{"product_id":"9781982129156","title":"The Upswing : How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe Upswing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Robert D. Putnam\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eBowling Alone \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eOur Kids\u003c\/i\u003e, a “sweeping yet remarkably accessible” (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e) analysis that “offers superb, often counterintuitive insights” (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) 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 unified nation.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDeep and accelerating inequality; unprecedented political polarization; vitriolic public discourse; a fraying social fabric; public and private narcissism—Americans today seem to agree on only one thing: This is the worst of times.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBut we’ve been here before. During the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, America was highly individualistic, starkly unequal, fiercely polarized, and deeply fragmented, just as it is today. However as the twentieth century opened, America became—slowly, unevenly, but steadily—more egalitarian, more cooperative, more generous; a society on the upswing, more focused on our responsibilities to one another and less focused on our narrower self-interest. Sometime during the 1960s, however, these trends reversed, leaving us in today’s disarray.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn a “magnificent and visionary book” (\u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e) drawing on his inimitable combination of statistical analysis and storytelling, Robert Putnam analyzes a remarkable confluence of trends that brought us from an “I” society to a “We” society and then back again. He draws on inspiring lessons for our time from an earlier era, when a dedicated group of reformers righted the ship, putting us on a path to becoming a society once again based on community. This is Putnam’s most “remarkable” (\u003ci\u003eScience\u003c\/i\u003e) work yet, a fitting capstone to a brilliant career.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\"Ambitious. . . . Putnam and Garrett are rewriting the political history of the twentieth century here. . . . [A] magnificent and visionary book.\"\u003cbr\u003e“Good-hearted and sweeping . . . Offers superb, often counterintuitive insights…. Well worth reading for its cornucopia of data and insightful social history.”\u003cbr\u003e\"Robert Putnam’s \u003ci\u003eThe Upswing\u003c\/i\u003e is the most important book in social science for many years.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"In a sweeping yet remarkably accessible book, Mr. Putnam and Ms. Garrett provide a crucial missing ingredient in contemporary social commentary: They lay out a sociology of success that, drawing on our history, can help us think concretely about how to enable a revival of American life.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"This pivotal moment isn’t just the result of four years of Donald Trump. It’s the culmination of 50 years of social decay. \u003ci\u003eThe Upswing, \u003c\/i\u003ea remarkable new book by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett, puts this situation in stark relief.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Putnam’s historical analysis is illuminating.\"\u003cbr\u003e“Remarkable . . . Despite painting a bleak portrait of recent U.S. history, every shred of data in \u003ci\u003eThe Upswing\u003c\/i\u003e reverberates with the same exhortation: We came together once, and we can do it again . . . An extended call for a new generation totake up the fight.”\u003cbr\u003e\"A top-notch addition to the why-America-is-in-such-a-mess genre. . . . A tour de force exploration of why America got better and then went into reverse.\"\u003cbr\u003e“In the most ambitious and compelling of his several exemplary books, Robert Putnam masterfully re-casts the history of our country from the Gilded Age to the present. . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Upswing\u003c\/i\u003e is a singularly illuminating book and a clarion call to action.”\u003cbr\u003e\"No one understands the United States better than Bob Putnam, and no one else could have written this essential book. \u003ci\u003eThe Upswing\u003c\/i\u003e brings together his vast knowledge, love of data, storytelling ability, and passion. It's an astonishing work that reminds Americans we are a great people, shows us what we can accomplish when we come together, and makes clear that we need to do so again. Now.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781982129156\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40592220815566,"sku":"9781982129156","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/O_615c8dc4-0f06-446a-9d13-8a2f90aeddc6.jpg?v=1646780227","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781982129156","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}