Robert D. Putnam is the Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and a former Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Nationally honored as a leading humanist and a renowned scientist, he has written fourteen books, including the bestselling Our Kids and Bowling Alone, and has consulted for the last four US Presidents. In 2012, President Obama awarded him the National Humanities Medal, the nation’s highest honor for contributions to the humanities. His research program, the Saguaro Seminar, is dedicated to fostering civic engagement in America. Visit RobertDPutnam.com.
“Bob Putnam is one of the most distinguished political scientists in the country. This book is an extraordinarily ambitious summing up of a century of American history from the point of view of social capital, Bob’s lifelong subject. How we made the transition from a society that was ‘me’ focused to one that was ‘we’ focused and then, alas, back again, is a truly significant piece of our history. We need to know this history if we are to restore our lost social capital and once again become a ‘we’ focused society. I can hardly think of a more important book to publish, which is why I feel so strongly—OK, love—this book.”
—Bob B., VP, Executive Editor, on Upswing
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"Ambitious. . . . Putnam and Garrett are rewriting the political history of the twentieth century here. . . . [A] magnificent and visionary book."
– Win McCormack, The New Republic
“Good-hearted and sweeping . . . Offers superb, often counterintuitive insights…. Well worth reading for its cornucopia of data and insightful social history.”
– Robert Kuttner, The New York Times
"Robert Putnam’s The Upswing is the most important book in social science for many years."
– Paul Collier, Times Literary Supplement
"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."
– Yuval Levin, The Wall Street Journal
"This pivotal moment isn’t just the result of four years of Donald Trump. It’s the culmination of 50 years of social decay. The Upswing, a remarkable new book by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett, puts this situation in stark relief."
– David Brooks
"Putnam’s historical analysis is illuminating."
– George Packer, The Atlantic
“Remarkable . . . Despite painting a bleak portrait of recent U.S. history, every shred of data in The Upswing 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.”
– James Morone, Science
"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."
– Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“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. . . . The Upswing is a singularly illuminating book and a clarion call to action.”
– David M. Kennedy, Professor of History Emeritus, Stanford University
"No one understands the United States better than Bob Putnam, and no one else could have written this essential book. The Upswing 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."
– Andrew McAfee, MIT scientist, author of More from Less, and coauthor of The Second Machine Age
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