Bowling Alone

In a groundbreaking book based on vast new data, Robert Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbours and our democratic structures- and how we may reconnect. BOWLING ALONE warns Americans that their stock of "social capital", the very fabric of their connections with each other, has been accelerating down. Putnam describes the resulting impoverishment of their lives and communities. Drawing on evidence that includes nearly half a million interviews conducted over a quarter of a century in America, Putnam shows how changes in work, family structure, age, suburban life, television, computers, women's roles and other factors are isolating Americans from each other in a trend whose reflection can clearly be seen in British society. We sign 30 percent fewer petitions than we did ten years ago. Membership in organisations- from the Boy Scouts to political parties and the Church is falling. Ties with friends and relatives are fraying: we're 35 percent less likely to visit our neighbours or have dinner with our families than we were thirty years ago. We watch sport alone instead of with our friends. A century ago, American citizens' means of connecting were at a low point after decades of urbanisation, industrialisation and immigration uprooted them from families and friends. That generation demonstrated a capacity for renewal by creating the organisations that pulled Americans together. Putnam shows how we can learn from them and reinvent common enterprises that will make us secure, productive, happy and hopeful.

ISBN 0743203046   DEWEY edition DC21 ISBN13 9780743203043 (What's this?)   Pages 541 Publisher Simon & Schuster Ltd   Volumes 1 Imprint Simon & Schuster Ltd   Weight (grammes) 500 Format Paperback   Published in London Publication date 11 Aug 2001   Height (mm) 236 Non-book description 541 p. :   Width (mm) 156 Library of Congress HN65.P878   Spine width (mm) 34 DEWEY 307.0973   Academic level General

Julia Keller "Chicago Tribune" A learned and clearly focused snapshot of a crucial moment in American history.

 Be the first to write a customer review

Version	Price	Published	Edition
Hardback	£17.99	2001	illustrated edition