Drawing on vast new data that reveal Americans' changing behavior, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from one another and h...
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Apr 01, 2008
angela
rated it: 
Despite it's "Best Seller" status - this book left a lot to be desired. Like anyone else who knows a thing or two about political participation and social capital, this book rings hollow and insincere at certain points.
Briefly, Putnam rests far too much of his argument on the decline of traditional, conventional "community organizations" of a previous era (like The Lion's Club, the Elks or the Masons). He pays scant attention to how divisive, racist, sexist, and More...
Briefly, Putnam rests far too much of his argument on the decline of traditional, conventional "community organizations" of a previous era (like The Lion's Club, the Elks or the Masons). He pays scant attention to how divisive, racist, sexist, and More...
Apr 10, 2008
Abby
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I'm not sure I could give full justice to this book in a hastily written review, so I'm not going to try. Robert Putnam's seminal treatise on social capital is jam-packed with statistics and information to back up his claims that social capital has been on a serious decline since the 1960s, much to the detriment of American society. He delineates a difference between two types of social capital--bonding (strong ties to a small inner circle of people, like family) and bridging (weak ties to a
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Nov 02, 2007
Leonard
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God this book is painstaking. (Read: painful.) It's good, it's thorough, and I read all five hundred pages or whatever. But the writing style induces anguish. It's so full of qualifications like: "But this correlation doesn't imply causality" or "Even when we hold race, class, gender, education, and imcome constant..."
I'll save you hours of your life and give you the summary: Throughout the twentieth century, more and more Americans were participating in clubs More...
I'll save you hours of your life and give you the summary: Throughout the twentieth century, more and more Americans were participating in clubs More...
Sep 30, 2007
Tasha
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In Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam argues that America's social capital has declined precipitously since the 1960’s. He uses massive amounts of data to back up his argument – so much so that the book surpasses 400 pages of small print, and that’s not including the 100 or so pages of appendices. Putnam makes his point unequivocally, and manages to not bore the reader with the abundance of historical and quantitative evidence he presents. Maybe this is because the topic is inherently interested
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Jan 11, 2008
Christine
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This is a book I heard about in 2000 when it first came out and I've wanted to read t since then. What took me so long?
It's an important treatise on how we have become increasingly disconnected with each other for various reasons: tv, moving a lot, lack of civic education, suburbanization and sprawl, longer work hours, both parents working, declining religious participation, greater individualism, etc. Author Robert Putnam contends that we are losing our social capital which basica More...
It's an important treatise on how we have become increasingly disconnected with each other for various reasons: tv, moving a lot, lack of civic education, suburbanization and sprawl, longer work hours, both parents working, declining religious participation, greater individualism, etc. Author Robert Putnam contends that we are losing our social capital which basica More...
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Jul 06, 2007
stephanie
rated it:
read for my social democracy seminar.
it seems really logical now, but when the book was written in 1995, and it was really, really revolutionary. his main thesis is that americans are not volunteering in the same ways in before - we are not joining community organizations anymore. young people are still volunteering, but mostly individually. (his title comes from the fact that people don't join bowling leagues anymore.)
i would recommend reading the first half, skimming More...
it seems really logical now, but when the book was written in 1995, and it was really, really revolutionary. his main thesis is that americans are not volunteering in the same ways in before - we are not joining community organizations anymore. young people are still volunteering, but mostly individually. (his title comes from the fact that people don't join bowling leagues anymore.)
i would recommend reading the first half, skimming More...
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Feb 28, 2009
Shane
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Putnam does a supurb job, through extensive and detailed demographic research, of isolating a compelling social problem -- declining social and civic participation. He describes this trend in interesting ways. For instance he argues that the increasing demand for and subsequent supply of lawyers in contemporary US society represents the handicapping erosion of trust and good faith among fellow citizens. This was an "a-ha" for me, an interpretation about a well-known phenomenon (who has
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Dec 10, 2008
Nelson
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Putnam, sociologist, describes Social Capital (i.e., Social engagement/ connectivity/interaction) and its decline in America since the 1960’s. Along w/ this decline in our society’s connectivity comes increased mistrust and disengagement…. …and crime. W/ High social capital a society functions for the good of all and its economy and health increase…. And lower crime. There are two types of social capital: Bonding Social Capital (ie, bonding of like people’…”birds of a feather”), and Bridging Soc
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Aug 11, 2011
For all the benefits of technology, it has changed how we interact with each other in a harmful way. Robert Putnam, a Harvard professor, examines this phenomenon in Bowling Alone. Americans' proclivity to join clubs that benefit the community plummeted with the coming of the internet age. Where we used to enjoy movies together in the theater, we now stay at home; where we used to bowl in leagues, which have disappeared. Even on the street, where we could once make eye contact or say a simpl
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Mar 03, 2010
Benjamin
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I am currently in a situation where I have very little social capital nearby. It's been difficult living with this deficit, but in a way I feel my situation had a purpose - to highlight the importance of community and social networks. That's why I picked up this book after I heard about it (maybe on an NPR interview? I need to start recording where I get book ideas because that is a part of the story).
This is a lengthy book but for the most part stays readable and isn't a stuffy a More...
This is a lengthy book but for the most part stays readable and isn't a stuffy a More...
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Apr 26, 2009
Richard
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I rather enjoyed this book as a (thorough) explanation of where community has gone in the past few decades and why. Particularly telling for me was the quoting of increased suicide rates and feelings of "malaise" over the past generation or two.
While Putnam makes the point that the '50s were more socially connected (they were), I don't think he romanticizes the decade by any stretch of the imagination. He mentions the increased tolerance for race, sex and sexual orientation More...
While Putnam makes the point that the '50s were more socially connected (they were), I don't think he romanticizes the decade by any stretch of the imagination. He mentions the increased tolerance for race, sex and sexual orientation More...
Jan 10, 2012
Stephen
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http://thisweekatthelibrary.blogspot.com...
Every so often I read a book that strikes my brain as lightening, forever altering my thinking and earning a permanent place both on my bedside bookcase and on the tip of my tongue, for I will be thinking, talking, and writing about it from that point on. Bowling Alone is such a book. In it, Robert Putnam makes the case that America has experienced over a half-century of social decline -- decline that is universal, across all demographics and More...
Every so often I read a book that strikes my brain as lightening, forever altering my thinking and earning a permanent place both on my bedside bookcase and on the tip of my tongue, for I will be thinking, talking, and writing about it from that point on. Bowling Alone is such a book. In it, Robert Putnam makes the case that America has experienced over a half-century of social decline -- decline that is universal, across all demographics and More...
Jan 16, 2012
Craig
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Despite its useful elements, Bowling Alone reminds me why I spend very little time reading sociology. Putnam offers a clear and reasonably compelling argument that civic involvement (in numerous forms--political, religious, social in both formal and informal manifestations) has declined steadily since the middle 1960s. He advances a notion of "social capital"--a measurement of the resources available to individuals in communities distinct from financial capital and human capital.
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Jan 10, 2011
Drick
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I have known of this book and referred to it for many years but this is the first time I have read it. In this book sociologist Robert Putnam chronicles the decline of social capital in the United States over the last century and offers suggestions on ways we can re-develop that lost social capital. Social capital is social connectedness, and the active involvement in civic affairs, whether it be in leading a Cub Scout Group, joining a service club, participating in a political campaign, or work
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Dec 10, 2011
Rebecca
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The idea/complaint/gut feeling that motivated this book is one that probably resonates with most Americans today: we're too disconnected from each other, too disengaged from our communities, too uninvolved in politics, too apathetic about helping other people, and too passive and solitary in our choice of hobbies and leisure activities.
Frankly, this book could have marshalled a lot less evidence, been a lot shorter, and used much less fancy sociological analysis, and I still would ha More...
Frankly, this book could have marshalled a lot less evidence, been a lot shorter, and used much less fancy sociological analysis, and I still would ha More...
Dec 15, 2008
Thethockmonthter
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This is exactly the kind of book I would have hated to have been assigned in college. It has tiny text, tiny margins, 500 pages, and - worst of all - a ton of interesting information that I really wanted to read, but never would have had time to.
The information assembled by Putnam('s legion of grad students) is compelling. Simply put, Americans are less connected in their communities than they used to be and it is affecting everything in their lives.
To me, the most intere More...
The information assembled by Putnam('s legion of grad students) is compelling. Simply put, Americans are less connected in their communities than they used to be and it is affecting everything in their lives.
To me, the most intere More...
Feb 26, 2010
FiveBooks
rated it:
Trevor Phillips OBE ,head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has chosen to discuss Robert D Putnam’s Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Community , on FiveBooks (http://five-books.com) as one of the top five on his subject - Equality, saying that:
“…In the half million interviews compiled for this book, they found that people in American society are less connected, they do fewer things together, they don’t sign petitions. Where they used to go bowling in lea More...
“…In the half million interviews compiled for this book, they found that people in American society are less connected, they do fewer things together, they don’t sign petitions. Where they used to go bowling in lea More...
Jan 06, 2010
adam
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Heard about this one awhile ago in a class and found a copy while at home. It details how 'social capital' (how well people are connected to society and eachother) has fallen off a cliff in America since 1970, why that's bad, why it happened, and what to do about it. The how was pretty interesting (did a lot of skimming after looking at the plots though). The why it happened was perhaps most interesting (TV does get blamed a lot). Unfortunately, none of his recommendations (now 10yrs old) or goa
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Nov 23, 2011
Craig
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I am glad I read it, though admittedly it was not easy to make it through this footnote laden scholarly treatise. The message, if you do not have the patience to make it through, can be summarized as follows:
- As a society, the US has seen dramatic decline in our social connectedness in the last 50 years. This shows itself in many ways, including declining club memberships, drops in church attendance, less activity in politics, less socializing with friends, and less involvement in More...
- As a society, the US has seen dramatic decline in our social connectedness in the last 50 years. This shows itself in many ways, including declining club memberships, drops in church attendance, less activity in politics, less socializing with friends, and less involvement in More...
Feb 02, 2011
Annie
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I had already been researching social networks and social capital for several years when I realized just how foundational this book was to the field. As I read it, I was amazed that many of these concepts emerged for the first time here--the very concepts that bloomed over the next 16 years into the roots of my dissertation. For what it's worth, I felt the same when I read Bourdieux's Le Capital Social--the two vie for the distinction of founding the field.
I am impressed that a schola More...
I am impressed that a schola More...
Apr 29, 2010
Nick
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I know that this has been an important book in my sister's life, and now I think it will become an important book in my own. She was about the same age as I am now when she read it, and I wonder if its strong effect on both of us may be related to this time of one's life--when you've completed all the prerequisite requirements, feel pretty stable and independent, and start thinking about what it is that you really want. Reading this book has been the cornerstone of a lot of time spent thinking a
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Jan 02, 2010
Kara
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If you're longing for an America of the past where people were citizens and friendships and memberships took priority, Bowling Alone is you book. This must read provides statistics on how to design a better community, how to turn people into citizens. Bowling Alone explains the WHY in how differing demographics function and how to make a change in communities for the better. Once you start weeding through all the numbers, there are true take-aways that you can apply to your family and your nei
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Oct 12, 2009
Kristin
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There are some pretty large problems with this book, not the least of which is Putnam's quickly brushing over anything that can be problematic about community and the dated feeling that his statements about the telephone and internet give the book, but putting this aside, Bowling Alone is a nice treatise on community and its importance in the US. When I first started reading, I thought I would bore quickly of the style, which is a basic pulling and analysis of statistics, but for some reason, I
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Dec 10, 2008
Brent
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Putnam’s work is a reader friendly and heavily researched saga focused on the apparent drop in social capital today. He bemoaned the loss of social capital and offered a collection of outcomes associated with low social capital. When social capital decreases, Putnam argued that crime rates go up, moral values go down, happiness goes down, quality of government goes down, and political leverage goes down.
Putnam’s idealistic picture of social capital is thoroughly supported by his da More...
Putnam’s idealistic picture of social capital is thoroughly supported by his da More...
Feb 02, 2009
Aaron Shaw:
Finally, Robert Putnam's 2000 book Bowling Alone is also one of the most widely read academic texts on the subject of social capital and civic engagement in the United States during the late 20th century. It's totally problematic in many ways (e.g. I'm not certain he would know political economy or theories of capitalism if they hit him in the nose), but is nonetheless an impressive and far-reaching analysis of an unbelievable amount of empirical evidence that the texture More...
Finally, Robert Putnam's 2000 book Bowling Alone is also one of the most widely read academic texts on the subject of social capital and civic engagement in the United States during the late 20th century. It's totally problematic in many ways (e.g. I'm not certain he would know political economy or theories of capitalism if they hit him in the nose), but is nonetheless an impressive and far-reaching analysis of an unbelievable amount of empirical evidence that the texture More...
Dec 25, 2009
Link
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The data Putnam collected and analyzed represents a major achievement. Yet, after doing all that hard work he failed to go very far down some paths his data showed him. For example, more Americans are part of the work force than in previous decades, when many two-adult families had only one adult in the work force, leaving the other free to participate in community and neighborhood activities. The phenomena of overwork and overspending, explored brilliantly by Juliet Schor, is tied to the declin
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Apr 17, 2009
Chris
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Bowling Alone is a very thorough (exhaustive? exhausting?) analysis of how American community has fallen apart since 1965 or so, why people don't care about participating in community activities like they used to, whether attending meetings, signing petitions, going to church or helping out with a neighborhood picnic. A very insightful book. The level of detail and the amount of evidence Putnam marshals to support his argument is pretty astonishing and almost overwhelming. But he offers a tho
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Jan 01, 2012
Frederick
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The author's thesis is that civic life in America is declining. People are not joining organizations, voting, getting politically involved, doing sports together, getting together informally or any number of other activities that people used to do collectively. With full statistical backing he tracks the decline in such things as bowling leagues over the past 20-50 years. He attributes this to a number of factors, the most compelling and convincing is the rise of TV. It makes a frightening story
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Sep 14, 2011
Michael
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Finally finished this book. It took me a couple months because my reading time was largely limited to Sundays at work when I was monitoring the front desk. I picked up Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam because it was mentioned in another book I had read earlier. I think it was the Feminine Mistake by Leslie Bennets, but I’m not sure now. Anyway, I have to say this book was very interesting and educational. I hesitate to use the word entertaining because it’s definitely not light reading and ha
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Apr 27, 2011
Margot
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I found this book fascinating, and couldn't stop talking about it while I was reading it and for several months afterward. While I found the approach to "social capital" somewhat akin to commoditizing friendships and civic interaction, I found so much richness in Putnam's thoughtful analysis of multiple diverse data sources, with plenty of charts and graphs to enjoy!
Putnam's premise is that our stores of social capital in the U.S. have been making a drastic plummeting curve ( More...
Putnam's premise is that our stores of social capital in the U.S. have been making a drastic plummeting curve ( More...
