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
Equally instructive is the T-shirt slogan used by the Gold Beach, Oregon,
Volunteer Fire Department to publicize their annual fundraising effort: “Come to
our breakfast, we'll come to your fire.” “We act on a norm of specific reciprocity,”
the ...
Equally instructive is the T-shirt slogan used by the Gold Beach, Oregon,
Volunteer Fire Department to publicize their annual fundraising effort: “Come to
our breakfast, we'll come to your fire.” “We act on a norm of specific reciprocity,”
the ...
Page
Some forms of social capital, like a volunteer ambulance squad, have explicit
publicregarding purposes; some, like a bridge club, exist for the private
enjoyment of the members; and some, like the Rotary club mentioned earlier,
serve both ...
Some forms of social capital, like a volunteer ambulance squad, have explicit
publicregarding purposes; some, like a bridge club, exist for the private
enjoyment of the members; and some, like the Rotary club mentioned earlier,
serve both ...
Page
Next we examine the changing patterns of trust and altruism in America—
philanthropy, volunteering, honesty, reciprocity. Finally we turn to three apparent
counterexamples to the decline of connectedness—small groups, social
movements, ...
Next we examine the changing patterns of trust and altruism in America—
philanthropy, volunteering, honesty, reciprocity. Finally we turn to three apparent
counterexamples to the decline of connectedness—small groups, social
movements, ...
Page
... to volunteer, to serve on juries, to attend community school board meetings, to
participate in public demonstrations, and ... although some recent evidence
suggests that the act of voting itself encourages volunteering and other forms of
good ...
... to volunteer, to serve on juries, to attend community school board meetings, to
participate in public demonstrations, and ... although some recent evidence
suggests that the act of voting itself encourages volunteering and other forms of
good ...
Page
How about the grassroots gladiators who volunteer to work for political parties,
posting signs, attending campaign rallies, and the like? What is the evidence on
trends in partisan participation? On the positive side of the ledger, one might
argue ...
How about the grassroots gladiators who volunteer to work for political parties,
posting signs, attending campaign rallies, and the like? What is the evidence on
trends in partisan participation? On the positive side of the ledger, one might
argue ...
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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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Common terms and phrases
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 |