Our Kids: The American Dream in CrisisA New York Times bestseller and “a passionate, urgent” (The New Yorker) examination of the growing inequality gap from the bestselling author of Bowling Alone: why fewer Americans today have the opportunity for upward mobility. Central to the very idea of America is the principle that we are a nation of opportunity. But over the last quarter century we have seen a disturbing “opportunity gap” emerge. We Americans have always believed that those who have talent and try hard will succeed, but this central tenet of the American Dream seems no longer true or at the least, much less true than it was. In Our Kids, Robert Putnam offers a personal and authoritative look at this new American crisis, beginning with the example of his high school class of 1959 in Port Clinton, Ohio. The vast majority of those students went on to lives better than those of their parents. But their children and grandchildren have faced diminishing prospects. Putnam tells the tale of lessening opportunity through poignant life stories of rich, middle class, and poor kids from cities and suburbs across the country, brilliantly blended with the latest social-science research. “A truly masterful volume” (Financial Times), Our Kids provides a disturbing account of the American dream that is “thoughtful and persuasive” (The Economist). Our Kids offers a rare combination of individual testimony and rigorous evidence: “No one can finish this book and feel complacent about equal opportunity” (The New York Times Book Review). |
What people are saying - Write a review
User ratings
| 5 stars |
| ||
| 4 stars |
| ||
| 3 stars |
| ||
| 2 stars |
| ||
| 1 star |
|
Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified
LibraryThing Review
User Review - jonerthon - LibraryThingLast year I read this author's now-20 year old classic ("Bowling Alone") about waning social ties in America, and this is a related study that goes in quite a different direction. The author and ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Smokler - LibraryThingImportant topic, beautifully researched, dully written. Professor Putnam is such a smart, thoughtful person. I wish he didn't write like we was laying out the contents of a suitcase. He could stand to bring the same fire and passion to his words that I hear from him when he speaks publicly. Read full review
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
academic accessed October Adolescent adults affluent ain’t American Andrew Atlanta backgrounds Bend birth Cambridge century Chapter Child Development childhood church civic Clara class gap college-educated community college Darleen David decades Desmond drugs early economic educated parents effects Elijah evidence experience extracurricular activities family structure father friends graduate growing high school high-poverty income Inequality Isabel Sawhill Journal Kayla Latino less educated Lisa lives Lola low-income Lower Merion Township Marnie marriage McLanahan Michael Molly mother Murnane National neighborhood neighbors October 12 opportunity gap Orange County Ottawa County percent Policy political poor kids Port Clinton poverty programs quartile racial recent Research rich kids Santa Ana says segregation Simone skills Social Capital social class social mobility Sofia Stephanie stories stress studies teacher test scores tion Trends Troy Troy High School U.S. Census Bureau University Press women working-class York young youth
Bibliographic information
| Title | Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis |
| Author | Robert D. Putnam |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster, 2015 |
| ISBN | 1476769915, 9781476769912 |
| Length | 400 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / United States / 21st Century Political Science / Public Policy / Economic Policy Political Science / Public Policy / Social Policy Social Science / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |