by Claire O'Neill

If Tom Brokaw is right, the "Greatest Generation" of Americans is now rather aged. That doesn't exactly bode well for today's youth. We've reached the end of the alphabet with "Generation Z," and some are calling the current demographic of 18-to-24-year-olds "the first-wave Millennials." It's this age group that provides the scope and focus of a new book, American Youth.

They are still in early adulthood, and already they have been smeared by their elders as a super-race of spoiled cry-babies and fashionable zombies, plugged into the virtual unreality of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, BlackBerry, Blu-Ray, Bluetooth, PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360, the iPod, iPhone, iBook, etc.

  • The hip-hop art of b-boying, or breakdancing, rose out of New York City in the late 1970s and quickly spread to Los Angeles and other urban areas. As one Los Angeles b-boy, Longka Michael Lor, says: "B-boying is an art. ... Every time I get down ... I'm painting my art onto the floor with my moves."
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    The hip-hop art of b-boying, or breakdancing, rose out of New York City in the late 1970s and quickly spread to Los Angeles and other urban areas. As one Los Angeles b-boy, Longka Michael Lor, says: "B-boying is an art. ... Every time I get down ... I'm painting my art onto the floor with my moves."
    Greg Ruffing
  • Lissa Kangas, a Laestadian Lutheran, holds her son Clay in front of their apartment in Longview, Wash. There are a few Laestadians communities throughout the U.S. They avoid drinking, dancing, makeup and music — essentially anything that might interfere with their relationship with God.
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    Lissa Kangas, a Laestadian Lutheran, holds her son Clay in front of their apartment in Longview, Wash. There are a few Laestadians communities throughout the U.S. They avoid drinking, dancing, makeup and music — essentially anything that might interfere with their relationship with God.
    Michael Rubenstein
  • In a North Avenue gym in west Baltimore, Marvin McDowell has one room equipped with heavy bags and a boxing ring. McDowell is taking a lead in helping fight street crime and gang violence by asking that citizens support a special boxing event.
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    In a North Avenue gym in west Baltimore, Marvin McDowell has one room equipped with heavy bags and a boxing ring. McDowell is taking a lead in helping fight street crime and gang violence by asking that citizens support a special boxing event.
    Marc Asnin
  • Jerome Morgan, Jr., 24, passed the firefighter exam and began his career while still in college. He is now a professional firefighter in Newark, in a poor and rough part of New Jersey.
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    Jerome Morgan, Jr., 24, passed the firefighter exam and began his career while still in college. He is now a professional firefighter in Newark, in a poor and rough part of New Jersey.
    Marc Asnin
  • Downtown Iowa City has one of the highest concentrations of bars in the country and is home to the University of Iowa. University officials have attempted to curb binge drinking, to no avail.
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    Downtown Iowa City has one of the highest concentrations of bars in the country and is home to the University of Iowa. University officials have attempted to curb binge drinking, to no avail.
    Danny Wilcox Frazier
  • Soldiers fighting our war in Iraq: Sgt. Gary Rojas shoots at a sniper's position with a M240B machine gun in the Tahrir combat outpost just south of Baqouba, Diyala province.
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    Soldiers fighting our war in Iraq: Sgt. Gary Rojas shoots at a sniper's position with a M240B machine gun in the Tahrir combat outpost just south of Baqouba, Diyala province.
    Eros Hoagland
  • Young women dance to the sounds of the band Animal Collective at the three-day concert held at Liberty State Park in New Jersey.
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    Young women dance to the sounds of the band Animal Collective at the three-day concert held at Liberty State Park in New Jersey.
    Q. Sakamaki
  • Mendy Kahanov is a Chabad-Lubavitch (or Hasidic) Jew, who attends Oholei Menachem rabbinical school in Brooklyn. "We approach all Jews from all walks of life and try to bring them closer to their heritage, especially now in these hard times we are living in. I try to talk to people about doing acts of goodness and kindness."
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    Mendy Kahanov is a Chabad-Lubavitch (or Hasidic) Jew, who attends Oholei Menachem rabbinical school in Brooklyn. "We approach all Jews from all walks of life and try to bring them closer to their heritage, especially now in these hard times we are living in. I try to talk to people about doing acts of goodness and kindness."
    Marc Asnin
  • Javanda Williams, 18, a senior at Norview High School in Virginia, gets ready for her senior prom, which she will attend with her boyfriend.
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    Javanda Williams, 18, a senior at Norview High School in Virginia, gets ready for her senior prom, which she will attend with her boyfriend.
    Mark Peterson
  • At the Window Rock Jail, members of the Cobra gang, the largest and most violent gang on the Navajo reservation, play basketball. The gang has been causing disturbances in the Navajo Nation because of a crisis in law enforcement.
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    At the Window Rock Jail, members of the Cobra gang, the largest and most violent gang on the Navajo reservation, play basketball. The gang has been causing disturbances in the Navajo Nation because of a crisis in law enforcement.
    Darcy Padilla
  • Iman Aziz, 20, relaxing at a park in Parma, Ohio, down the street from the Islamic Center of Cleveland mosque. Born and raised in Cleveland, her family is third-generation Palestinian-American. She is currently taking classes at a local community college, but ultimately wants to pursue her dreams in high fashion.
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    Iman Aziz, 20, relaxing at a park in Parma, Ohio, down the street from the Islamic Center of Cleveland mosque. Born and raised in Cleveland, her family is third-generation Palestinian-American. She is currently taking classes at a local community college, but ultimately wants to pursue her dreams in high fashion.
    Greg Ruffing
  • Louisiana State University fans get ready to take on rival Ole Miss in Baton Rouge, La. Tailgating is as much a part of game day as the game itself, and people gorge on food and booze for hours before kickoff.
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    Louisiana State University fans get ready to take on rival Ole Miss in Baton Rouge, La. Tailgating is as much a part of game day as the game itself, and people gorge on food and booze for hours before kickoff.
    Mark Peterson
  • These photographs represent a survey of young farmers in the Champlain Valley and Adirondack region of New York state. With the population of new farmers in decline, these young people represent a reverse trend.
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    These photographs represent a survey of young farmers in the Champlain Valley and Adirondack region of New York state. With the population of new farmers in decline, these young people represent a reverse trend.
    Ben Stechschulte
  • Attracted to agriculture by a new consciousness in food production, the young people in this series are in the infancy of what they hope will be long careers in agriculture.
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    Attracted to agriculture by a new consciousness in food production, the young people in this series are in the infancy of what they hope will be long careers in agriculture.
    Ben Stechschulte

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Clearly, though, this generation is much more complex and should not be reduced to tech-savvy, conspicuous consumers. Which is why the photographers of Redux Pictures have teamed up to take a closer look. Be it Iraq war widows, Navajo gang members, debutantes or college partiers, the young people in this book together form a panoramic portrait of what it means to be young in America. With a wide range of images from 25 photographers, American Youth raises the question: How are today's youth both different from and exactly the same as generations past?