Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated

The Collapse and Revival of American Community

By: Robert D. Putnam

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 18 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

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, 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.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2000 Robert D. Putnam. All rights reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster

New edition!

This is such widely sourced material, I highly encourage the completion of an updated edition that would include the impact the development of digital social media has had on society, as well as legislation that increases the importance of capital in our political system, as opposed to minimizing that importance as the author argues for in this great work.

I wonder what he would think about TikTok

In all seriousness, this is an excellent book. For others requesting a more updated version I have one question for you: what do you expect the findings to be? Obviously, things have gotten exponentially worse.

As a Gen Z who grew up in the rural southeast, non-religious civic clubs are more or less dead. What makes it worse is that Evangelical churches don’t do much to focus on life here on earth (and in many ways resign themselves from community involvement) because of the belief that the otherworldly afterlife is more important.

Some readers might cite Kevin MacDonald’s Culture of Critique for explanations of why social cohesion has rapidly declined since 1965, but I believe there is a heavy technological influence that started first with TV, and was amplified through the introduction of the smartphone. Family time, marriage rates, and even participation in dating have all taken a serious hit in recent decades. Although this book may seem pessimistic to some, I think readers can gain some insights into how a positive and engaged community could be created.

Enlightening, but Dry

Expert analysis of the reduction of social capital, but very dry. Still a classic work.

An excellent and insightful read

Valuable research into community through a lens of history, tradition, technology, and war. Definitely worth the read.

Important Work / Audio Challenge

A well-researched work that is very important in this area of research. Audio gripe: the pairing of this narrator with the mic that was used yields a production that is a tough listen in the car… too lower-mid-rangy which fails to stand out above typical car motion drone. This needs to be re-recorded at some point.

Thank you

Thank you for explaining the time line of America’s social history. I learned so much.

Make note of copyright date

Full disclosure, I didn't finish the title.

Hopefully everyone else is smarter than I am and made note of the copyright date, as opposed to the publication date of the audiobook. While the content is revised and updated since its initial publication, even the revisions are 20 years old at this point. Some of the information and analysis is timeless, but much of it is too far out of date to be as meaningful as I'd wanted. We've seen the Great Recession and the rise and transformation of the Tea Party since this was updated, social and political life is simply not the same as it was.

That being said, I enjoyed the first chapter and found that the author made a reasonably successful attempt to be thorough and objective in his collection and presentation of data. I would love to read this book updated for the 20s.

amazing research and well-written

bowling alone tells the story of how America has lost its group nature. going through a hundred years of research and Analysis this book thoroughly explains some key reasons American society is in the decline.

Deep and interesting.

Comprehensive look at the role community and its various incarnations plays in the health of a community. It made me a little sad to hear the author laying out goals he hoped to have the country accomplish to repair its fracturing by a date 10 years in the past. At least he had the courage to offer potential solutions.
This was a non-fiction book. There was none of the all-too-common, expected editorializing. There was theorizing, but it was properly labeled and as an aspect of the study of the subject was intended to fill in areas where solid data was lacking with educated hypotheses as to what that info would show if available. Very unbiased. Proper journalism.
If your interested in a book that offers depth on a way of American association and an aspect of life which has diminished and may serve us all well to find a way to reinvigorate, this is a good choice.
I like the authors ideas, I think his scholarship and have thought for quite a while that community organizations may be an important part in improving the country and now feel better positioned to understand the pros and cons, pitfalls of early implementations which must be addressed because of massive changes in culture and generally better prepared to conjecture on the ills and possible solutions of our culture and nation.

Dry, Long, and Dated, But Thought-Provoking.

Lots of statistics, lots of references* the charts, tables, and graphs "in your PDF File." Details are a bit dated, but the concepts are valid and worth thinking about - and even doing something about.

It's only minimally about bowling (which I knew when I chose it), but as someone who's just getting into bowling, watching how things work socially at our local alley (a very diverse group of nice people having good, clean fun together) that aspect was particularly interesting.

*Note that you do not *have to* refer to the PDF, as the basic ideas are discussed in the book and the PDF just reinforces them with more data. It's not like you'll lose the plot if you're driving and can't pull over to read it. I didn't look it at all, although I might go back and scan through it now.