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.

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Social Breakdown

I haven't finished the book yet but it talks a lot about the breakdown in social connection in American community life which is a sign of their increasingly advanced, fast-paced society.

IanL

Brisbane Australia

2017-08-16

Bowling Alone

4.0 1

100.0

Julia Keller Chicago Tribune A learned and clearly focused snapshot of a crucial moment in American history. Alan Ehrenhalt The Wall Street Journal A powerful argument...presented in a lucid and readable way. Wendy Rahn The Washington Post This 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. Richard Flacks Los Angeles Times Putnam styles himself as a kind of sociological detective....The reader experiences the suspense that can happen in both detective fiction and science. Alan Ryan The New York Review of Books Rich, dense, thoughtful, fascinating...packed with provocative information about the social and political habits of twentieth-century Americans.

Introduction
Thinking about Social Change in America
Trends in Civic Engagement and Social Capital
Political Participation
Civic Participation
Religious Participation
Connections in the Workplace
Informal Social Connections
Altruism, Volunteering, and Philanthropy
Reciprocity, Honesty, and Trust
Against the Tide? Small Groups, Social Movements, and the Net
Why?
Introduction
Pressures of Time and Money
Mobility and Sprawl
Technology and Mass Media
From Generation to Generation
What Killed Civic Engagement? Summing Up
So What? (with the assistance of Kristin A. Goss)
Introduction
Education and Children's Welfare
Safe and Productive Neighborhoods
Economic Prosperity
Health and Happiness
Democracy
The Dark Side of Social Capital
What is to be Done?
Lessons of History: The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era
Toward an Agenda for Social Capitalists
Measuring Social Change
Sources for Figures and Tables
The Rise and Fall of Civic and Professional Associations
Notes
The Story Behind this Book
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9780743203043
ISBN-10: 0743203046
Audience: General
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 544
Published: 7th August 2001
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
Country of Publication: GB
Dimensions (cm): 23.6 x 15.6 x 3.18
Weight (kg): 0.51
Edition Number: 2
Edition Type: New edition