USA Today highlights the survey's findings today in an article titled "24 million go from 'thriving' to 'struggling'" which states "Some fear that the American Dream may be in peril as well. The aspirations that have defined the American experience -- that those who work hard and play by the rules can get ahead, and that the next generation will have a better life than this one -- have been battered by a devastating recession that shows few signs of having hit bottom." This is not new data, according to Zogby.

"I didn't set out to write an optimistic book, but the numbers came in that way. I hear it from callers I talk to on radio shows, and it's the message I get over and over in emails and conversations from those who have read the book -- this is the story of their lives," said John Zogby, President & CEO of Zogby International.

Despite today's uncertain economic times, the book carries a hopeful message for where America is headed and that the American Dream is still alive and well.

• Zogby's research highlights a trend away from buying what we can't afford and away from seeking out fantasy. Instead, Americans are increasingly "trading down" so that occasionally they can trade up and enjoy affordable luxuries.
• Over the last decade and more, Zogby describes how he has seen a 27% and growing segment of Americans who say they are now working at a job that pays less than a previous job. Even though they are increasingly dealing with the "lemons" in this new economy, these Americans have learned to make lemonade.
• The Way We'll Be tells the real story of what has made this country great -- Americans ready to make sacrifices for a larger good, just as they have in the past.

Here's what others have to say about The Way We'll Be:

Drawing on surveys he conducted over a 20-year period, Zogby analyzed responses from all age and demographic groups. What he found was surprisingly optimistic: reason for uplift amid job layoffs, inadequate health care, rising gasoline prices, global warming and other morale-sapping problems. "My surveying shows that we are in the middle of a fundamental reorientation of the American character," he writes, "away from wanton consumption and toward a new global citizenry in an age of limited resources."

-- The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/14/AR2008081403041.html

If the bad news is that Americans have lost faith in institutions they once trusted, like the government that so grievously failed Katrina victims, Mr. Zogby sees good news in the resilience of the young. He suggests that tomorrow's American majority will be less materialistic, less tolerant of baloney, more practical and more closely linked to the rest of the world. "At long last, cynicism bottoms out," he predicts in one wildly optimistic moment.

-- The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/books/11masl.html?ref=books

A second theme of "The Way We'll Be" asserts -- in tension with the first -- that we live in "an age defined by narrowing limits." Here Mr. Zogby seems to be talking not about a long-range process but about the economic slowdown we've experienced over the past year or so. He notes the success of discount retailers like Dollar Store and Dollar General, writing that "the public is trimming expectations, making do with less, and finding a subdued peace in the process."

-- The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121867242795238953.html

...The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report On The Transformation Of The American Dream by John Zogby offers us a different sneak peek into the future. Zogby is one of the nation's most influential pollsters -- long the go-to person for major news outlets for his ability to report on the pulse of the nation and to spot trends. His newest prediction -- a different, yet better America. After reading through zillions of surveys Zogby paints an optimistic portrait of a country in transition away from excess and greed to one that is more open, more accepting and richer in meaning rather than in goods.

-- CNBC.com

http://www.cnbc.com/id/25935003

For additional reviews and previous interviews with John Zogby about The Way We'll Be, please visit:

http://www.zogby.com/Bookreview/