The central argument of this book is that a particular birth cohort, the generation of ‘baby boomers’ born 1945–1965, have amassed a disproportionate share of life chances (consumption, wealth, the ‘best music’) and that this has come at the expense of the next generation. David Willetts, an mp, Minister for Universities (at the time of writing), and baby boomer, argues that they need to take a lower, fairer share of the spoils.

The book includes analysis of many disparate but connected topics. It starts with the long-term population structure of England, before looking at more contemporary families and especially family breakdown, and the circumstances of the post-war baby boom. It goes on to look at wealth, patterns of change both within and between birth cohorts and the ethics of inter-generational justice. Towards the end, it laments the decreasing independence afforded to children, and moves to consider the role of schools and how they relate to social mobility. It also looks at the key role of housing and owner occupation, and how it is increasingly difficult to move into home ownership, and at the role of grandparents within three-generational families.

As this brief overview suggests, this is a wide-ranging book covering a multitude of disciplines and sources. It also includes diverse references to academics, literature and popular culture. It is well-written and the messages are clearly outlined and defended. Many ‘great names’ are credited within, ranging from Schumpeter on individualism, to Mannheim on generations, Putnam on social capital, Axelrod on game theory, to Giddens. The author also draws on examples and analogies from diverse media, including South Park and The Simpsons, T. S. Eliot and Jean de Florette, among others.

Chapter 1, on who we are, is an account of the long history of the nuclear family in England. It will be familiar to readers of Macfarlane (Reference Macfarlane1978), but of strong interest to those unaware of these issues. Key elements are the absence of large family groups, geographical mobility and the ready transferability of property. It is not without criticism for its scope, given a regionally restricted evidence base. Willetts uses this account to set the scene for links to the different institutions that England developed, or at least developed at an earlier stage than in the remainder of Europe.

It is not always clear whether Willetts intends to argue that the baby boomers have just had spectacularly good luck in attaining their fortunes (avoiding war-time service, establishing careers pre-globalisation, having salary-related pensions prior to their widespread withdrawal, free higher education), or whether they have instead actively conspired to cement their position (through their political power as a large voting bloc), or may do so in future. In the same vein, baby boomers are described both as voracious consumers and as those who have built up substantial wealth – albeit the wealth was mostly acquired through house-price appreciation rather than active saving.

Of course, other authors have considered different aspects of the overall thesis, such as Thomson (Reference Thomson1994) on how the welfare state may differentially affect different cohorts. It is the main strength of this book that it takes a broad overview, and provides a guide to both interesting research and implications. It is also important to note that Willetts challenges the view that a larger cohort should fare worse, on some level, since they will create greater competition for resources among themselves, leading to lower wages (e.g. as argued by Easterlin, Reference Easterlin1980).

I suspect social policy readers will experience two areas of frustration. The first is partly process, and partly the limitations of the evidence compared to some of the claims made. There are a few places where quite limited evidence is cited. The claim or observation that the number of divorces tracks the female employment rate is backed only by the vague ‘Office for National Statistics; Marriage Statistics’ (note 19 for chapter 3). In the section on how people are spending wealth that might instead be bequeathed, the argument surely calls for something stronger than ‘We do not appear to want to pass it on to our kids’ (re. financial wealth). These are perhaps minor points, since the assertions made are generally appropriately referenced.

A second limitation is that relatively little attention is given to the policy implications of the analysis, and particularly at the practical means by which the baby boomers might more widely share their wealth. The book is, with one key exception, relatively short on policies to address these issues. That exception is policy towards education, where Willetts argues for a combination of a voucher system for parental choice and that ‘We must make it easier for people, including parents themselves, to set up new schools’ (p. 206) – in clear anticipation of the free schools policy of the Coalition Government. Others reading the same evidence might look at the extent of windfall capital gains, and the ability to bequeath large capital sums, as justifying policy interventions of a rather different and more direct kind.

These possible limitations do not, however, detract from the overall ambition of the book and its strong features – a clear narrative covering an impressively wide range of material.