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6 Burnside American Studies- 80s to Present


Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community

by Robert D Putnam

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Cover

ISBN13: 9780743203043
ISBN10: 0743203046
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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, Bowling Alone, which The Economist hailed as "a prodigious achievement."

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

Review:

Alan RyanThe New York Review of BooksRich, dense, thoughtful, fascinating...packed with provocative information about the social and political habits of twentieth-century Americans.

Review:

Alan EhrenhaltThe Wall Street JournalA powerful argument...presented in a lucid and readable way.

Review:

Alan Ehrenhalt

The Wall Street Journal

A powerful argument...presented in a lucid and readable way.

Review:

Julia KellerChicago TribuneA learned and clearly focused snapshot of a crucial moment in American history.

Review:

Wendy RahnThe Washington PostThis is a very important book; it's the de Tocqueville of our generation. And you don't often hear an academic like me say those sorts of things.

Review:

Richard FlacksLos Angeles TimesPutnam styles himself as a kind of sociological detective....The reader experiences the suspense that can happen in both detective fiction and science.

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.

Description:

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

About the Author

Robert D. Putnam is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard. He is currently president of the American Political Science Association, fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the author of nine previous books. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts. To learn more about Bowling Alone and ways to help rebuild our nation's social capital, visit the author's Web sites at www.bowlingalone.com and www.bettertogether.org

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

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)
Copyright:
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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