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Review: Robert D. Putnam - Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000)
This was a data heavy book with a simple thesis but it was still interesting.
Content
The first part of the book delved into the data demonstrating that participation in community was dwindling in the US. The second part of the book was a call to action, explaining why community was overall a good thing, and why we need to participate.
I thought the data presented was interesting, showing participation numbers from many different aspects of life, from formal clubs to information communication. The call to action was also sufficiently interesting, showing us not only why community was a good thing, but also how we can do our part.
Despite being from 2000, which is almost a quarter of a century ago, a lot of the points brought up were very applicable today. Putnam did go into how the internet had changed community, the only difference is that now we use social media more than we use forums and such.
Overall
The book was pretty straightforward in its thesis, but the data heavy aspect of it might deter others.
Content
The first part of the book delved into the data demonstrating that participation in community was dwindling in the US. The second part of the book was a call to action, explaining why community was overall a good thing, and why we need to participate.
I thought the data presented was interesting, showing participation numbers from many different aspects of life, from formal clubs to information communication. The call to action was also sufficiently interesting, showing us not only why community was a good thing, but also how we can do our part.
Despite being from 2000, which is almost a quarter of a century ago, a lot of the points brought up were very applicable today. Putnam did go into how the internet had changed community, the only difference is that now we use social media more than we use forums and such.
Overall
The book was pretty straightforward in its thesis, but the data heavy aspect of it might deter others.