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Who really are the "twentysomething" Americans? In this anthology of lively and intelligent, original personal essays, sixteen diverse and talented writers aged 24 to 32 cut through the stereotypes and reveal through their own stories the true face of their generation.

Humorous, ironic, satiric, or angry, the eight men and eight women contributors grapple with how coming of age in the uncertain America of the 1970s, '80s, and '90s has affected their lives and world views. Some have written widely; others publish here their first piece of extended prose. Their variety of opinions and personalities defies the image of America's younger generation as materialistic, self-pitying, and apathetic.

Brought together in this collection by a commitment to thoughtfulness, these writers provide both their fellow "twentysomethings" and their elders a deeper understanding of what forces are shaping America's future.

Many of the writers explore the fallout of their parents' cultural revolt of the 1960s and 1970s. The growth in divorce and family instability, writes Elizabeth Wurtzel, has produced an epidemic of depression in her generation and a need among friends to cling together in extended family groups well into adulthood. Another subject is how the loss of heroes for this generation has contributed to its cynicism.

Many of the writers tell what it is like coming of age amid more open divisions of race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation than faced by any previous generation. New York hip-hop poet Paul Beatty wittily navigates the post-civil rights era's "acceptable shades of blackness," as he learned it growing up in Los Angeles and then moving east. Another essayist comments on the irony of being a successful black conservative.

Lalo Lopez, co-founder of the East L.A. comedy troupe Chicano Secret Service, declares the boisterous arrival of "Generation Mex," while editor Eric Liu affirms a different view that second-generation immigrants still can have faith in American ideals. Eloquently and unsettlingly, novelist Stephen Beachy writes about his rage at being young and HIV-positive.

Coping with the upheaval in sexual roles experienced by their generation is a major concern for the contributors. Karen Lehrman tells of her experiences with the confusing and changing rules for dating and courtship and how she eventually learned that it is alright to both be sexually aggressive and expect some traditional courtship. Lisa Palac, editor of Future Sex magazine, tells how she came to discover that pornography and feminism can be compatible.

Feminism - how this generation understands it and why so many young women are unwilling to identify themselves with it - is a central topic. In what amounts to a mini-debate, four of the writers, including Naomi Wolf, present their widely differing views on feminism's future.

Ian Williams addresses the troubled relationship between "twentysomethings" and the older "baby boom" generation. Baby boomers tend toward self-indulgence and media self-glorification, he writes, but when baffled by the younger generation, they resort mostly to moralizing disapproval. Other topics covered are the shadow cast over the generation's politics by 1960s idealism, and the loss of economic hope for the young in America's heartland.

These essays are compelling, outspoken, and never cliched. They give a fresh understanding of America's next generation.