Are we still Bowling Alone?
October 26, 2015 2:27 PM Subscribe
A while, I read Putnam's Bowling Alone and Fishman's The Walmart Effect and I enjoyed them. I didn't necessarily agree with everything they said, but I enjoyed them. A lot has changed since they were written. I'd like some recommendations of more recent books that are along the same lines as those -- books about social change written in layman's terms that aren't overtly biased.
Putnam's Harvard colleague, Theda Skocpol, wrote a response to the Bowling Alone thesis many years ago: Unravelling from Above.
She later developed her argument more fully in a book called Diminished Democracy. She also co-edited Civic Engagement in American Democracy.
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 5:58 PM on October 26, 2015 [3 favorites]
She later developed her argument more fully in a book called Diminished Democracy. She also co-edited Civic Engagement in American Democracy.
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 5:58 PM on October 26, 2015 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I think you'd enjoy Sherry Turkle's Alone Together, which is a very recent sociology book that considers how the growth of personal technology has affected the type of bridging/bonding social glue that Putnam examines.
posted by correcaminos at 6:08 PM on October 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by correcaminos at 6:08 PM on October 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I've been thinking about this question for a while, and haven't been able to come up with something that perfectly matches your criteria, which surprised me because I love reading stuff like this and thought I read a lot of it. These are the ones I thought of that didn't quite fit, but are still excellent:
Quiet
The Warmth of Other Suns
Thinking, Fast and Slow
American Nations
These are older (written around the same time as Bowling Alone)
Trust
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Oh, and I haven't finished it yet but I did start So You've Been Publicly Shamed which I think is written by a Mefite and seems to be very good.
posted by selfmedicating at 6:40 PM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Quiet
The Warmth of Other Suns
Thinking, Fast and Slow
American Nations
These are older (written around the same time as Bowling Alone)
Trust
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Oh, and I haven't finished it yet but I did start So You've Been Publicly Shamed which I think is written by a Mefite and seems to be very good.
posted by selfmedicating at 6:40 PM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Putnam has a new book out on inequality. Here.. I heard him talk about it, and it was terrific.
I love Kevin Phillips' American Theocracy. I learned a bunch about America from that.
posted by persona au gratin at 12:01 AM on October 27, 2015
I love Kevin Phillips' American Theocracy. I learned a bunch about America from that.
posted by persona au gratin at 12:01 AM on October 27, 2015
Response by poster: Thank you for the links, everyone. I'm off to update my wish list. I suppose this is more of a niche than I thought it was.
posted by MildredMakenpace at 12:56 PM on October 27, 2015
posted by MildredMakenpace at 12:56 PM on October 27, 2015
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posted by box at 4:32 PM on October 26, 2015