Bowling AloneOnce 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. |
From inside the book
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Page
... of the book is that both civic engagement and organizational involvement
experienced marked declines during the second half of the twentieth century.4
According to the best available evidence, these declines have continued
uninterrupted.
... of the book is that both civic engagement and organizational involvement
experienced marked declines during the second half of the twentieth century.4
According to the best available evidence, these declines have continued
uninterrupted.
Page
Would (will?) the rise of the Internet offset the downward trends Bowling Alone
reported? When I wrote the original manuscript, I spent a good deal of time
looking at the best available evidence on the topic of how the Internet might
evolve and ...
Would (will?) the rise of the Internet offset the downward trends Bowling Alone
reported? When I wrote the original manuscript, I spent a good deal of time
looking at the best available evidence on the topic of how the Internet might
evolve and ...
Page
In the chapters that follow we explore these questions with the best available
evidence. THE CHALLENGE of studying the evolving social climate is analogous
in some respects to the challenge facing meteorologists who measure global ...
In the chapters that follow we explore these questions with the best available
evidence. THE CHALLENGE of studying the evolving social climate is analogous
in some respects to the challenge facing meteorologists who measure global ...
Page
I have a case to make, but like any officer of the court, I have a professional
obligation to present all relevant evidence I have found, exculpatory as well as
incriminating. To avoid cluttering the text with masses of redundant evidence, I
have ...
I have a case to make, but like any officer of the court, I have a professional
obligation to present all relevant evidence I have found, exculpatory as well as
incriminating. To avoid cluttering the text with masses of redundant evidence, I
have ...
Page
Consider first the new evidence on trends in partisan and campaign activities. (
Figure 4 charts these trends.)26 In round numbers, Americans were roughly half
as likely to work for a political party or attend a political rally or speech in the
1990s ...
Consider first the new evidence on trends in partisan and campaign activities. (
Figure 4 charts these trends.)26 In round numbers, Americans were roughly half
as likely to work for a political party or attend a political rally or speech in the
1990s ...
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - jonerthon - LibraryThingProbably the last of the older titles that has been on my reading list too long. Though it is dated in some ways, I was glad to finally get through this one and understand why so many planners have ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - ddonahue - LibraryThingThe present withdrawal of the individual from social organizations now resembles the situation after WW I as depicted in Chapter IX of Eckstein's Rites of Spring, in which he describes veteran's eschewal of social commitments. Read full review
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activities adults American analysis archive associations attendance average become behavior Bowling century chapter church cities citizens civic engagement club compared connections correlated DDB Needham decades decline Democracy economic effects equality especially evidence example fact factors figure forms four fraction friends giving groups growth half important income increase individual institutions interest Internet involvement John Journal least less levels lives measures meetings membership movement nearly Needham Life Style neighborhood networks organizations parents participation percent period political population question recent religious reported Research response Review rise Robert Roper roughly share shows single Social and Political social capital society Statistics suggests surveys television Trends trust turn twentieth century United University Press Urban viewing virtually volunteering watching women World York
Bibliographic information
| Title | Bowling Alone |
| Author | Robert D. Putnam |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster, 2001 |
| ISBN | 0743219031, 9780743219037 |
| Length | 544 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Social History History / United States / 20th Century Political Science / Public Policy / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |