Published by Da Capo Press, July 2008
Publishers Weekly
“Freelance writer Chamberlain’s exploration of the social and professional choices of Generation X is a knowledgeable and well-written addition to the growing library of books devoted to the “alternative” generation. The author focuses primarily on the way that the young men and women of the 1990s made their money, and does a nice job conveying the tough economic fortunes of the beginning of that decade and the creative and financial boom of the Internet’s early days, as well as the eventual fallout when it went bust. Chamberlain uses each chapter of the book to address a specific aspect of the generation in question, often using a combination of cultural touchstones and sociology books to illustrate her point; a chapter about Gen-X relationships ponders the Richard Linklater film Before Sunrise and quotes extensively from Stephanie Coontz’s Marriage, a History. Often, the text is taken over by monologues from Gen-Xers themselves, who narrate their winding paths through the job market, usually ending in creative and relatively fulfilling jobs as a result of their ingenuity. While the book is full of interesting mini-arguments, including an entertaining takedown of Ethan Watters’s Urban Tribes, it doesn’t present a cohesive vision. Rather, it serves to illuminate the many disparate pockets of a group that continues to resist easy categorization.”
Jacob S. Hacker, Professor of Political Science, Yale University, and author, The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Insecurity and the Decline of the American Dream
“Slackonomics provides an engaging, informative, and surprisingly humorous tour through the booming, buzzing confusion of Gen-X economic life. Though a fellow Gen-Xer, I’d never thought of myself as part of a generation, but that’s Chamberlain’s big point: In an era of creative destruction, some of us are riding the up elevator while others are heading down—and the situation might be reversed next week.”
Kurt Andersen, author of Heyday and host of the radio show Studio 360
“Despite the fact that I was born during the Eisenhower Administration, I’ve always felt more a more natural kinship with Generation X than with my own cohort. And now, just as Gen Xers are (ha!) entering middle age, Lisa Chamberlain’s smart, enterprising and entertaining book has helped me understand some of the reasons why—as well as why I tend to be 51% hopeful about America, notwithstanding our current collective confusion.”
Zephyr Teachout
“This book is incredibly easy to read, and full of interesting observations and theories. Reading it is like sitting through five courses at a great dinner party—a Gen X dinner party—full of confused and brilliant friends, full of the insights and insecurities of the peculiar demographic of middle class kids who came of age in the 70s and 80s, and can’t stop coming of age. It reflects seriously on the economic challenges faced by a chaotic, and fundamentally romantic, group of Americans.”
BN.com’s Notable Reader
“A Suzy Orman for the Deconstructionist set, Chamberlain is witty, brainy, fabulous. A necessary addition to any collapsing IKEA bookshelf.” —Sandra Tsing Loh
Salon.com
“[A] funny, thoughtful, and surprisingly thorough examination of the forces that shaped Gen Xers’ unique perspectives on the world….Weaving together pop culture, statistics, observations and anecdotes, Slackonomics is the sort of resonant, witty, highly readable cultural commentary that we were way too self-involved to read (or write) 15 years ago, back when the world still gave a crap about us.” —Heather Havrilesky