The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream | 
 enlarge | Author: John Zogby
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 26653
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 1400064503
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.097309045
EAN: 9781400064502
ASIN: 1400064503
Publication Date: August 12, 2008
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Product Description
According to super pollster John Zogby, whom The Washington Post calls “the maverick predictor,” the conventional wisdom about the United States–that we’re isolated from the world, politically fragmented, and inclined toward material pleasure–isn’t just flawed; it may be 180 degrees from the truth. In this far-reaching and illuminating look at contemporary American life, Zogby reveals nothing less than The Way We’ll Be. Drawing on thousands of in-depth surveys conducted especially for the book, Zogby points out where we’re headed–politically, culturally, and spiritually.
The American dream is in transition; it is rapidly being redefined by four meta-movements: living with limits as consumers and citizens; embracing diversity of views and ways of life; looking inward to find spiritual comfort; and demanding authenticity from the media, our leaders, and leading institutions. Spearheaded by today’s eighteen-to-twenty-nine-year-olds–the “First Global” generation–Americans are becoming more internationalist, consensus-oriented, and environmentally conscious and less willing to identify themselves by the things they do to earn or spend their money. But this is more than a youth tide. Americans of all ages are moving beyond old divides–red state/blue state, pro-life/pro-choice, beer drinker/wine connoisseur–to form a new national consensus that will shape the nation for decades to come.
Zogby’s cogent analysis of the data yields an astonishing perspective on Americans’ thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, now and in coming years. Understanding this emerging reality will be key for
• leaders in all fields who want to reach audiences that are more media-savvy, better informed, and more technologically enabled than ever before
• individuals in search of rewarding and fulfilling careers in tomorrow’s growth fields
• politicians and CEOs looking to marry policies and practices to the rising demand for social responsibility
• anyone who wants to market to the emerging new American consensus
Beyond telling a fascinating story, the conclusions in this book are a must-read for everyone from Main Street to Madison Avenue to Capitol Hill. Filled with expert analysis and insight from one of today’s most successful predictors and trend spotters, The Way We’ll Be will redefine how we view America’s future.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 Some Interesting Stats With Inadequate Liberal Commentary January 4, 2009
This book reveals the weaknesses of a pollster like Zogby--he provides a few interesting tidbits of information but then offers inadequate analysis of that information, often spinning it. Those that know Zogby's background and agree with his liberal slant will support the book; those that are more objective will find some of the info interesting but will become frustrated by Zogby's inability to properly place those numbers in context.
It would have helped to have waited to publish this book until after Obama was elected. Much of the political information included is incomplete since the book was published long before the election.
The title of the book is also a bit of a misnomer--pollsters are unable to measure how we'll "be," they can only tell us what people said there were on a certain day or time. Nothing in Zogby's discussion convinces the reader that he is able to predict the future. As a matter of fact, he admits to many errors in his predictions. And in hindsight he claims he knew things that were not so obvious at the time (such as Al Gore's loss of the 2000 election).
Some of the information is fun and interesting (a 2006 poll shows Red Skelton to be the most beloved comedian of all time--and Seinfeld doesn't even make the top five, while Chris Rock is on the bottom of the list!). He may stretch it a bit to try to group all Walmart shoppers into one category. And creating the term "First Globals" for today's young adult generation seems inadequate. Does he really know what young adults are like today? Despite their use of technology they are more out-of-touch than ever and the term he uses for them should reflect that.
So the book is worth paging through to pick and choose some of the polling information. But he is a partisan political pollster at heart and much of what he presents as "analysis" is just a skewed view of America that doesn't tell us much about our future but does offer a little look into our recent past.
 Interesting view on how Americans are changing January 1, 2009
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
John Zogby provides an interesting picture of how he thinks the "American dream" is changing based on numerous polls done by Zogby International.
He breaks it down into 4 movements that he thinks are redefining Americans:
(1) Living with limits
(2) Embracing diversity
(3) Looking inward
(4) Demanding authenticity
He discusses each of the above movements in greater detail, providing examples and poll results to support his conclusions. Some examples follow:
Example of living with limits: going online to places like University of Phoenix to get a higher education, rather than attending the more expensive bricks-and-mortar universities.
Example of embracing diversity: young Americans viewing themselves as citizens of the planet as opposed to just thinking of themselves as Americans. With virtual communities like MySpace, YouTube and Facebook, people can connect with other people from all over the world.
Example of looking inward: a group he calls "Secular Spiritualists," who are looking for more meaning in their lives, rather than just following doctrines and rules to live by.
Example of demanding authenticity: Trust in government and corporate leaders has eroded tremendously and people are demanding more honesty.
The author concludes each chapter by providing a guide to marketing relative to the movement being discussed. For example, in "A Guide to Marketing Authenticity," he notes, "If you screw up, apologize. Humility is good."
I found this book to be an interesting look at what motivates people and would definitely recommend it, especially to marketers and those in public service.
Superficial analysis November 29, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is a survey of various polls taken by the author and his polling company, and from the results, the author makes a number of assertions that, while entertaining and encouraging, really cannot be substantiated through the poll results in an objective manner.
The one overarching theme that the author presents is that today's 18-29 year-olds are the First Globals, born into a world that is more open and globalised than ever. The author posits that this generation will lead the way into a new era sans prejudice or American selfishness. The problem with this line of reasoning is that young folks have *always* been more liberal, more at ease, more anti-establishment, and more open to new ideas. Think Romeo & Juliet and the Woodstock crowd. Unfortunately, these young, open-minded, fair Democrats generally turn into selfish, pig-headed, hateful Republicans. This is what happens when young folks turn old and start popping out little kids; their thoughts turn from a global perspective to a local, protective one. The author does not even mention this natural, obvious evolution until page 197 out of his 215 page book.
The book carries this assertion to the extreme. Through the results coming from a variety of polls and questions, the author believes that today's 18-29 generation is different from any other 18-29 generation in the history of the world. True, there is more globalisation, open communication through the Internet, and world visibility. However, the author needs to look no further than the 65+ year-old generation he additionally polled to see how these young folks will generally turn out. What would have been convincing is if the author had taken poll data from several decades ago to see if the attitudes of yesterday's youth are as open-minded as today's youth. The author presents only a few such older poll results from Gallup while the rest are from his organisation over the last five or so years. This lack of depth in comparing actual old data is quite disappointing.
Furthermore, the author draws his conclusion in very ad hoc ways from his polls. On page 92-93, he asks a number of people if they do not support the concept of "My country, right or wrong," and while the numbers for "strongly agree" and "strongly disagree" are large and clear on the page, the author instead suggests "What's the underlying dynamic? I think the answer can be found in the high 'unsure' percentage among the young." It is as if the author is picking and choosing the numbers to back his own biases, and just to be clear on this, the "unsure" value of 14% in that example is not significantly higher than many of the other "unsure" values in other polling questions.
One other thing I was very disappointed with is that the book is really written for a layman audience, and while the author spends a small portion of time in the first chapter describing margin-of-error, I really wished he had gone into more detail on the mechanics of polling and tabulation as well as the statistical theory behind his work.
 Lots of conjecture November 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
His description of the population between 18-32 -- The First Globals -- was eye-opening, but without taking into account racial, socio-economic and geographic differences, many of the interpretations seemed unfounded. Many of his descriptions of my group -- the Just Do Its -- did not apply to me, nor did they seem believeable over the vast age span. I suppose readers will take out the evidence for what they already believe and dismiss the rest, but I did not take away a fresh perspective about my future.
Dubious polls and Zogby's biases and ignorance make for a poor read November 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
John Zogby is a tireles self-promoter. His flacks flog him as a "super-pollster', though his real-world results don't separate him from the herd.
Here, Zogby attempts to articulate the "transformation of the American dream". Essentially Zogby tells you what he thinks and then, magically, produces poll results to support his contention. Who needs objectivity? Not Zogby.
Zogby's personal biases, particularly political, and his ignorance are on display. He claims that Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Kennedy didn't campaign to the "lowest common denominator". First of all, Lincoln didn't campaign. Back then Presidential campaigns were waged entirely by surrogates - and Lincoln's campaign was particularly nasty. Roosevelt reveled in the dirty campaign and he was personally vindictive as well. Kenendy campaigned on a platform of lies, such as the non-existent missile gap. Nixon could not respond because it would have revealed our intelligence secrets to the Soviets.
Zogby claims the three "offered broad visions and empowering promises; they appealed to the best in the electorate, not the worst". Zogby could use massive education in this regard - and yet he lectures the rest of us.
Overall, this is nothing more than the posturing of a self-promoter. It is not a serious or scholarly work and is certainly devoid of any scientific value. It isn't very entertaining either.
Jerry
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