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Q&A | May 20, 2013

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This title in other editions

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community

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Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Drawing on vast new data that reveal Americans’ changing behavior, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from one another and how social structures—whether they be PTA, church, or political parties—have disintegrated. Until the publication of this groundbreaking work, no one had so deftly diagnosed the harm that these broken bonds have wreaked on our physical and civic health, nor had anyone exalted their fundamental power in creating a society that is happy, healthy, and safe.

Like defining works from the past, such as The Lonely Crowd and The Affluent Society, and like the works of C. Wright Mills and Betty Friedan, Putnam’s Bowling Alone has identified a central crisis at the heart of our society and suggests what we can do.

Review:

"Bowling Alone provides important new data on the trends in civic engagement and social capital, a revised analysis if the causes of the decline, an expoloration of its consequences, and ideas about what might be done. The book will not settle the debate, but it is a formidable acheivement. It will henceforth be impossible to discuss these issues knowledgeably without reading Putnam's book and thinking about it." Paul Starr, The New Republic

Synopsis:

In a groundbreaking bestseller based on vast new data, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and our democratic structures--and tells how we may reconnect.

Synopsis:

Once we bowled in leagues, usually after work—but no longer. This seemingly small phenomenon symbolizes a significant social change that Robert Putnam has identified in this brilliant volume, which The Economist hailed as “a prodigious achievement.”

Description:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [445]-504) and index.
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About the Author

Robert D. Putnam is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and founder of the Saguaro Seminar, a program dedicated to fostering civic engagement in America. He is the author or coauthor of ten previous books and is former dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Table of Contents

Contents

SECTION I: INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1: Thinking about Social Change in America

SECTION II: TRENDS IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND SOCIAL CAPITAL

CHAPTER 2: Political Participation

CHAPTER 3: Civic Participation

CHAPTER 4: Religious Participation

CHAPTER 5: Connections in the Workplace

CHAPTER 6: Informal Social Connections

CHAPTER 7: Altruism, Volunteering, and Philanthropy

CHAPTER 8: Reciprocity, Honesty, and Trust

CHAPTER 9: Against the Tide? Small Groups, Social Movements, and the Net

SECTION III: WHY?

CHAPTER 10: Introduction

CHAPTER 11: Pressures of Time and Money

CHAPTER 12: Mobility and Sprawl

CHAPTER 13: Technology and Mass Media

CHAPTER 14: From Generation to Generation

CHAPTER 15: What Killed Civic Engagement? Summing Up

SECTION IV: SO WHAT? (with the assistance of Kristin A. Goss)

CHAPTER 16: Introduction

CHAPTER 17: Education and Children's Welfare

CHAPTER 18: Safe and Productive Neighborhoods

CHAPTER 19: Economic Prosperity

CHAPTER 20: Health and Happiness

CHAPTER 21: Democracy

CHAPTER 22: The Dark Side of Social Capital

SECTION V: WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

CHAPTER 23: Lessons of History: The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era

CHAPTER 24: Toward an Agenda for Social Capitalists

APPENDIX I: Measuring Social Change

APPENDIX II: Sources for Figures and Tables

APPENDIX III: The Rise and Fall of Civic and Professional Associations

NOTES

THE STORY BEHIND THIS BOOK

INDEX

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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
katesisco, November 4, 2007 (view all comments by katesisco)
I was struck by the similarity between this concern and the distention in the ghettos we discussed in sociology oh so many years ago. Remember when we 'discovered' that the tragedy of the commons was no tragedy; that the level of involvement was tribal--each knowing the other for best management of commonly owned lands.

It seems to be another attempt to state how disassociated we are from genuine relationships instead of the lip service we see; my recent read by an anthology professor titled My Freshman Year, made me aware of how deeply our society is dysfunctional when the author spoke to her foreign students about their friendships with American students. Almost to a whole, they found the 'friendships' superficial and insufficient, not at all like the ones they had in their home lands.

Is our media, i.e. tv to blame, yes, but also our spread of communities, he shares the blame and then suprisingly gives 35% to generational causes.

If you have a tribal society, you have trust because each sees/talks with each other daily. If you didn't and had a hermit in your town, this person was suspect. All of us are suspect as we don't know one another. Our governmental processes stand empty, as time after time we have discovered the results to be empty of the promise of fairness.

The question is how to restore fairness and trust; again we come back to tribal; small groups agreeing among themselves.

What ever happened to the concept of 'new towns', with grocery, drug, medical in the buildings of walkable streets and open porches? That is the closest we will be able to come to 'tribal.'
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780743203043
Subtitle:
The Collapse and Revival of American Community
Author:
Putnam, Robert D
With:
Cohen, Don
Author:
Putnam, Robert D.
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster
Location:
New York
Subject:
General
Subject:
History
Subject:
United states
Subject:
United States - General
Subject:
Sociology - General
Subject:
Anthropology - Cultural
Subject:
Social change
Subject:
United States - 20th Century (1945 to present)
Subject:
Social classes
Subject:
General Current Events
Subject:
United States - 20th Century (1945 to 2000)
Subject:
Social change -- United States -- History.
Subject:
United States Social conditions 1945-
Subject:
anthropology;cultural anthropology
Copyright:
2000
Edition Number:
1st Touchstone ed.
Edition Description:
B102
Series Volume:
GTR-520
Publication Date:
August 2001
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
544
Dimensions:
8.44x5.60x1.35 in. 1.13 lbs.
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Religion » Comparative Religion » General

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Used Trade Paper
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Product details 544 pages Simon & Schuster - English 9780743203043 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Bowling Alone provides important new data on the trends in civic engagement and social capital, a revised analysis if the causes of the decline, an expoloration of its consequences, and ideas about what might be done. The book will not settle the debate, but it is a formidable acheivement. It will henceforth be impossible to discuss these issues knowledgeably without reading Putnam's book and thinking about it."
"Synopsis" by , In a groundbreaking bestseller based on vast new data, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and our democratic structures--and tells how we may reconnect.
"Synopsis" by , Once we bowled in leagues, usually after work—but no longer. This seemingly small phenomenon symbolizes a significant social change that Robert Putnam has identified in this brilliant volume, which The Economist hailed as “a prodigious achievement.”
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