Politics & Government
![Neil Howe - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B000AP9K4W.jpg)
The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End
The visionary behind the bestselling phenomenon The Fourth Turning looks once again to America's past to predict our future in this startling and hopeful prophecy for how our present era of civil unrest will resolve over the next ten years-and what our lives will look like once it has.
Twenty-five years ago, Neil Howe and the late William Strauss dazzled the world with a provocative new theory of American history. Looking back at the last 500 years, they'd uncovered a distinct pattern: modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting roughly eighty to one hundred years, the length of a long human life, with each cycle composed of four eras-or "turnings"-that always arrive in the same order and each last about twenty years. The last of these eras-the fourth turning-was always the most perilous, a period of civic upheaval and national mobilization as traumatic and transformative as the New Deal and World War II, the Civil War, or the American Revolution.
Now, right on schedule, our own fourth turning has arrived. And so Neil Howe has returned with an extraordinary new prediction. What we see all around us-the polarization, the growing threat of civil conflict and global war-will culminate by the early 2030s in a climax that poses great danger and yet also holds great promise, perhaps even bringing on America's next golden age. Every generation alive today will play a vital role in determining how this crisis is resolved, for good or ill.
Illuminating, sobering, yet ultimately empowering, The Fourth Turning Is Here takes you back into history and deep into the collective personality of each living generation to make sense of our current crisis, explore how all of us will be differently affected by the political, social, and economic challenges we'll face in the decade to come, and reveal how our country, our communities, and our families can best prepare to meet these challenges head-on.
Twenty-five years ago, Neil Howe and the late William Strauss dazzled the world with a provocative new theory of American history. Looking back at the last 500 years, they'd uncovered a distinct pattern: modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting roughly eighty to one hundred years, the length of a long human life, with each cycle composed of four eras-or "turnings"-that always arrive in the same order and each last about twenty years. The last of these eras-the fourth turning-was always the most perilous, a period of civic upheaval and national mobilization as traumatic and transformative as the New Deal and World War II, the Civil War, or the American Revolution.
Now, right on schedule, our own fourth turning has arrived. And so Neil Howe has returned with an extraordinary new prediction. What we see all around us-the polarization, the growing threat of civil conflict and global war-will culminate by the early 2030s in a climax that poses great danger and yet also holds great promise, perhaps even bringing on America's next golden age. Every generation alive today will play a vital role in determining how this crisis is resolved, for good or ill.
Illuminating, sobering, yet ultimately empowering, The Fourth Turning Is Here takes you back into history and deep into the collective personality of each living generation to make sense of our current crisis, explore how all of us will be differently affected by the political, social, and economic challenges we'll face in the decade to come, and reveal how our country, our communities, and our families can best prepare to meet these challenges head-on.
Editorial Reviews
"There is always profit in reading prophets…. The Fourth Turning Is Here is big history and bold futurology, and the closer it is to the present, the more reasonable it seems."
-The Wall Street Journal
"Driven by a deep sense that American democracy is at serious risk… [yet Howe predicts that] out of today's polarization and partisanship will come a new egalitarian, outward-facing, confident and unified America."
-Francis Fukuyama, The New York Times
"Arresting, mind-opening, and endlessly stimulating, The Fourth Turning Is Here is a monumental achievement. It's a big, complex, challenging book, daunting in its sweep and erudition, but well worth the effort."
-Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor and New York Times bestselling author of Political Tribes
"Riveting and revelatory... A road map to a future that's challenging yet also full of hope."
-Tony Robbins, New York Times bestselling author of Life Force
"Neil Howe is a genuis at mapping the present and future. This book explains how we arrived at today's era of crises, polarization, and conflicts. Fortunately, Howe also shows us the promised land that awaits on the other side."
-Jack A. Goldstone, Professor of Public Policy, George Mason Univeristy
"The most difficult thing in the world is to see history as we are living it, and no one does that with clearer eyes and a fuller heart than Neil Howe. The Fourth Turning is Here is a tour de force."
-Ben Hunt, creator of Epsilon Theory
"Neil Howe always sees things about America that other observers miss, harnessing a remarkable command of history and demography to help us think more clearly about current problems and summoning a remarkable imagination to help us envision the big changes ahead."
-Nicholas Eberstadt, political economist at the American Enterprise Institute
"A vitally important book."
-Michael J. Meese, PHD, brigadier gener...
-The Wall Street Journal
"Driven by a deep sense that American democracy is at serious risk… [yet Howe predicts that] out of today's polarization and partisanship will come a new egalitarian, outward-facing, confident and unified America."
-Francis Fukuyama, The New York Times
"Arresting, mind-opening, and endlessly stimulating, The Fourth Turning Is Here is a monumental achievement. It's a big, complex, challenging book, daunting in its sweep and erudition, but well worth the effort."
-Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor and New York Times bestselling author of Political Tribes
"Riveting and revelatory... A road map to a future that's challenging yet also full of hope."
-Tony Robbins, New York Times bestselling author of Life Force
"Neil Howe is a genuis at mapping the present and future. This book explains how we arrived at today's era of crises, polarization, and conflicts. Fortunately, Howe also shows us the promised land that awaits on the other side."
-Jack A. Goldstone, Professor of Public Policy, George Mason Univeristy
"The most difficult thing in the world is to see history as we are living it, and no one does that with clearer eyes and a fuller heart than Neil Howe. The Fourth Turning is Here is a tour de force."
-Ben Hunt, creator of Epsilon Theory
"Neil Howe always sees things about America that other observers miss, harnessing a remarkable command of history and demography to help us think more clearly about current problems and summoning a remarkable imagination to help us envision the big changes ahead."
-Nicholas Eberstadt, political economist at the American Enterprise Institute
"A vitally important book."
-Michael J. Meese, PHD, brigadier gener...
Readers Top Reviews
Barbara ClarkeD.
The author’s clear bias against Republicans in general (and Trump in particular) seriously detracts from his presumed goal of evenhanded coverage of the current political divide. His antipathy for voters who remain unconvinced of the legitimacy of the last election is apparent in the following sentence: "And from that metaphorical understanding of "steal", it's a short distance to theories about spacecraft beaming messages to voting machines." Ironically, in attempting to chronicle the demise of civil discourse as a component of a "Crisis" period, he has contributed to the vitriol. The author is obviously a very intelligent, clever person, but not so clever as to be able to cloak his contempt for half the population. I wonder if the author set out to disparage and offend half the country, or if he is so deluded that he actually believes that his invidious comments are as factual as the data he cites to support the rest of his thesis. In any case, I was among the first to preorder this book. I woke up at 3am on the 19th to begin reading it on my Kindle, anticipating brilliant insights which would help me in my professional capacity as a portfolio manager. Instead what I found was a warmed over rehash of the original material with a generous helping of pompous moralizing. The author's bias is so profoundly mean spirited that he has effectively destroyed any credibility that he might have had with respect to his other conclusions. The hardcover is on its way back, and I have already gotten a refund for the audio book. What a wasted opportunity.
JWBarbara ClarkeD
I first read Neil Howe and Bill Strauss’s seminal works ‘The Fourth Turning’ and Generations’ nearly two decades ago. They opened my eyes and provided me with a compelling angle to view the world from the generational and cyclical perspective. So far, I found the generational theory is the best framework to understand/forecast what has been happening in our society. I am thrilled Neil is releasing this updated version since Fourth Turning first came out over 25 years ago. It a great joy to read this new book. I consider Neil Howe one of the smartest people out there. When Neil speaks/writes, I pay great attention to his opinions.
Chris PollingerJW
This might be the most important book of the decade. Ignore the political bias reviews. Read the whole book. You will find there is plenty you will love and hate. You will also find truth in both. This book is based in dozens of years of research and 1000’s of years of history. The book will give you a perspective on our current climate that is beyond any personal world view bias. And it will explained why you have that bias. More importantly it will paint a vivid picture of the next few decades. The smart reader will appreciate the historical trends and incorporate it into their future plans and strategy. It is worth more than its weight in gold with a roadmap for a future that we may not like, but can plan for and thrive within. It is a must read and has become one of the top 5 books I have ever read.
