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
Overall, campaign participation has not decreased; but political alienation has
grown significantly.14 So in some cases the declines in political participation
have continued, but in other cases not. The nature of trends in informal social ...
Overall, campaign participation has not decreased; but political alienation has
grown significantly.14 So in some cases the declines in political participation
have continued, but in other cases not. The nature of trends in informal social ...
Page
The book's message also happened to fit the political mood of the day: the “Third
Way” of Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and their contemporaries, as well as our nation's
hunger for common ground in the wake of 9/11, which happened a month after ...
The book's message also happened to fit the political mood of the day: the “Third
Way” of Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and their contemporaries, as well as our nation's
hunger for common ground in the wake of 9/11, which happened a month after ...
Page
As the 1960s ended, sociologists Daniel Bell and Virginia Held reported that “
there is more participation than ever before in America... and more opportunity for
the active interested person to express his personal and political concerns.”6
Even ...
As the 1960s ended, sociologists Daniel Bell and Virginia Held reported that “
there is more participation than ever before in America... and more opportunity for
the active interested person to express his personal and political concerns.”6
Even ...
Page
Political. Participation. THE CHARACTER of Americans' involvement with politics
and government has been transformed over the past three decades. This is
certainly not the only alteration in the way we connect with our communities. It is
not ...
Political. Participation. THE CHARACTER of Americans' involvement with politics
and government has been transformed over the past three decades. This is
certainly not the only alteration in the way we connect with our communities. It is
not ...
Page
Throughout their lives and whatever their station in life and their level of political
interest, baby boomers and their children have been less likely to vote than their
parents and grandparents. As boomers and their children became a larger and ...
Throughout their lives and whatever their station in life and their level of political
interest, baby boomers and their children have been less likely to vote than their
parents and grandparents. As boomers and their children became a larger and ...
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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 |