Thanks for your perspective. Carson's Silent Spring appeared just a little later in 1962. The 20s produced both Dorothy Day and the Great Gatsby. There is a wide range of cultural icons and goals in every generation. But yes, selfish individualism has been a trend in American literature and philosophy from Ayn Rand to Bonfire of the Vanities. I agree with your analysis of the book but not that it is especially Boomer to be that way.