This is the reality behind the new generation of kids that is currently known mostly for the tragedy at Columbine -- the generation whose first wave will graduate high school in 2000. Neil Howe and Bill Strauss, the authors of numerous books on generations including 13th Gen, have talked to members of this generation, talked to their teachers and their parents. They've looked at the statistics and what they have come up with is shocking and completely unexpected. Children are rebelling by being better, not worse. Indeed their performance would indicate that by most normal earmarks -- respect for elders, seriousness of purpose, academic pursuits -- these kids will be better than any seen in a long time, and they just might turn out to be the next American heroes.

Howe and Strauss discuss who they are and how they relate to their families, schools, ethnic diversity, sex, drugs, pop culture, the marketplace, the workplace, technology, politics, and the world around them.

They also look at the history of generations in order to come up with some predictions about where they are heading and who they will become.

Howe and Strauss have compiled the first book to examine this new generation and they have used their expertise to create a fascinating and compelling portrait of a generation that is certain to make its presence felt.