Triumph of the Yuppies

Very readable account of how the idealistic 1960s and cynical 1970s gave rise to the Yuppie (Young Urban Professional) phenomenon of the early 1980s. This was the first time since the end of WWII that the promise of the American Century was realized only by white, college-educated Baby Boomers. These Yuppies flocked to New York and other big cities, worked in the rapidly evolving finance industry, and generally lived by the mantra, “whoever dies with most toys, wins.” No, Millennials didn't event foodie-ism (they just turned it into an app) or trendy workout spas; the Yuppies got there first. Jerry Rubin, former 60s radical activist, actually became a stockbroker, claiming that entrepreneurship-focused capitalism was the best way to empower people and bring about change.

McGrath views the era with nostalgic humor (Jane Fonda workout videos! “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?” The Sharper Image catalog!), but also describes with chilling accuracy how the Reagan presidency and the prioritization of corporate stock prices led to extreme inequality, especially in communities that formerly relied on manufacturing jobs. You can draw a line straight from the Yuppie phenomenon to the election of Donald Trump. Suddenly those “how many Yuppies does it take to change a lightbulb?” jokes* aren't so funny anymore, are they?

*Two: one to fix the martinis and one to call the electrician