We know there's an active boomer cohort in Australia and in the UK, but a new book examines the boomer generation in Russia. Russia's Sputnik Generation: Soviet Baby Boomers Talk About Their Lives, by Dr. Donald J. Raleigh, a historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explores the lives of eight Russians who came of age after World War ll. From Sputnik through Gorbachev and Russia's current economy, Raleigh presents in-depth interviews with Boomers who have their own take on the second half of the 20th century.

I'm getting a strong dose of Genx lit these days...and I'm loving it. Even if you hardly actually know any 30-somethings and your kids are too young and you're too old, "Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress: Tales of Growing Up Groovy and Clueless" by Susan Jane Gilman has a bunch of a-ha moments. Gilman, who grew up in New York City the child of hippie parents, recounts some of the less than golden moments of her youth--finding religion (or not), dealing with the popular girls, little-girl dreams of adulthood, boys, crushes, jobs, and all the angst of being a girl in the modern world.

A review on femail.com says:
"Susan's experiences are universal - whether it's coping with mean girls at school, working for a feminist boss who, it turns out, is horrible to the women who work for her, or simply being terminally uncool. Reading like terrific fiction, this entertaining memoir will strike a chord with 20- and 30-something women everywhere."

Don't let the 20-30-something reference stop you; this is a terrific read. You can buy the book at Amazon.

Second, I am shamelessly plugging a book I've only read excerpts of. Another book that has absolutely nothing to do with Boomers, but hey--my sandbox, my rules. "Everything I'm Cracked Up to Be : A Rock & Roll Fairy Tale" was written by Jennifer Trynin, the daughter of a dear friend. A Boston singer-songwriter who was almost famous, Trynin took her experiences with near-greatness and the music industry and has written a cautionary tale for all would-be rock stars.

According to Entertainment Weekly, "Trynin's terse, hilarious, you-are-there prose is as strong as her songwriting was, and this will remain an excellent primer for any rockers considering signing with a major label...for however many months said labels continue to exist."

One way to support the music is to buy the book at Amazon.

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A visitor posted a rave ,of this book, The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy, in the forum. I can hardly believe I haven't read it...OK, or even heard of it. But I'm rushing to Amazon right now to buy it.

If you want to see some great photographs of rock and roll icons as well as some faux icons, check out Bob Gruen's website. He has been described in the press as the rock photographer--don't miss his photos of Bob Dylan and of John Lennon. Unfortunately he doesn't sell photos online but if you live in New York, L.A., or New Orleans, you can find 'em there.

He also has some book of photography out, including John Lennon: The New York Years, available at Amazon.

A few weeks ago, the New York Times Book Review ran an essay by A. O. Scott critiquing " books about, inspired by or making reference to Bruce Springsteen.' It was a good article for Bruce fans who don't mind their fandom one step removed from the music or for students of pop culture. But the coolest thing about the article was a response in this week's Letter's section from the Boss himself. I'd like to think he came across the essay during a leisurely read of the Sunday Times between playing with his kids and noodling a new song idea on the guitar.

Seems Bruce got a bit touchy about this canonization of his 'image' and I at least was glad to see it. As our musical icons are more and more dissected, analyzed, and categorized to death, it's good remember that, at some point back in time, Bruce was just a guy from down the shore.

Published: July 31, 2005

The merits of my music and performances over the last 30 years I gladly leave to the fans, critics and writers. On the subject of "image," however, I thought I might be able to provide some simple clarification.

The "saintly, man of the people" thing I occasionally see attached to my name is bull----. It was perhaps invented, like myself, by Jon Landau . . . or maybe by that high school kid somewhere who supposedly wrote "Blowin' in the Wind." Life, art and identity are, of course, much more complicated. How do I know? I heard it in a Bruce Springsteen song.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Rumson, N.J.

Find some of those books about Bruce.

Well, if I do ever go into a nursing home, I hope Maureen Dowd is there too so I'll be able to revel in her point of view--both political--and personal, like this
musing on aging from the New York Times.

Her most recent Times Op Ed columns.

And when you're picking up a copy of her new book, Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk please buy one for us, too.

Chuck Nyren is a funny writer. Well, he's a serious writer who's funny. We like his stuff so we figured, since everyone is trying to figure out how to market to Baby Boomers, his book will probably be the best guide yet. As the author says, "It's pretty outrageous -- at least for a business book."

Thanks to my college-age son, I've rediscovered Shel Silverstein and his adult writings. All those years of reading "The Giving Tree" to my sons had made me forget the edgy songs, poems, and cartoons Silverstein produced. Did you know that he wrote "Boy Named Sue" and "Cover of the Rolling Stone" and "Sylvia's Mother?" I did too, but had forgotten. This great site has a wide sampling of his work including the poem that made my day today, "The Perfect High."

The site also includes the version of "Uncle Shelby's ABZ" that was originally published in Playboy in 1961. The hard copy book is available at Amazon along with sloppy sardonic musical treasures like "Freakin at the Freakers Ball."

When you are sick to death of our politically correct world, take a big hit of Shel.

"Kill Your Idols" topples our music icons in critiques by contemporary music writers. We haven't read this, but we wish someone would.
Extra credit for a book review.

UPDATE: Reading the reviews at Amazon.com, we came across this:

"Hooey
Older rock critics NEVER liked The Best of the Doors, Dark Side of the Moon, Ram, and Sgt. Pepper's (or for that matter, most of 'em, Kick Out the Jams, which DeRogatis's hero Lester Bangs tried to kill on contact), so what's the point here? A slim pretense on which to hang a payday, but then, that's authorial style for ya. And by the way, if somebody can't hear what's great about Exile on Main Street and the Sex Pistols, they're the dope.--Dave Marsh"

Wait, is that the same Dave Marsh who used to write for "Rolling Stone"? Hmmm.

We received this blurb from a reader and thought it might interest fellow boomers:

We have just published a book you will enjoy. "A Tongue in the Sink: The Harrowing Adventures of a Baby Boomer Childhood" is a humorous look at growing up in a small town in the 1950s, with reflections on the changing nature of childhood and on aging (besides "ugh"). The author, Dennis Fried, is a former physicist, philosophy professor, and stand-up comic, and is the author of the best-selling pet title "The Canine Guide to Living with Humans without Going Mad." You can learn more about both books at Eiffel Press

Find the book at Amazon

Rock Confidential
By Coral Amende, Plume Books, Penguin Books, Ltd, 2000.

I bought this book for my teenage son several years ago, probably more to show him how hip a Baby Boomer I was than for his edification. Taking a look-through before I gave it to him, I realized it was too full of sex, drugs, and rock and roll for his tender sensibilities. But not for mine. Subtitled "A Backstage Pass to the Outrageous World of Rock 'n Roll," this may be one of the sleaziest, most scurrilous books I ever loved. Rock Confidential is a sordid and highly entertaining shuffle down memory's back alley.

The book is out of print but you may be able to find a used copy of Rock Confidential at Amazon.

Enlighten me, oh rock star:

"Getting old is a fascinating thing. The older you get, the older you want to get." Keith Richards

"Reporting I'm drunk is like saying there was a Tuesday last week." Grace Slick

"I'm saving the bass player for Omaha." Janis Joplin

"Everybody got it wrong. I said I was into porn again, not born again." Billy Idol

"Everybody's colored--or else you wouldn't be able to see them." Captain Beefheart on racism

"I don't know anything about music. In my line, you don't have to." Elvis Presley

"Just because I cut the heads off dolls, they say I must hate babies. But it's not true--I just hate dolls." Alice Cooper

"Knowing me, I'll probably get busted at my own funeral." Jimi Hendrix

Getting Over Getting Older, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Berkley Books, 1996

Don't you just hate when a friend keeps insisting there's a book you MUST read? Whether it sounds interesting or not? I have just become that friend. I've been handing out copies of Getting Over Getting Older to all my women friends. Pogrebin's credentials are impeccable; as a co-founder of Ms magazine, she's certainly proved her feminisim. So don't expect coy tips on making yourself seem younger than you are.

At an art opening this weekend, we had an interesting and extended (and sometimes technical) conversation with one of the creators of www.stephenking.com the official website of the author Stephen King.

King has a new book out , Wolves At The Calla
(book V in the Dark Tower Series). We can't speak to the book, but the website is a wonderful example of technical and artistic accomplishment. Well done, Jordan.

"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you."
Rita Mae Brown

The Bitch in the House
Cathi Hanauer, Editor
William Morrow, 2002
I've just come up for air after an intense engagement with a book--The Bitch in the House. This is a must-read for any woman who has ever felt rage, happiness, confusion, pleasure, guilt, joy, loneliness, exhaustion, euphoria, or who even draws breath.

This book is a collection of essays, compiled by Cathi Hanauer, with the subtitle, "26 Women Tell the Truth about Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage." The contributors range from 20-somethings to women in their 60's, most of them writers and editors; all of whom have something important to share about being women.

The best part of reading this book was the many A-HA moments I experienced. "Wow--I'm not crazy or, if I am, so are lots of other women."

So, I'm not alone when I:

• Go into psychotic rages when I walk in the house after work and the sink is full of dishes, or when I'm the only family member capable of remembering when garbage day is.
  
• Become guilt-ridden upon using the phrase "not now, I'm working" or when my children eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner (on Wonder bread).
  
• Burst into tears as an appropriate response to "Mom, I have a match tonight--an hour away."
  
• Make time comparison charts of how much time I spend doing housework or parenting as compared to say oh--writing my Pulitzer Prize winning novel or enjoyably wasting time
  
• Feel personally responsible for the health, happiness, and well being of every human being on the planet.

I read parts aloud to my significant other, to close friends, to my mother, to the kids (well, to their backs as they fled for their lives), even to the dog, who, being a loyal sort, kept his eyes open for sentences at a time.

If you are a woman, or a man who sometimes wonders what the hell is inside the brain of the woman in your life, The Bitch in the House get it at Amazon and read it. Please

We keep a permanent set of Baby Boomer-related links here but we've recently added a user-submitted link directory. If you have a favorite Baby Boomer link you think would be of interest to our readers, please add it. We're especially interested in Boomer Bloggers. If you operate a weblog (and are a Boomer) please add your link to the "Blogs" category.

Written by a Boomer, for Baby Boomers. This book sounds pretty good, even if Paul Harvey (dead or alive???) does endorse it. Perhaps it's a large print version of one of those "dummies" books.

"Mr. Modem's Internet Guide for Seniors, is heralded by ABC Radio personality Paul Harvey as "The book that takes the gobbledygook out of computers," and the New York Times as "An excellent map for navigating the Internet." This best-seller provides an anxiety-free, warm and friendly introduction to the Internet for adults, from first-time users to savvy surfers! "

Get it at Amazon Mr. Modem's Internet Guide for Seniors

The link below contains a comprehensive search page of books written by or pertaining to the Baby Boomer Generation.

Sample titles include: "Boomers, Xers, and Other Strangers: Understanding the Generational Differences That Divide Us ," "The Nanas and the Papas: A Boomers' Guide to Grandparenting," "Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America."

Click the link to see all 226 books in the search. Boomer Books

The methods were radical, the hopes for the future were not. And--as if foreseeing the world of free information access we are currently just starting to explore, he said, "Freedom of the press belongs to those that own the distribution system. Perhaps that has always been the case, but in a mass society where nearly everyone is instantaneously plugged into a variety of national communication systems, wide-spread dissemination of the information is the crux of the matter." Not so far out and not so far off, Abbie.

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The methods were radical, the hopes for the future were not. And--as if foreseeing the world of free information access we are currently just starting to explore, he said, "Freedom of the press belongs to those that own the distribution system. Perhaps that has always been the case, but in a mass society where nearly everyone is instantaneously plugged into a variety of national communication systems, wide-spread dissemination of the information is the crux of the matter."

Not so far out and not so far off, Abbie.

Purchase Steal This Book at Amazon.

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