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The Vanishing American Adult

Our Coming-of-Age Crisis--and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance

Ben Sasse

St. Martin's Griffin

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ISBN10: 1250181208
ISBN13: 9781250181206

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320 Pages

$19.00

CA$25.00

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Raised by well-meaning but overprotective parents and coddled by well-meaning but misbegotten government programs, America's youth are ill-equipped to survive in our highly-competitive global economy.

Many of the coming-of-age rituals that have defined the American experience since the Founding: learning the value of working with your hands, leaving home to start a family, becoming economically self-reliant—are being delayed or skipped altogether. The statistics are daunting: 30% of college students drop out after the first year, and only 4 in 10 graduate. One in three 18-to-34 year-olds live with their parents.

From these disparate phenomena: Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse who as president of a Midwestern college observed the trials of this generation up close, sees an existential threat to the American way of life.

In The Vanishing American Adult, Sasse diagnoses the causes of a generation that can't grow up and offers a path for raising children to become active and engaged citizens. He identifies core formative experiences that all young people should pursue: hard work to appreciate the benefits of labor, travel to understand deprivation and want, the power of reading, the importance of nurturing your body—and explains how parents can encourage them.

Our democracy depends on responsible, contributing adults to function properly—without them America falls prey to populist demagogues. A call to arms, The Vanishing American Adult will ignite a much-needed debate about the link between the way we're raising our children and the future of our country.

Reviews

Praise for The Vanishing American Adult

“Sasse has published a book of political philosophy in the form of a guide to parenting.”—George Will, The Washington Post

“Sasse doesn’t pretend to offer a silver bullet, but he offers clear steps for nudging our kids out of their comfort zones and toward curiosity and that elusive compulsion.”Chicago Tribune

The Vanishing American Adult is written as a reflection on the purpose and nature of education . . . At its core, the book also pleads for something greater: the rehabilitation of shared values in a time of intense difference; a focus on culture as the deepest challenge of politics; and the ability to imagine virtue as part of who we are as citizens.”The Atlantic Monthly

"At a time when adolescence has become a destination, rather than a journey, Sasse asks us to wrestle with remaking it. Let’s get kids moving again through the hard work of becoming grown-ups."—Mary Katharine Ham, CNN

“[Ben Sasse's] book tells the truth about what truly ails America. It’s not partisan politics. It’s us—our families, and our loss of confidence in the future. He argues effectively that our national destiny depends less on what happens in Washington and more on what we do at home. But take heart—Sasse offers powerful solutions, both personal and universal, that will restore our faith in the future and our responsibilities to each other as parents, neighbors, and citizens of the greatest country on earth.”—Dr. Frank Luntz, CBS News & Fox News Analyst

“Ben Sasse’s book is not an angry diatribe against the younger generation. Nor is it a call to return to an idyllic vision of days gone by. Rather, it’s a practical, insightful call to all Americans to reject passivity, embrace initiative, and boldly approach the future with purpose and vision.”—Jim Daly, President, Focus on the Family

"The Vanishing American Adult offers a worthwhile reminder that our families are far more important than politics, and developing the next generation needs to be addressed without the help of Washington D.C."Lincoln Journal Star

“An earnest critique of American youth.”Kirkus Reviews

“. . . Sasse’s guide for stemming the tide of delayed responsibility showcases what is both practical and possible.”Booklist

Reviews from Goodreads

About the author

Ben Sasse

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse is a fifth-generation Nebraskan. He attended public school in Fremont, Neb., and spent his summers working soybean and corn fields. He was recruited to wrestle at Harvard before attending Oxford and later earning a Ph.D. in American history from Yale. Sasse spent five years as president of Midland University back in his hometown. Ben and his wife, Melissa, live in Nebraska but are homeschooling their three children as they commute weekly back and forth to Washington, DC.

Matthew DeBoer