Although overshadowed by the seventy-eight million members of the Baby Boom generation, the forty-five million children born between 1965 and 1977 made themselves heard during J, the decade of the 1990s. Known as "Generation X," these youths were at first depicted as cynical, drifting, and lazy. But this portrayal was far from accurate. Unlike the Baby Boomers, who tended to grow up in affluent circumstances and who have come to accept prosperity as their due, Generation X could never presume on that kind of success. They grew up in the 1980s during a recession, witnessed increased divorce rates and the hard reality of homelessness, lived and loved in the shadow of AIDS, and entered a job market that was tight and less rewarding. Despite these obstacles, the "Gen Xers" have shown themselves to be hardworking, ambitious, and confident. Committed to a variety of social causes and...