Microtrends - Micro-ambition more like... - Rated 
I bought this book on the back of a review in a broadsheet newspaper, thinking it was in the mould of popular economic books like Freakonomics or The Long Tail. It has been written by the pollster Mark Penn, originally known for being Bill Clinton's campaign strategist and now equally infamous for being fired from Hilary's democratic nomination campaign in 2008. His most notable contribution to public life occurred in 1996, when (according to him) he identified "Soccer Moms" - middle class, married, white women ferrying their kids between home, school and Soccer practice - as a key constituency of influential swing voters for Bill Clinton to target in his re-election campaign. Clinton went onto win of course, and presumably Mark Penn's stock went up as a result.
Thus, the author makes it his business to identify these niches and their special interests for the purposes of marketing and political campaigning, which presumably he charges high fees for. The book itself comprises of a series of essays identifying what Mr. Penn refers to as "Microtrends" - small niches of the nation (up to 1% of the population) who share some common pursuits or characteristics, and christens them with a snappy label e.g. "Cougars", "30-winkers", "Aspiring Snipers", "Archery Moms" (a revision of the original "Soccer Mom" trend) etc, etc.
The niches he identifies are mildly diverting, although not quite as groundbreaking or as novel as he seems to think they are. For example, the chapter about "Neglected Dads" - is it really that surprising to learn that middle-aged fathers aren't well served by advertising or targeted products? Some chapters do raise eyebrows (the aforementioned "Aspiring Snipers" and perhaps the one about the rise of transgenderism as a political force) but most fail to rise above the "Quite Interesting" category; something that will provide a brief talking point at a dinner party perhaps.
The fundamental problem I had with this book was its lack of ambition - it is simply too shallow. You may say that's not the author's fault as it does faithfully achieve what it set out to do. I would counter with the argument that just because the book fulfils its purpose doesn't necessarily make it a worthwhile effort; low-budget horror slasher flick Saw fulfils its remit by being full of guts and gore but that doesn't automatically make it a good film when compared to, say, the superior Se7en. Each chapter is entirely self-contained and atomised, which makes it easy to dip in and out of the book. It does, however, sorely lack the sort of underlying theme or continuity you find in the "The Long Tail" or the depth of research in "Freakonomics" and thus failed to fully engage me, particularly given that I paid the full price for the hardback edition. If you must read this, save your money and seek out the paperback edition instead.
Entertaining snippets rather than in-depth analysis - Rated
For anyone expecting in-depth statistical analysis to support the various microtrends that Penn lays out, this is not the book for you. Most of Penn's sources are reliant on second-hand research, or anecdotal; and perhaps it is unreasonable to expect more than this, given the sheer number of trends covered.
However I found the observations entertaining, and it is amusing to spot which groups you or your friends belong to (I myself am a 30-Winker, a DIY Doctor and a Social Geek). The insights into the behaviour of swing voters were also interesting, given the current political climate.
I would recommend Microtrends for anyone with a passing interest in human behaviour, but those with a more academic bent may find it too light-weight.
Microtrends: Surprisingly bad analysis - Rated 
Lametable. For a book that is primarily about data analysis the quality of analysis and explanatory graphics is shockingly low.
On example may serve to illustrate my point: a seven-fold increase in over-the-counter spend on pharmaceuticals, over forty years, is taken as evidence of a surge in self-medication; no mention is made of the role of inflation over the period - in fact, depending on the index used, a strong argument could be made for a real decrease in spend.
Most topics are accompanied by ink-intensive data-lite charts, plucked straight from the Excel Hall of Shame: page after page is wasted by plots of between two and four data points on a 50% grey background, often joined by meaningless straight lines. In most cases the data would be significantly better illustrated by a simple table.
Could do better.
A fascinating snapshot of opinion poll findings - Rated 
This book is relatively lightweight but nonetheless an intriguing read. The bulk of the book consists of 75 small chapters most of them four to five pages long each of which describes and speculates about social trends suggested by opinion poll results. The author's American English grated on me at times but the small chapters made it easily digestible. Trends discussed include:
* older first-time fathers,
* teenage entrepreneurs,
* race differences in obesity rates,
* the rise of knitting as a pastime,
* the growth of the non-profit sector
and many others.
Hard social research it isn't and few solid conclusions can be drawn, except perhaps with regard to what pollsters ask about. Numbers and percentages are tossed here and there with abandon and I suspect that the book would have many professional statisticians rolling on the floor laughing.
On the other hand this is, as another reviewer has said, a highly thought-provoking book and that alone stands much in its favour. Also, in providing a snapshot of poll results in the first decade of the 21st century, the book may well turn out to be a useful historical document a hundred years on. If the authors produced a revised edition every ten years, they might provide future historians with much to ponder.
I toyed with giving a 3-star rating. On the whole, though, it's worth 4 for being so facinating.
Measuring Tiny Trends Provides a Complex Mosaic of American Society - Rated
A friend of mine used to tell me that what most attracted him to a nonfiction book was the opportunity to learn something that would make for good dinner table conversation. My friend would rate Microtrends at five stars for sure. I don't recall a book with so many factoids that highlight minor trends in society. Here are a few examples:
1. There are more Christian Zionists than Jewish ones.
2. One percent of young Californians want to grow up to be military snipers.
3. As a result of the crime crackdown, one of the fastest growing population segments is newly released ex-convicts.
4. Knitting is making a revival among young people.
5. Those who love technology are more outgoing than those who hate technology.
The book also has some international examples. One of my favorites is that 82 percent of men aged 18-30 in Italy live at home with their parents. I felt like calling my sons to congratulate them on having moved out.
Mark J. Penn and E. Kinney Zalesne argue that you can build political conclusions from looking at such small trends. It's a lot easier to switch an independent voter than to attract a first-time voter . . . or to switch a voter who is loyal to the other party. Be spot-on with an issue that creates excitement for a small group of swing voters, and you may carry an election. The book is filled with references to the 1996 role that Soccer Moms played in Bill Clinton's re-election.
Beyond that, this is a book of trivia. There's not much analysis of products or positions that such groups might like. There's also no attempt to tie these small trends back to these people being independent voters.
Mark J. Penn and E. Kinney Zalesne also argue that contrary to what many Republican pollsters believe that swing voters are more interested in positions than in personality and character. I found that the book did more asserting of that point than proving of it.
In the brief concluding section there's a tiny effort to pull it all together: In a world with more choices, people will fragment in their selections. If you've read The Long Tail, you already knew that.
This is much too lightweight a book to have much significance. But it is fun to read. Don't feel like you need to read all of the sections.
I only found four tiny trends described that I hadn't already noticed, but I did find it convenient to see some estimate of how important the size of the trend is and a few reasons for the trend.
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