Very much a piece of its time, this book is equal parts disheartening and uplifting. Sure, Gen X got screwed in the demographic lottery, and the Boomers seem intent on never letting go of the levers of power, but we have Nirvana. Written in 2007, Barack Obama is not yet elected, but Gordinier is very tired of the Bush era, and not terribly fond of looking back at the Clinton Administration either.

The optimism Gordinier views some of the Web 2.0 innovations with is downright adorable in retrospect. YouTube and Pandora and Meetup as forces of change and liberation? It's hard to recognize now. Gen Z is looking pretty energetic though.