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Few people outside certain scholarly circles had heard the name Robert D. Putnam before 1995. But then this self-described "obscure academic" hit a nerve with a journal article called "Bowling Alone." Suddenly he found himself invited to Camp David, his picture in People magazine, and his thesis at the center of a raging debate. In a nutshell, he argued that civil society was breaking down as Americans became more disconnected from their families, neighbors, communities, and the republic itself. The organizations that gave life to democracy were fraying. Bowling became his driving metaphor. Years ago, he wrote, thousands of people belonged to bowling leagues. Today, however, they're more likely to bowl alone:

Television, two-career families, suburban sprawl, generational changes in values--these and other changes in American society have meant that fewer and fewer of us find that the League of Women Voters, or the United Way, or the Shriners, or the monthly bridge club, or even a Sunday picnic with friends fits the way we have come to live. Our growing social-capital deficit threatens educational performance, safe neighborhoods, equitable tax collection, democratic responsiveness, everyday honesty, and even our health and happiness.

The conclusions reached in the book Bowling Alone rest on a mountain of data gathered by Putnam and a team of researchers since his original essay appeared. Its breadth of information is astounding--yes, he really has statistics showing people are less likely to take Sunday picnics nowadays. Dozens of charts and graphs track everything from trends in PTA participation to the number of times Americans say they give "the finger" to other drivers each year. If nothing else, Bowling Alone is a fascinating collection of factoids. Yet it does seem to provide an explanation for why "we tell pollsters that we wish we lived in a more civil, more trustworthy, more collectively caring community." What's more, writes Putnam, "Americans are right that the bonds of our communities have withered, and we are right to fear that this transformation has very real costs." Putnam takes a stab at suggesting how things might change, but the book's real strength is in its diagnosis rather than its proposed solutions. Bowling Alone won't make Putnam any less controversial, but it may come to be known as a path-breaking work of scholarship, one whose influence has a long reach into the 21st century. --John J. Miller

Book Description

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.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Data, Interesting Story... may be limited by logical fallacy.......2007-09-19

This is a well written book about the decline of certain activities that have historically been central to the "social capital" of American society and the pervasive consequences on American lives. While I think much of Putnam's story is on the mark, I believe his diagnosis of the problem depends on several logical flaws and this could potentially imply that different conclusions should be reached. Let me explain:

The book basically says, "here's a laundry list of activities that Americans don't do as often as they used to including clubs, religious activities, unions, house parties, picnics, etc." The evidence is overwhelming that all of these activities have become less common as a share of American activities. They're all major components of what we typically consider social activities. Putnam therefore concludes that Americans are building less social capital. Does this evidence lead to this conclusion? Let's replace some of the words and concepts and perhaps we can illustrate why it may not.

Assume Americans are spending less money (or a smaller percentage of their income) on makeup, perfume, and hair salons (I don't necessarily believe this is true, but for the sake of the example). We consider all of these activities beautification. Now would a reduction in the share of household wealth spent on these activities necessarily imply that Americans care less about beauty or are less beautiful? What if we "forget" to mention (or simply miss) that people are now spending a huge share of wealth on plastic surgery and that this didn't even exist in our "reference period?" What if people are spending less on makeup because they get far more "beauty" for the same amount of money today?

To be truly conclusive, Putnam needs to not only prove that people are spending less total time on social activities but that these social activities are less rewarding on the whole (and what we've replaced them with are not more rewarding than our losses).

Critical to this point is the question, "what is it that social capital is supposed to deliver?" I took the time to write this review instead of socializing. I won't necessarily receive any direct compensation from a reader as I might have gotten from the friend (emotional support, contact to a job, introduction to a significant other, fun of company). It appears that I've lost social capital. BUT, how many of your friends would you have needed to ask before you got a review like this (or others submitted here). How many friendships would I have had to make to get the benefit of the other reviews that I've read on Amazon. Am I worse off or have I simply participated in a less personal exchange that is of much greater value to society (and in the long run to myself)?

In the same vein, I may not go hang out with my friends the way my parents did, but I can IM and TXT my friends no matter where they are in the country. I may not meet my neighbor but I can share interest in games or politics or economics with people around the country and I'd like to think I get a lot out of my participation in these kinds of communities. Is my life really worse if I can't invite all of these people to the bowling alley with me? Is my life or my participation in society really diminished if I don't attend a meeting in their physical presence?

If I had no friends in town, certainly the cost would be real. But I would never trade my deep personal relationships with friends in New York, Pittsburgh, and Chicago for a dozen bowling buddies here in Columbus.

Despite my concerns regarding the specific arguments and conclusions, I actually enjoyed the book and encourage people to read it. However, the book only receives 4 stars because the data may not necessarily justify the conclusions and readers are therefore cautioned about taking it all at face value.

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.......2007-09-10

Why does the idea of community seem to have vanished? Why are we not as close to our neighbors as our grandparents used to be? What are the changes that have accorded in these last few generations that have caused such isolation? Read Bowling Alone to find out what has killed the spirit of neighborliness and volunteerism.

Social Capital without a shared vision??.......2007-07-12

Putnam has done a good job of marshalling an incredible amount of graphs, tables, charts, etc. while still keeping the reader's (my!) interest. He makes an impressive case on 2 fronts: one, that we're less socially connected today, and not as socially invested as we once were; and two, this state of affairs is not a good thing in many ways (personal and social health, etc.). The book is far less convincing when it appears to suggest that the great template for a generation that DID invest heavily in social capital was the generation that had its heyday in the post-war years. In other words, the "greatest generation." While I believe that they were heavily socially invested, and developed many and wide-ranging ways to increase that social capital, I do NOT believe that our (or future) generations can replicate that. We now celebrate tolerance and diversity today, in fact worship at their feet. Previous generations in this country did not, and that's the rub. You need a society that's pretty much agreed on what makes a good life or a good person before you can get large numbers of people to sign on to groups that nourish that idea. Today, we live in a circus atmosphere in which there is no right or wrong way to live, as long as you stay out of my hair. That might be well and good, but HARDLY a vision that will inspire any investature of social capital. I don't think Putnam sees this difficulty clearly enough (although he does mention it) because if this difficulty is insurmountable (as I think it is unless society undergoes a sea-change in belief) there is NO remedy for modern society's fragmentation. I guess what I'm saying is that you need a vision of community that the vast majority of movers, shakers, and regular folks have bought into, before you can talk about recapturing that sense of community. And today we don't have that, not even close. Tolerance and diversity both act to fragment community and that process is only accelerated when such attitudes are held by societal leaders. Putnam also needs to focus more on the decade of the 60s (say from 1963 - 1973) and fess up to the fact that people--whether they totally bought into the cult of the individual that sprang from that time or not--were ALL affected by that decade. Society simply looked at things differently (specifcally authority-mediated knowledge) when they came out this end of that decade. We can't go back, and Putnam ought to know that every time he sits in a faculty meeting at Harvard and looks at the non-conformist dress, jewelry and lifestyles that are exhibited there (imagine their wardrobe and attire on 1950s' Harvard faculty!). Each generation learns its knowledge base from authority-mediated knowledge transfer--either formally or informally, from sacred texts to how to use a crescent wrench. The post-60s generations simply do not and cannot look or accept authority like the generations that Putnam praises for their civic involvement. He castigates television for much of the problem but to me that's more symptom of this deeper cause (else why is the older generation somehow nearly immune to watching TV as much as the younger). I also wonder when Putnam tries to make a case for how social involvement can help the individual but using a quick vignette of an affluent couple who try and increase social involvement and capital by NOT taking their kid out of public school. This coming from a professor at the most well-known PRIVATE institution of higher learning in the country?? I wonder how many of his colleagues have their children in public schools, or would put them in some of the worse public schools, far from Cambridge, Mass? still, this is a thoughtful book and societal critique, whether you agree with his assessment or not. It will engage you.

A thoroughly researched opus -- a must-read for anyone interested in American society.......2007-06-18

As I read through Putnam's book, I was repeatedly impressed by how thoroughly researched his points were. Bowling Alone has over 100 figures and tables dispersed throughout, and while that would be considered an "overly academic" death knell for most books, this book comes out as both interesting and highly readable. The points are backed up by hard facts and Putnam is very careful to state which opinions are his own as opposed to some other source's. His style of reasoning and argument always includes an examination of possible alternative explanations, which is something all non-fiction writing of this type should require.

In this book you will learn a good deal about the advantages and disadvantages of community groups and why America -- as a society -- has drifted away from the close-knit communities of the 1950s and early 60s. Bowling Alone is one of those rare books that has a little bit of everything: sociology, psychology, urban planning, political commentary, and good old-fashioned statistical analysis. And these topics are all covered in a way that bring the social phenomena to light without getting bogged down in the numbers. Putnam's book is truly an impressive piece of work.

does not make an adequate argument.......2007-04-07

This is a fairly academic description of the decline of civil society. It is well written and the information is clearly presented. The arguments are clear and easy to understand although not truly persuasive. This book spends an inordinate amount of time hammering a point that is obvious enough- Americans join and participate in fewer groups than they used to. I like most people already believed that when I read the book synopsis. Instead of detailed data about the mempership decline in churches and bridge clubs etc., more analysis about the causes and effects of this decline should have been included.

As for the argument of this book, did not convince me. The chapter on the dark side of social groups provided a superficial argument for why social groups promote equality and fraternity. I did not care for the reliance on constructs such as the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity (those are just part of french enlightenment ideals, they are not some kind of measurable benchmarks to make sweeping judgements about society with).

In the end, I am the generation x-y child of parents that were active in a number of social organizations, PTA, neighborhood get togethers etc. I belong to no groups and do not spend time with my neighbors. Like most people my age, I have observed my parents involvement in groups and do not wish to follow suit. The author did not seem to take any time to analyze why people would willingly abandon a civic life when they know exactly what they are missing. I do not see America degenerating because of people's desire to live highly independant existances.

Bowling Alone the Collapse and Revival of American Community

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Bowling Alone the Collapse and Revival of American Community
Robert D. Putnam
Manufacturer: Simon And Schuster
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Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RL10U6

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Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
Robert D. Putnam
Manufacturer: Touchstone Books
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ASIN: B000NP3UYA

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. (book review): An article from: Yale Law Journal

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Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. (book review): An article from: Yale Law Journal
Preston Quesenberry
Manufacturer: Yale University, School of Law
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Yale Law Journal, published by Yale University, School of Law on January 1, 2002. The length of the article is 4084 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. (book review)
Author: Preston Quesenberry
Publication: Yale Law Journal (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2002
Publisher: Yale University, School of Law
Volume: 111 Issue: 4 Page: 1031(8)

Article Type: Book Review

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Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.(Review): An article from: Independent Review

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Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.(Review): An article from: Independent Review
James A. Montanye
Manufacturer: Independent Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Independent Review, published by Independent Institute on January 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1857 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.(Review)
Author: James A. Montanye
Publication: Independent Review (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2001
Publisher: Independent Institute
Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Page: 464

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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The Cyberpapacy

Manufacturer: West End Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0874313074

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The GodNet: Virtual Reality in the Cyberpapacy (TORG: Roleplaying the Possibility Wars)

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0874313155

Book Description

Easily master the core concepts of organizational behavior with ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR! With coverage of theory, research, and practice, this management text provides you with the tools you need to succeed. Chapter opening vignettes and boxes, an inside look boxed feature, experiential exercises, and critical incidents found throughout the text make exam preparation easy. See organizational behavior principles in the real world through short stories, current examples, and experiential exercises.

Customer Reviews:

Simple Language and Practical Book.......2007-05-21

Book language is very clear and straight forward. I spent over 15 years in industry; I see this book worth reading since it covers most of the organizational behaviors that we come across daily in the workplace. Book does not cover committee role in business organizations, and focuses only on groups' behavior. Also, the book does not address stereotyping behavior in details for multicultural organizations. I was not happy about the last 4 chapters in the book since I see it as a collection of general information that can be found easily over the internet. In general, the book is excellent particularly for people who are purely non-academic and looking for practical readings about organizational behavior.

Its ok.......2007-01-09

I found the text a little redundant in some areas, but its still a good read, and has nice and easy wording within. It is somewhat of a review of a lot of concepts about organizational behaviour, and has a psychology twist to it as well.

Core Concepts of Organizational Behavior

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Know your organization
Great Behavior Book
Great review of OB
A+ for "profs' & self-driven doing-it-on-your-own students!

Core Concepts of Organizational Behavior
John Schermerhorn , James G. Hunt , and Richard N. Osborn
Manufacturer: Wiley
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ASIN: 0471391824

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Access world-class business content with Core Concepts and Business Extra Select!
Outstanding Content: Core Concepts of Organizational Behavior takes a streamlined approach that focuses on fundamentals and leaves room for additional content.
Materials from Leading Business Publications: With Wiley's Business Extra Select Program, Instructors can build on the core text by adding articles, cases, and readings from such leading business resources as INSEAD, Ivey and Harvard Business School Cases, Fortune, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and more.
Flexibility: Instructors can select a pre-built Business Extra Select CoursePack, or create their own CoursePack from the thousands of articles and cases in the Business Extra Select database. You can even add your own content. CoursePacks can be packaged with the text or purchased separately online.
Low Price: The Core Concepts text's brief format translates into a lower cost for students.

Customer Reviews:

Know your organization.......2007-05-27

This book gives you the basic knowledge to undertand an organization, how is structure and how the internal process works.

Great Behavior Book.......2007-02-28

Wonderful book in Organizational Behavior, this book has everything from leadership, motivation, negotiation, stress, and etc. This is a must have for anyone who deals with people or in a managemen role.

Great review of OB.......2007-02-21

Thank you for sending this book quickly. I am a student and with its arrival I was able to get some much needed homework done. Thank you.

A+ for "profs' & self-driven doing-it-on-your-own students!.......1999-03-26

Introduces the essentials of organizational behavior with strong managerial theme. Section I covers organizational behavior and management, the new workplace, and the global economy. Other sections focus on: individuals, groups, processes, organizational goals and structure, design, culture, change and development. The section on motivation includes a good integrated model, that integrates several theories. This text provides a solid grounding in the subject. Includes notes and glossary.

Book Description

In response to the need for an alternative to broad-coverage organizational behavior books, Bob Vecchio has written Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts, 5th Edition. With solid coverage of theory, research, and practice, this new edition provides the foundation for understanding micro and macro views of organizational behavior.

Customer Reviews:

text book... need I say more.......2007-01-20

good sleeping material... not bad content, but i'd rather read somethign INTERESTING!!!!

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Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts
Angelo Kinicki
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0073530298

Book Description

Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts was written with the goal of creating a short, up-to-date, practical, user-friendly, interesting, and engaging introduction to the field of organizational behavior. Angelo Kinicki accomplished this goal by selecting content on the basis of his experience in teaching and writing OB textbooks and the desire to provide a brief book on organizational behavior. The 14 chapters present concise coverage of key concepts needed to help students gain an understanding about individual, group, and organizational behavior. The focus is more on content than pedagogy in order to allow instructors the flexibility to incorporate their own case selections and supplementary materials into their courses. Another key feature of Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts is a boxed feature that provides information about ancillary materials that can be used to enhance student learning and to facilitate a more interactive learning environment. This box identifies when students can test their mastery of the content or enhance their understanding by taking one of 38 Test Your Knowledge Quizzes or 20 self-assessment surveys. The box also calls out when instructors might use 23 group exercises and 15 Manager’s Hot Seat video segments to supplement their lectures and facilitate student involvement and interactions. Finally, Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts contains coverage of cutting edge topics and timely examples.

Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts (Cram101 Textbook Outlines - Textbook NOT Included)

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Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts (Cram101 Textbook Outlines - Textbook NOT Included)
Vecchio
Manufacturer: AIPI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts

ASIN: 1428805508

Book Description

Never HIGHLIGHT a Book Again! Virtually all testable terms, concepts, persons, places, and events are included.look no further for study resources or reference material. Cram101 Textbook Outlines gives all of the outlines, highlights, notes, and practice-tests for your textbook. Only Cram101 is Textbook Specific. Cram101 is NOT the Textbook.

Organzational Behavior: Core Concepts, 4th Edition

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Organizational Behavior book review

Organzational Behavior: Core Concepts, 4th Edition
Robert P. Vecchio
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0030258561

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OVERVIEW
In response to the need for an alternative to broad-coverage organizational behavior books, Bob Vecchio has written Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts. With solid coverage of theory, research, and practice, this new edition provides the foudation for understanding micro and macro views of organizational behavior.

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Organizational Behavior book review.......2001-04-02

This text was very useful to understand the concepts of Human Resource and other management functions, and the roles they play in an organization. The text was easy to follow, and was in a easy to understand chronology. The chapters were all well interrelated, carrying common themes throughout each unit. The figures and tables were also fundamental to the understanding of the concepts. They were well drawn and thought out, giving the reader a more clear picture on the material. Overall, I thought that this text book was esay to understand and provided useful, applicable information to the reader. I recommend it to other professors.

(WCS)Course Pack to accompany Core Concepts of Organizational Behavior

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(WCS)Course Pack to accompany Core Concepts of Organizational Behavior
Arlene Kreinik , and BXS
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Organizational Behavior | Business Management | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0471873780

Organizational Behavior : Core Concepts {FOURTH EDITION}

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Organizational Behavior : Core Concepts {FOURTH EDITION}
Robert P. Vecchio
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O91UTC

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Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts
Robert Vecchio
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUGEB0

(WCS)BXS Course Pack to accompany Core Concepts of Organizational Behavior

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(WCS)BXS Course Pack to accompany Core Concepts of Organizational Behavior
BXS Online - Weisinger
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0471890316

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