*The basis for the documentary Join or Die—now streaming on Netflix!*Updated to include a new chapter about the influence of social media and the Internet—the 20th anniversary edition of Bowling Alone remains a seminal work of social analysis, and its examination of what happened to our sense of community remains more relevant than ever in today’s fractured America.Twenty years, ago, Robert D. Putnam made a seemingly simpl...

A New York Times bestseller and “a passionate, urgent” (The New Yorker) examination of the growing inequality gap from the bestselling author of Bowling Alone: why fewer Americans today have the opportunity for upward mobility.Central to the very idea of America is the principle that we are a nation of opportunity. But over the last quarter century we have seen a disturbing “opportunity gap” emerge. We Americans have always believed that ...

From the author of Bowling Alone and Our Kids, a “sweeping yet remarkably accessible” (The Wall Street Journal) analysis of social capital, civic engagement, and American democracy that “offers superb, often counterintuitive insights” (The New York Times) to demonstrate how we have gone from an individualistic “I” society to a more communitarian “We” society and then back again, and how we can learn from that experience to become a stronger more ...

'The most important book in social science for many years' Paul Collier, TLS Books of the YearThe Upswing is Robert D. Putnam's brilliant analysis of economic, social, cultural and political trends from the Gilded Age to the present, showing how America went from an individualistic 'I' society to a more communitarian 'We' society and then back again, and how we can all learn from that experience.In the late nineteenth century, America was ...

In Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam argues that Americans have become disconnected from one another and from the institutions of their common life, and investigates the consequences of this change. ¶Looking at a range of indicators, from membership in formal organizations to the number of invitations being extended to informal dinner parties, Putnam demonstrates that Americans are interacting less and creating less “social capital” with potentially disastrous implications for their society. ¶I...

曾經有一個比現在經濟更不平等 政治更加極化 社會更為分裂的時代，但是它沒有繼續沉淪，反而翻轉局面，向上提升數十年《階級世代》作者普特南充滿啟發的新作一百多年前的美國與現在相比，經濟更不平等 政治更加極化 社會更為分裂 公眾言論也同樣尖刻粗暴。令人訝異的是，儘管當時的人絕望地認為自己身處最糟的時代，然而一切卻開始反轉，不但沒有繼續往下坡走，反而一路向上提升，直到一九六○年代中期的高峰。在這段期間，貧富差距持續縮減，政治上的尊重合作取代抹黑攻訐，社會參與的風氣也高於私利絕對優先的心態。作者普特南認為，這幾方面的發展在時間上幾乎完全同步，並非單純的巧合。他巧妙運用各種可得的資料作為衡量的指標，為經濟 政治 社會 文化，甚至種族與性別議題編製出趨勢演變的圖像，並透過細膩的敘述，解說各個領域的發展情況。他認為，討論當前難題的時候，一般只關注一九六○ 七○年代以來開始往下坡走的趨勢，鮮少注意到更久之前我們其實也經歷過跟現在極為相似的糟糕情況。這段歷史最具啟...

Drawing on collaborative research from a distinguished team at Harvard and Manchester universities, The age of Obama asks how two very different societies are responding to the tide of diversity that is being felt around the rich world. Guardian journalist Tom Clark, Robert D. Putnam – best-selling author of Bowling alone – and Manchester’s Edward Fieldhouse offer a wonderfully readable account. Like Bowling alone, The age of Obama mixes social scientific rigor with accessible charts and l...

Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? In a book that has received attention from policymakers and civic activists in America and around the world, Robert Putnam and his collaborators offer empirical evidence for the importance of "civic community" in developing successful institutions. Their focus is on a unique experiment begun in 1970 when Italy created new governments for each of its regions. After spending two decades analyzing the efficacy of these governments in...

American political scientist Robert Putnam wasn’t the first person to recognize that social capital – the relationships between people that allow communities to function well – is the grease that oils the wheels of society. But by publishing Bowling Alone, he moved the debate from one primarily concerned with family and individual relationships one that studied the social capital generated by people’s engagement with the civic life.Putnam drew heavily on the critical think...

**Winner of the 2026 Edgar Award for Best NovelElvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, race to find a terrifying, unidentified killer in this twisting, unpredictable thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais.**Traci Beller was thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family, but Traci never believed it. Now, ten years later, Traci is a high...

Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, are back on the case in this brilliant new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais.Adele Schumacher isn't a typical worried mom. When she hires Elvis to find her missing son, a controversial podcaster named Josh Shoe, she brings a bag filled with cash, bizarre tales of government conspiracies, and a squad of professional bodyguards. Finding Josh should be simple, b...

In his national bestseller Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam illuminated the decline of social capital in the US. Now, in Democracies in Flux, Putnam brings together a group of leading scholars who broaden his findings as they examine the state of social capital in eight advanced democracies around the world. The book is packed with many intriguing revelations. The contributors note, for instance, that waning participation in unions, churches, and political parties seems to be...