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Better Together: Restoring the American Community
In his acclaimed bestselling book, Bowling The Collapse and Revival of American Community , Robert Putnam described a thirty-year decline in America's social institutions. The book ended with the hope that new forms of social connection might be invented in order to revive our communities. In Better Together , Putnam and longtime civic activist Lewis Feldstein describe some of the diverse locations and most compelling ways in which civic renewal is taking place today. In response to civic crises and local problems, they say, hardworking, committed people are reweaving the social fabric all across America, often in innovative ways that may turn out to be appropriate for the twenty-first century. Better Together is a book of stories about people who are building communities to solve specific problems. The examples Putnam and Feldstein describe span the country from big cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Chicago to the Los Angeles suburbs, small Mississippi and Wisconsin towns, and quiet rural areas. The projects range from the strictly local to that of the men and women of UPS, who cover the nation. Bowling Alone looked at America from a broad and general perspective. Better Together takes us into Catherine Flannery's Roxbury, Massachusetts, living room, a UPS loading dock in Greensboro, North Carolina, a Philadelphia classroom, the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, naval shipyard, and a Bay Area Web site. We meet activists driven by their visions, each of whom has chosen to succeed by building Mexican Americans in the Rio Grande Valley who want paved roads, running water, and decent schools; Harvard University clerical workers searching for respect and improved working conditions; Waupun, Wisconsin, schoolchildren organizing to improve safety at a local railroad crossing; and merchants in Tupelo, Mississippi, joining with farmers to improve their economic status. As the stories in Better Together demonstrate, bringing people together by building on personal relationships remains one of the most effective strategies to enhance America's social health.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
64 people are currently reading
1252 people want to read
About the author
Robert D. Putnam
26 books454 followersRobert David Putnam is an American political scientist specializing in comparative politics. He is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. Putnam developed the influential two-level game theory that assumes international agreements will only be successfully brokered if they also result in domestic benefits. His most famous work, Bowling Alone, argues that the United States has undergone an unprecedented collapse in civic, social, associational, and political life (social capital) since the 1960s, with serious negative consequences. In March 2015, he published a book called Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis that looked at issues of inequality of opportunity in the United States. According to the Open Syllabus Project, Putnam is the fourth most frequently cited author on college syllabi for political science courses.[
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 7, 2009
Robert Putnam’s signature work, Bowling Alone, has become part of the culture’s vocabulary when we talk about declining social connectedness and civic participation in American society. “Beginning, roughly speaking, in the late 1960s, Americans in massive numbers began to join less, trust less, give less, vote less, and schmooze less.” Suburban sprawl, the rise of video game playing, television, web networking, and a host of other societal changes contributed to this trend, and we’ve begun to use Putnam’s language and concepts to describe community trends in many fields. In community development circles, “social capital” may have even beat out the word, “subprime” as the 2007 word of the year.
Yet where Bowling Alone reviewed the vast body of evidence of declining social capital in America, Putnam’s 2003 book, Better Together: Restoring the American Community, co-authored with Lewis Feldstein and Don Cohen, highlights case studies where “creative social entrepreneurs were moving against the nationwide tide and creating vibrant new forms of social connectedness.” These diverse, compelling stories originate from mega-churches in California to blighted urban neighborhoods – but they all reveal common themes and lessons learned. To their credit, the authors also point out the challenges inherent in building social capital and admit that they are not “free of conflict or controversy.”
The book is not meant to be a rigorous scientific review of social capital methodology, but a collection of stories and protagonists that inspire and highlight places where community building has bucked the trend. The use of storytelling reinforces the most common theme within the case studies: that personal storytelling is a powerful, if not essential, technique for building trust and empathy. The fundamentals of community organizing include starting with what a constituency cares most about. In a chapter on the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative in Boston, the authors write, “getting people together to tell their own stories in their own words seemed to create the mutual understanding and sympathy that made collective action possible.” This was as true for Portsmouth, NH’s Shipyard Project, which used art to bridge cultures and communities, as it was for Valley Interfaith in Texas, where a coalition of churches and schools organized to improve conditions for low income and immigrant families. “Abstract ideas do not connect people and social action when it is not rooted in the heart of people’s life experience withers in the face of opposition and disappointment.” Stories build relationships.
Relationship building takes time – lots of it. Better Together acknowledges that it takes a lot of time to go door-to-door, neighbor to neighbor, and listen. In Portsmouth, nearly two years of preparation preceded a one-week performance. Trust building between factions on Dudley Street went on for five years. The account of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) tells of the union’s successful organizing approach: go to employees for conversation and trust and relationship building one at a time. The HUCTW story also reveals the challenges of organizing people in the absence of a demonized enemy or a threat. These are the exact challenges of participation in planning processes – how do we galvanize the public to create a vision for the future when we are not reacting to a controversial or immediate development proposal?
Better Together also offers interesting perspectives on the involvement of local government. In some cases government simply responds to organized turnout. With the Chicago Public Library case, mayoral support and adequate funding contributed to success. In Portland, OR, a story of growing civic engagement, the Mayor’s leadership was instrumental in the widespread creation of neighborhood associations and a willingness on the part of government to share decision-making with residents. What stands out in the story of Portland is “the evolving capacity of public officials and government to respond and adapt to citizen initiatives. Just as citizens honed their civic skills and vociferously pressed their views, government developed a culture of responding to and learning from, rather than rejecting, many grassroots initiatives.
Better Together acknowledges the challenge of bridging diverse social networks versus working within more homogenous groups. Organizers of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative have worked hard to ensure that representation and leadership reflect the diverse cultures of the neighborhood. And the compelling story of the Chicago Public Library demonstrated the importance of providing common ground to minimize class and race differences between neighborhoods. Without offering advice, the authors note that “social capital strategists need to pay special attention to the tougher task of fostering social ties that reach across social divisions.”
The authors tip their hats briefly in their conclusion to the role of urban planning and architecture in contributing to social capital. They write, “Common spaces for commonplace encounters are prerequisites for common conversations and common debate,” thus allowing places for diverse networks to intersect, foster opportunities and create a common sense of purpose.
Sometimes, when I think of the Foundation’s focus on a deeper, “heart & soul” method of community planning, I am reminded of how the most intuitive and effective approaches to citizen engagement have become lost within our institutional structures and formal processes - processes that make no sense as the basis for determining our future or that of the next generation. How often does public discourse about a community’s future leave out the youth who will inherit and lead this future? How often does a discussion of community resilience occur without the wisdom of those who have lived through generations of change? Reading Better Together was both an inspiration for leadership and a grounding for community development activities.
Read more reviews by the Orton Family Foundation in our Scenarios e-journal at http://www.orton.org/resources/public...
-Betsy Rosenbluth
Yet where Bowling Alone reviewed the vast body of evidence of declining social capital in America, Putnam’s 2003 book, Better Together: Restoring the American Community, co-authored with Lewis Feldstein and Don Cohen, highlights case studies where “creative social entrepreneurs were moving against the nationwide tide and creating vibrant new forms of social connectedness.” These diverse, compelling stories originate from mega-churches in California to blighted urban neighborhoods – but they all reveal common themes and lessons learned. To their credit, the authors also point out the challenges inherent in building social capital and admit that they are not “free of conflict or controversy.”
The book is not meant to be a rigorous scientific review of social capital methodology, but a collection of stories and protagonists that inspire and highlight places where community building has bucked the trend. The use of storytelling reinforces the most common theme within the case studies: that personal storytelling is a powerful, if not essential, technique for building trust and empathy. The fundamentals of community organizing include starting with what a constituency cares most about. In a chapter on the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative in Boston, the authors write, “getting people together to tell their own stories in their own words seemed to create the mutual understanding and sympathy that made collective action possible.” This was as true for Portsmouth, NH’s Shipyard Project, which used art to bridge cultures and communities, as it was for Valley Interfaith in Texas, where a coalition of churches and schools organized to improve conditions for low income and immigrant families. “Abstract ideas do not connect people and social action when it is not rooted in the heart of people’s life experience withers in the face of opposition and disappointment.” Stories build relationships.
Relationship building takes time – lots of it. Better Together acknowledges that it takes a lot of time to go door-to-door, neighbor to neighbor, and listen. In Portsmouth, nearly two years of preparation preceded a one-week performance. Trust building between factions on Dudley Street went on for five years. The account of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) tells of the union’s successful organizing approach: go to employees for conversation and trust and relationship building one at a time. The HUCTW story also reveals the challenges of organizing people in the absence of a demonized enemy or a threat. These are the exact challenges of participation in planning processes – how do we galvanize the public to create a vision for the future when we are not reacting to a controversial or immediate development proposal?
Better Together also offers interesting perspectives on the involvement of local government. In some cases government simply responds to organized turnout. With the Chicago Public Library case, mayoral support and adequate funding contributed to success. In Portland, OR, a story of growing civic engagement, the Mayor’s leadership was instrumental in the widespread creation of neighborhood associations and a willingness on the part of government to share decision-making with residents. What stands out in the story of Portland is “the evolving capacity of public officials and government to respond and adapt to citizen initiatives. Just as citizens honed their civic skills and vociferously pressed their views, government developed a culture of responding to and learning from, rather than rejecting, many grassroots initiatives.
Better Together acknowledges the challenge of bridging diverse social networks versus working within more homogenous groups. Organizers of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative have worked hard to ensure that representation and leadership reflect the diverse cultures of the neighborhood. And the compelling story of the Chicago Public Library demonstrated the importance of providing common ground to minimize class and race differences between neighborhoods. Without offering advice, the authors note that “social capital strategists need to pay special attention to the tougher task of fostering social ties that reach across social divisions.”
The authors tip their hats briefly in their conclusion to the role of urban planning and architecture in contributing to social capital. They write, “Common spaces for commonplace encounters are prerequisites for common conversations and common debate,” thus allowing places for diverse networks to intersect, foster opportunities and create a common sense of purpose.
Sometimes, when I think of the Foundation’s focus on a deeper, “heart & soul” method of community planning, I am reminded of how the most intuitive and effective approaches to citizen engagement have become lost within our institutional structures and formal processes - processes that make no sense as the basis for determining our future or that of the next generation. How often does public discourse about a community’s future leave out the youth who will inherit and lead this future? How often does a discussion of community resilience occur without the wisdom of those who have lived through generations of change? Reading Better Together was both an inspiration for leadership and a grounding for community development activities.
Read more reviews by the Orton Family Foundation in our Scenarios e-journal at http://www.orton.org/resources/public...
-Betsy Rosenbluth
March 16, 2022
Putnam describes 12 unique stories of communities coming together to create social impact. The stories are told across a variety of communities throughout the US and illustrate the diverse challenges many communities face. The overarching theme is that real change requires people in the community to come together to create change, it can't be done by an organization coming into the community with a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach.
January 20, 2023
Written in 2003, this twenty-year-old book's deficiencies contributed to the corrosion in American community life. It's not as if leaders just didn't listen to a plan that would have prevented much harm. He clearly saw the deterioration of American community life in his 1995 article, "Bowling Alone," but eight years later his assessment of how well we're doing to address that problem and his vision of the future trends were lacking.
One personal quibble I have is with his assessment of Chicago's Near North Branch Library and how it managed to bridge the Gold Coast and Cabrini Green neighborhoods. While he dishes out limited praise by calling the effort "partially successful," I can speak from first hand experience at this library and from seeing how people in both neighborhoods used this library, that it's a dud. If Putnam had dug in a little deeper to the realities at play on both sides of that bridge, he would have uncovered a whole host of social pressures on both communities.
I can't speak well to how older generations lived in the Gold Coast over the past twenty years, but those fifty and under have faced a deterioration in the value of marriages, skyrocketing educational costs, diminishing job security, and social alienation. And these are the winners. The Cabrini Green building was demolished shortly after publication, and its residents spread throughout the city and suburbs to an uncertain future. While low income residents remain in the area near Cabrini Green, they're increasingly unwelcome in the Gold Coast as crime and expensive condo buildings both rise.
A better library couldn't have saved Cabrini Green, but it's also foolhardy to think that the Gold Coast wanted to engage with a surrounding neighborhood with such a social chasm between them. Other libraries across Chicago are more robust as central meeting points and social edifiers in the neighborhood, and it feels like the Near North library is a waste of space even as it sits in a bit of a development dead zone. It needed to be built bigger and better in the Gold Coast or modestly in Cabrini Green, which makes me question the premise to be better together. Perhaps the proper aim is to meet communities where they are rather than use wishful thinking that makes us feel better but doesn't produce the results we want over time.
Another deficiency is Putnam's assessment of online communities as he spends a chapter debating on whether they are actual communities. People have certainly voted with their feet and have moved online and away from traditional social institutions over the past twenty years. Within several election cycles, online communities became so powerful that they began to shape public opinion and debate. He severely underestimates the wave of change ahead and the power of online communities regardless of your personal evaluation of their morality.
We wasted two decades hoping that promoting physical engagement in communities would help us regain what we had lost while the problem worsened exponentially. I don't claim to have the solutions, but I think we're best served by getting clearly assessing the deficiencies in our social institutions so we can protect them and enhance their quality.
Those in control are happy to have us satisfied with pie in the sky hopes of being better together while they cut investment to important resources like libraries. This book didn't help.
One personal quibble I have is with his assessment of Chicago's Near North Branch Library and how it managed to bridge the Gold Coast and Cabrini Green neighborhoods. While he dishes out limited praise by calling the effort "partially successful," I can speak from first hand experience at this library and from seeing how people in both neighborhoods used this library, that it's a dud. If Putnam had dug in a little deeper to the realities at play on both sides of that bridge, he would have uncovered a whole host of social pressures on both communities.
I can't speak well to how older generations lived in the Gold Coast over the past twenty years, but those fifty and under have faced a deterioration in the value of marriages, skyrocketing educational costs, diminishing job security, and social alienation. And these are the winners. The Cabrini Green building was demolished shortly after publication, and its residents spread throughout the city and suburbs to an uncertain future. While low income residents remain in the area near Cabrini Green, they're increasingly unwelcome in the Gold Coast as crime and expensive condo buildings both rise.
A better library couldn't have saved Cabrini Green, but it's also foolhardy to think that the Gold Coast wanted to engage with a surrounding neighborhood with such a social chasm between them. Other libraries across Chicago are more robust as central meeting points and social edifiers in the neighborhood, and it feels like the Near North library is a waste of space even as it sits in a bit of a development dead zone. It needed to be built bigger and better in the Gold Coast or modestly in Cabrini Green, which makes me question the premise to be better together. Perhaps the proper aim is to meet communities where they are rather than use wishful thinking that makes us feel better but doesn't produce the results we want over time.
Another deficiency is Putnam's assessment of online communities as he spends a chapter debating on whether they are actual communities. People have certainly voted with their feet and have moved online and away from traditional social institutions over the past twenty years. Within several election cycles, online communities became so powerful that they began to shape public opinion and debate. He severely underestimates the wave of change ahead and the power of online communities regardless of your personal evaluation of their morality.
We wasted two decades hoping that promoting physical engagement in communities would help us regain what we had lost while the problem worsened exponentially. I don't claim to have the solutions, but I think we're best served by getting clearly assessing the deficiencies in our social institutions so we can protect them and enhance their quality.
Those in control are happy to have us satisfied with pie in the sky hopes of being better together while they cut investment to important resources like libraries. This book didn't help.
August 4, 2018
I thought the book started off slow, but then I found the case studies fascinating. Although the book was published in 2003, I thought the points made about social capital were still valid. I googled several of the organizations and places mentioned to see how some of them were doing 15 years later.
June 21, 2010
Bowling Alone was much better. The foreward sums up the differences between the two. Bowling alone was a work of academic excellence, and this was a compilation of a few examples/stories from which some preliminary observations were made.
September 15, 2017
This book was a gift in more ways than one. While the examples of communities working together are a bit old news, the good news is that the reasons these communities are functioning so well. In fact, the reasons are even more important today. The conclusion of the book pulls together the lessons learned from UPS, Portland, Criagslist, Saddleback Church, Chicago Libraries, and more. It is true that most people do not act unless there is personal gain on the horizon. However, there are usually catalysts that spark people to move forward to "do something!" However, the bottom line is to "build social capital." Small groups and much communication between people make the difference. People feel connected and begin to care more. This cuts down on isolation for the members of the community. Likewise, it is important to support public foundations that give to non-profits, for so much impetus can come from them. Do not ignore the arts!! Connect groups with each other as well. Connect older people with younger people. So much to glean here. Whether or not you are involved with your community or foundation, this deserves reading as a how-to book or a pep talk! Put down the phone, talk to your neighbors!
September 19, 2017
I did not approach the book with high expectations. After reading the reviews on here I was prepared for it to be a hopeless sequel trading of the brand name of 'Bowling Alone.'
However, I did not find it like that at all. True, it has a narrative style rather than presenting hard data. But I found the stories really interesting and thought provoking. A number of them contained ideas that I think I can use around here in the future. And it confirmed to me that I was 'on the money' with many of my instincts and attitudes.
You can read this book as a 'How To' manual for building community. As such it is one of those books that I should re-read every couple of years. That makes it a pretty valuable book!
However, I did not find it like that at all. True, it has a narrative style rather than presenting hard data. But I found the stories really interesting and thought provoking. A number of them contained ideas that I think I can use around here in the future. And it confirmed to me that I was 'on the money' with many of my instincts and attitudes.
You can read this book as a 'How To' manual for building community. As such it is one of those books that I should re-read every couple of years. That makes it a pretty valuable book!
September 5, 2019
Read it for an anthropology class on communities in the US. Each chapter is an example of some sort of community civic engagement in different parts of the country, though they are rarely convincing that civic engagement is what you're looking at or that it is as great as the authors seem to suggest.
It was originally published in 2003 so many of the examples are pretty dated now (looking at you, entire chapter on Craigslist.) Unless you need 12 very specific examples on attempts at community civic engagement, skip the book.
It was originally published in 2003 so many of the examples are pretty dated now (looking at you, entire chapter on Craigslist.) Unless you need 12 very specific examples on attempts at community civic engagement, skip the book.
October 26, 2025
Discusses how we no longer are building the dense webs of encounter and participation so vital to the health of ourselves, our families, and our politics.”
Some main points of change are
· the explosion of electronic entertainment
· the labor market changes that drew ever greater numbers of adults out of home-based unpaid work and into long hours of paid employment (especially women)
· The suburban sprawl which placed communities of residence from our communities of work. (commutes increased).
Somewhat political but pointing out our problem of community still exists.
Some main points of change are
· the explosion of electronic entertainment
· the labor market changes that drew ever greater numbers of adults out of home-based unpaid work and into long hours of paid employment (especially women)
· The suburban sprawl which placed communities of residence from our communities of work. (commutes increased).
Somewhat political but pointing out our problem of community still exists.
March 1, 2022
Touches upon many interesting aspects of social capital. Could have included a stronger empirical basis.
(Note I don't like the star rating and as such I only rate books based upon one star or five stars corresponding to the in my opinion preferable rating of thumbs up/down. This later rating system encourages in my opinion the degree to which the reader is likely to read a review instead of merely glancing at the number of stars)
(Note I don't like the star rating and as such I only rate books based upon one star or five stars corresponding to the in my opinion preferable rating of thumbs up/down. This later rating system encourages in my opinion the degree to which the reader is likely to read a review instead of merely glancing at the number of stars)
March 7, 2022
I really found this book to be overall uninteresting. Some of the vignettes were interesting in and of themselves but I didn’t feel like the whole book tied it together very well. It definitely reads like a dry textbook versus a dynamic set of stories about American Community. I would have stopped reading it before finishing long ago if I didn’t have to read it as part of a book program.
January 2, 2020
This was another book I read about the 3rd Place. I got some great insights and as a Sociologist I really enjoyed this book. It's probably a little too textbook like for the average reader, but if you are really interested in this concept it's a worthwhile read.
December 29, 2020
I thought the insight they provided was engaging and acted much like an NPR review narrative. Had to read it for a class and I got a lot out of it and genuinely wanted to read and engage with this text. The author is well understood and provides a lot of clear and concise ideas that leave you pondering afterward for many years to come.
August 29, 2020
Great case studies.
June 27, 2021
A worthwhile read, though it's not Putnam's most important work. There is knowledge to be teased from the stories told here, though, for those truly dedicated to creating thriving communities.
September 14, 2021
The biggest takeaway I got from this book is the concept of place in a community--how it forges networking in a way that can strengthen civic engagement.
February 11, 2025
Some good concepts but the content, examples and case studies were fairly dated.
August 30, 2016
This is Robert Putnam's follow-up to his seminal research on the loss of American community, Bowling Alone. Some reviews I read of Bowling Alone, while mostly positive, did offer the critique that Putnam failed to account for new kinds of community that have developed since the 60's, of which his study did not take into account. Though I think that criticism is largely unfair, Better Together does seek to demonstrate some of the new forms of community taking place in our schools, neighborhoods, religious institutions, and workplaces. Putnam's method here in Better Together is the exact opposite of Bowling Alone. His former work was characterized by lots of sociological jargon, hard data, and objective analysis. Better Together tells a story, or, more accurately, tells stories.
I think this book's appeal varies on how interested you are in diverse kinds of community and the stories that gave rise to them. Every chapter other than the introduction and conclusion is a story about how a certain population or group of people or individuals found that social capital was necessary to reach their objectives. This was true in labor unions, large companies, churches, neighborhoods, and cities. For myself, I found that some chapters were incredibly dull and others quite fascinating. For example, I learned that though libraries should be a dead and dying industry, they are actually on the rise, and in some cases, as in Chicago, contributing to community life in metropolitan areas. Or, a chapter on the rise of Craigslist as a virtual community and how technology is hurting, helping, and shaping the way we think about community. As I think through particularly how the church is called to foster a place of relationships and community in the image of a Triune God, this was a interesting, though not incredible, conversation partner.
Here's some of my takeaways:
1. Social capital refers to social networks, norms of reciprocity, mutual assistance, and trustworthiness. It involves (or should involve) both bonding and bridging social capital. Bonding is inward-looking; bridging is outward-looking. Bonding=super glue; Bridging=WD-40. Social capital is not all sweetness, but has a certain tartness.
2. Build community by sharing stories.
3. Social capital takes time and effort.
4. Chapter 1: Tell a story! Organizing is all about building relationships. It's a conversation. Leave yourself open to be changed by the conversation. Relationship-buidling is a way of looking at the world, not just a strategy. Relationships are not just the engine of reform, they are one of the goals of reform. Stories build relationships. People learn to lead by leading.
4. Chapter 2: On Libraries. Residents of Cabrini Green--I thought nobody cared, so I didn't care. When I saw someone caring, trying to make things better, I am trying to make things better. New libraries are "a place to be known and a place to get to know others." Libraries are resource and meeting place. Same book, same time. Library became a "third place."
5. Chapter 3: knowledge and sympathy gap--people have no sympathy for what they don't know.
6. Chapter 4: listen to stories first. Ask residents.
7. Chapter 6: Saddleback Church
8. Conclusion: sometimes supposed inefficiency is essential for creating place of human connectivity. Bridging is not about "kumbaya" cuddling, but coming together to argue or share. Community is not just about broccoli, but about chocolates too--interests and needs, but also fun and fellowship. Building social capital is neither all-or-nothing nor once-for-all. It is incremental and cumulative.
I think this book's appeal varies on how interested you are in diverse kinds of community and the stories that gave rise to them. Every chapter other than the introduction and conclusion is a story about how a certain population or group of people or individuals found that social capital was necessary to reach their objectives. This was true in labor unions, large companies, churches, neighborhoods, and cities. For myself, I found that some chapters were incredibly dull and others quite fascinating. For example, I learned that though libraries should be a dead and dying industry, they are actually on the rise, and in some cases, as in Chicago, contributing to community life in metropolitan areas. Or, a chapter on the rise of Craigslist as a virtual community and how technology is hurting, helping, and shaping the way we think about community. As I think through particularly how the church is called to foster a place of relationships and community in the image of a Triune God, this was a interesting, though not incredible, conversation partner.
Here's some of my takeaways:
1. Social capital refers to social networks, norms of reciprocity, mutual assistance, and trustworthiness. It involves (or should involve) both bonding and bridging social capital. Bonding is inward-looking; bridging is outward-looking. Bonding=super glue; Bridging=WD-40. Social capital is not all sweetness, but has a certain tartness.
2. Build community by sharing stories.
3. Social capital takes time and effort.
4. Chapter 1: Tell a story! Organizing is all about building relationships. It's a conversation. Leave yourself open to be changed by the conversation. Relationship-buidling is a way of looking at the world, not just a strategy. Relationships are not just the engine of reform, they are one of the goals of reform. Stories build relationships. People learn to lead by leading.
4. Chapter 2: On Libraries. Residents of Cabrini Green--I thought nobody cared, so I didn't care. When I saw someone caring, trying to make things better, I am trying to make things better. New libraries are "a place to be known and a place to get to know others." Libraries are resource and meeting place. Same book, same time. Library became a "third place."
5. Chapter 3: knowledge and sympathy gap--people have no sympathy for what they don't know.
6. Chapter 4: listen to stories first. Ask residents.
7. Chapter 6: Saddleback Church
8. Conclusion: sometimes supposed inefficiency is essential for creating place of human connectivity. Bridging is not about "kumbaya" cuddling, but coming together to argue or share. Community is not just about broccoli, but about chocolates too--interests and needs, but also fun and fellowship. Building social capital is neither all-or-nothing nor once-for-all. It is incremental and cumulative.
December 28, 2007
I thought this was a disappointing follow-up to Putnam's sensational "Bowling Alone." The book consists of vignettes about different community-involving projects and organizations around the country as a sort of "optimistic" take on the opportunities we have to increase our social capital. Unfortunately, I found myself dozing off while working my way through the scholarly prose, and I thought it was a little preachy. Nonetheless, I will say that more people should be thinking along these lines.
January 24, 2008
I had this on my shelf for two years. It is not in the same league as Putnam's Bowling Alone, a seminal sociology book, but some of the case studies are quite good. That said, I will admit to skimming sections when I felt like I had already that lesson elsewhere.
June 24, 2011
This book has lots of wonderful and rich illustrations of ways that communities have been working to bring Americans closer together. It shows the ways in which our independent, capitalist society has slowly been pulling apart our connections with one another, and how Americans are working on unique and artistic ways to bring us together once again.
July 8, 2008
Social Capital, Community, and the importance of Human Relationships. This is the modern day interpretation of why non-profits and other community orgs do what they do, why it matters, and how we're all a part of it.
December 24, 2011
A bit dated at this point, but it was my fault for not reading it earlier. However, it was remarkably enjoyable and a quick read for being something work-related. Well, it was a gift, so it's not something I bought for work, but I'm glad it was gifted to me.
July 29, 2015
The case studies are by now a little old, but the important lessons are timeless. Community building takes time and personal connections, and successful social movements allow participants to share their stories.
Read
November 4, 2020Picked this one up after reading a fascinating article by Putnam on the connections between civic choirs and functional democracy in Italy...
November 5, 2010
Loved this book. It is so inspiring!
Read
March 3, 2012So far I've read: Chapter 2 - Branch Libraries: The Heartbeat of the Community
January 4, 2013
Starting with Bowling Alone Dr. Robert Putnam continues to educate and encourage americans in regard to civic engagement and more importantly the harnessing of social capital.
April 14, 2015
Cute, uplifting stories - light on the data and a bit outdated at this point.
March 6, 2016
Interesting concept, ehh execution.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews