two (1929 - 1945) - between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boom - an entire generation has slipped between the cracks of history. Yet behind the scenes, these Lucky Few became the first American generation smaller than the one before them, and the luckiest generation of Americans ever. As children they experienced the most stable intact parental families in the nation's history. Lucky Few women married earlier than any other generation of the century and helped give birth to the Baby Boom, yet also gained in education compared to earlier generations. Lucky Few men made the greatest gains of the century in schooling, earned veterans benefits like the Greatest Generation but served mostly in peacetime with only a fraction of the casualties, came closest to full employment, and spearheaded the trend toward earlier retirement. More than any other generation, Lucky Few men advanced into professional and white-collar jobs while Lucky Few women concentrated in the clerical "pink-collar ghetto." Even in retirement and old age the Lucky Few remain in the right place at the right time. Here is their story, and the story of how they have affected other recent generations of Americans before and since. "Carlson's work provides an examination of a previously neglected generation while at the same time teaching us how important generational location in general is in determining life chances. It will be a treasured work for the scholars in this area". Steve H. Murdock, Director, U.S. Census Bureau "Carlson makes the issue of a cohort and cohort analysis come alive". Dudley L. Poston, Jr., Texas A&M University "The richly documented account of the varying fates of American generations, based chiefly on IPUMS data, provides a fresh perspective on the history of the United States in the twentieth century. This book will become a classic of historical sociology". Steven Ruggles, Director, IPUMS Project "As a member of the Lucky Few generation, I salute Woody Carlson's masterful analysis of this nearly forgotten cohort of Americans". John Weeks, San Diego State University. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.