Audible sampleFollow the AuthorsSee all
Richard Madsen
+ Follow
William M. Sullivan
+ Follow
Habits of the Heart, With a New Preface: Individualism and Commitment in American Life 1st Edition, Kindle Edition
by Robert N. Bellah (Author), Richard Madsen (Author), William M. Sullivan (Author), & 2 more Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars 50 ratings
See all formats and editions
Kindle
$30.87Read with Our Free App
Audiobook1 Credit
Hardcover
$71.55
1 Used from $46.951 New from $71.55
Paperback
$49.95
1 Used from $44.9515 New from $49.95
Audio CD
$62.85
2 New from $62.85
First published in 1985, Habits of the Heart continues to be one of the most discussed interpretations of modern American society, a quest for a democratic community that draws on our diverse civic and religious traditions. In a new preface the authors relate the arguments of the book both to the current realities of American society and to the growing debate about the country's future. With this new edition one of the most influential books of recent times takes on a new immediacy.
ISBN-13
978-0520254190
Edition
1st
Publisher
University of California Press
Publication date
17 September 2007
Language
English
Next page
See all supported devices
Kindle Monthly DealsNew deals each month starting at $1.49. Learn more
Product description
Review
"(A) brilliant analysis. Easily the richest and most readable study of American society . . . since The Lonely Crowd." --This text refers to the paperback edition.
From the Back Cover
The contemporary benchmark from which to look back and look forward in the continuing inquiry about American character.--Daniel Bell --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Read more
Product details
ASIN : B003EV5PNE
Publisher : University of California Press; 1st edition (17 September 2007)
Language : English
File size : 4223 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Not Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 410 pages
Best Sellers Rank: 603,671 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
337 in Religious Studies - Comparative Religion
859 in Sociology of Culture
869 in Comparative Religion
Customer Reviews:
4.6 out of 5 stars 50 ratings
About the authors
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Previous page
Follow
Richard Madsen
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs, and more
See more on the author's page
Follow
William M. Sullivan
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs, and more
See more on the author's page
Next page
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 8Page 1 of 8
Previous page
Qualitative Research for Practical Theology
Safary Wa-Mbaleka
Kindle Edition
$19.52$19.52
Religion and Politics in America: Faith, Culture, and Strategic Choices
Allen D. Hertzke
4.3 out of 5 stars 21
Kindle Edition
$62.64$62.64
Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories
Annabel Beerel
Kindle Edition
$88.82$88.82
Good Society
Robert Bellah
4.2 out of 5 stars 12
Kindle Edition
$14.99$14.99
The Extraordinary Power of Leader Humility: Thriving Organizations – Great Results
Marilyn Gist
4.9 out of 5 stars 77
Kindle Edition
$27.62$27.62
Professionalizing Leadership
Barbara Kellerman
4.9 out of 5 stars 16
Kindle Edition
$31.14$31.14
The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization
Peter T. Coleman
3.9 out of 5 stars 13
Kindle Edition
$14.75$14.75
A Secular Age
Charles Taylor
4.6 out of 5 stars 237
Kindle Edition
$27.78$27.78
Next page
How would you rate your experience shopping for books on Amazon today?
Very poor
Neutral
Great
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
50 global ratings
5 star 81%
4 star 10%
3 star 3%
2 star 0% (0%)
0%
1 star 5%
How are ratings calculated?
Review this product
Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review
Sponsored
Top reviews
Top reviews from Australia
There are 0 reviews and 0 ratings from Australia
Top reviews from other countries
Jon
1.0 out of 5 stars Don’t waste your time…unless it’s assigned for school.Reviewed in the United States on 6 June 2021
Verified Purchase
Terrible. I only had to read this book for a master’s program in Marriage and Family Therapy. Let me sum it up for the other people scrambling for some synopsis (because, let’s be honest, ain’t nobody reading this book): de Tocqueville said a long time ago that individualism was going to be the downfall of American communities. Spoiler alert: he was right. The authors interviewed middle class white Americans in the 1980’s (because apparently only their opinion mattered? 🤷♂️) who said they want to hold on to “traditional American values” but “be true to ourselves” at the same time. Save yourself the time and find the cliffsnotes version of this book instead.
2 people found this helpfulReport abuse
George Fulmore
4.0 out of 5 stars More of an analysis than a vision?Reviewed in the United States on 31 October 2007
Verified Purchase
"Habits of the Heart" is not an easy read. There are five authors, none of whom seem to identify themselves. For example, in the edition I've read, there are three Prefaces, none of which ends with the name of an author.
Because of this, there may be less coherence in the flow of the book than there could be. But there is so much "meat" in the book that it is still a good read. But because there are so many quotable areas, and so many opinions expressed, I'm sure a variety of reviews could flow from the book. Here's mine:
The thesis of the book appears to be the argument that in a simpler America, we were tied by obvious economic and social interactions. We could be fiercely individualistic, e.g., as the Blacksmith of a small community, but we were linked because our livelihood was probably dependent on neighbors, and our social base, probably our church, was common to the community.
But, today, with our "utilitarian individualism" remaining, we have spread out and now are confused by our links to our neighbors and communities. We move more often. We are not as likely to be economically dependent on our immediate neighbors. We can easily be convinced that the "success" we have achieved has been via our own hard work and ambition and that we may not have much responsibility to contribute back to our immediate neighbors or communities.
The book mentions, but does not dwell on, the Biblical tradition/obligation to respect and acknowledge the dignity of all. It also talks about the "underclass," saying at one point that solving its plight is one of the greatest challenges of all and that this will take an enormous amount of money. But it also points out that in today's world, it is also easy for successful individuals to convince themselves that those in the underclass have only themselves to blame and/or to think that welfare reform efforts do more harm than good.
The authors seem to come from a personal therapy background and viewpoint that may have been gathered first-hand: "Many people feel empty and don't know \why they feel that way. They have been sold a bill of goods by our system: cash, convenience and consumerism....The reason you don't feel part of it is because nobody is a part of it."
But, at the same time, they appear to be more than willing to look at various sides of an issue, and not take a "hard," simplistic stand:
Values: There are skeptical references about how people form "values" and if they can be trusted to be anything more than based on self-interest.
Marriage and family: There is support for marriage and family responsibilities, but it is pointed out that "to imagine that society's problems can be traced to individuals with inadequate family values seems to us sadly mistaken." Next to religious commitment, kinship and family provides another basis of "social solidarity."
Being single: It is no longer disgraceful to remain unmarried. Further, no one HAS to have children. And one can leave a marriage one doesn't like even when young children are involved.
Government programs: "Neocapitalist ideology aims to convince us that all government social programs have been disastrous failures."
Religion: "Major religious can move people away from the preoccupation with self toward some larger identity." Religion is one of he most important ways that American's "get involved."
Television: "...it would be difficult to argue that there is any coherent ideology or overall message that it communicates."
Business Leadership: "Leaders are frequently power-hungry bullies without any moral restraints."
Childrearing: Children are trained to be independent self-sufficient individuals. Leaving home involves separation and renewed identity. "Leaving home" may include also leaving the parents' church.
Trend to liberalization: "Younger folks tend to be more liberal, less accepting of hypocrisy, e.g., rejecting the belief that only Christians get to heaven."
Public Service: "Most people involve themselves in social institutions to achieve self-interests or because they feel an affinity with certain others."
Today's metropolitan world: "...a wold of diverse, often hostile groups, interdependent in ways too complex for an individual to comprehend." "...we spend most of our time navigating through immense bureaucratic structures - multiversities, corporations, government agencies." And, don't forget those megachurches!
Get the drift? A ton of subject areas are covered and tons of ideas and opinions expressed.
Plus, throughout the book there are references to Tocqueville's studies of America. He found Americans to be "restless in the midst of prosperity." He also found the "new individualism" strangely compatible with conformism. Reference to Tocqueville weaves in and out in the book.
There is also a sense of limits to what can be done: "The individual's need to be successful in work becomes the enemy of the need to find meaning of one's work in service to others." And "Americans know that society is rigged, as is the marketplace."
And an occasional dose of reality: "Midlife, especially for middle-class American men often marks the end of the dream of being able to move forward without compromise, to achieve `perfection.' Unemployment can be particularly painful." (Or, how about a kid or two with "problems?")
But let's end by getting back to what appears to be the book's thesis, by stringing some quotes from the book together:
"What has failed at every level...is integration...we have failed to remember our community as members of the same body."
In an ideal world "it would become part of the ethos of work to be aware of our intricate connectness and interdependence."
"...traditions help us to know that it does make a difference who we are and how we treat one another."
And, "...in our desperate effort to free ourselves from the constrictions of the past, we have jettisoned too much, forgetting a history that we cannot abandon."
"In a healthy society, the private and public life are not mutually exclusive...they are two halves of a whole, two poles of a paradox." "Taking cared of one's own is an admirable motive. But when it combines with suspicion of and withdrawal from the public world, it is one of the conditions of despotism Tocqueville feared."
Another suggestion is that "only effective institutions - economic, political and social - make complex, modern societies livable." Another: "We are facing trends that threaten our basic sense of solidarity with others." And: "The erosion of meaning and coherence in our lives is not something Americans desire."
But a coherent, confident plan to get us "back" to some state of integration is not really convincing in the book. Instead, we get: "it is not clear that many Americans are prepared to consider a significant change in the way we have been living. The allure of the packaged good life is still strong"...even though..."our material belongs have not brought us happiness." And, there is "no question that many Americans find their contribution of work and private lifestyle satisfying."
Today's politicians of all stripes can score points by saying that "America is not headed in the right direction." The statement is broad and open to interpretation. The statement assumes that government leaders are not to be trusted to make the "right" decisions. But the statement is also shallow and meaningless without specific suggestions/recommendations.
For the most part, this is the problem with "Habits of the Heart." I don't think it is ever very convincing in telling us how to turn the ship of state back in the "right direction." Or even if it truly IS in the wrong direction.
But, as I said earlier, there is so much information and so many interesting ideas included, it is a good read. And, maybe, it becomes the basis for individuals to begin to make decisions within their own lives as to where they fit in their "commitments in American life" and the world.
End of Book Review by George Fulmore.
Read less
77 people found this helpfulReport abuse
John P. Mueller
5.0 out of 5 stars Relevant for Our TimesReviewed in the United States on 15 August 2016
Verified Purchase
Using interviews of a wide cross section of people, Bellah dissects the problems we face in the post-modern world, relates them to the findings of Tocqueville ~150 years earlier, provides historical continuity and context with the development of the US and finally offers an approach for change that would need to be of the magnitude of the civil rights movement. It really blew my mind, in a good way.
6 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Will B
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful read!Reviewed in the United States on 28 October 2016
Verified Purchase
Very, very informative read. It was amazing how much I see everything they discussed in my own life and the rest of America. Great book that adds so much to the discussion. It requires discussion so do not read this book alone!
6 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Jovana De la Rosa
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely recommend!Reviewed in the United States on 21 August 2019
Verified Purchase
This is a perfect book for educating and relating to modern day focus as citizens of a nation. Purpose and position is everything!
One person found this helpfulReport abuse
==
Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life
by Robert N. Bellah, William M. Sullivan, Steven M. Tipton, Richard Madsen, Ann Swidler
3.89 · Rating details · 943 ratings · 58 reviews
Meanwhile, the authors' antidote to the American sickness—a quest for democratic community that draws on our diverse civic and religious traditions—has contributed to a vigorous scholarly and popular debate. Attention has been focused on forms of social organization, be it civil society, democratic communitarianism, or associative democracy, that can humanize the market an ...more
GET A COPY
KoboOnline Stores ▾Book Links ▾
Paperback, 376 pages
Published May 13th 1996 by University of California Press (first published 1985)
More Details...Edit Details
FRIEND REVIEWS
Recommend This Book None of your friends have reviewed this book yet.
READER Q&A
Ask the Goodreads community a question about Habits of the Heart
54355902. uy100 cr1,0,100,100
Ask anything about the book
Popular Answered Questions
Is it abour spirituality?
1 Like · Like 3 Years Ago Add Your Answer
Hiep Nguyen No. It is about "Finding one's self".…more
flag
See 1 question about Habits of the Heart…
LISTS WITH THIS BOOK
1984 by George OrwellGuns, Germs, and Steel by Jared DiamondLies My Teacher Told Me by James W. LoewenA People's History of the United States by Howard ZinnAnimal Farm by George Orwell
The Best Social Studies Library List
234 books — 181 voters
The Shallows by Nicholas CarrShopping for God by James B. TwitchellAmerican Indian Thought by Anne WatersA Tale of Two Utopias by Paul BermanLibertarian History by Lin Xun
United States of Ideas II (nonfiction)
155 books — 7 voters
More lists with this book...
COMMUNITY REVIEWS
Showing 1-30
Average rating3.89 · Rating details · 943 ratings · 58 reviews
Search review text
English (56)
More filters | Sort order
Sejin,
Sejin, start your review of Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life
Write a review
Katya Littleton
Apr 29, 2007Katya Littleton added it
Recommends it for: people who want to bore themselves to death
Shelves: 2007
This book made me want to bash my head in. Boring, repetitive, and I was forced to finish it for class. If the bookstore doesn't buy it back, I'm setting it on fire and laughing maniacally. (less)
flag10 likes · Like · comment · see review
Nils
Jan 26, 2014Nils rated it really liked it
A canonical text of American sociology in the 1980s, sure to be at the center of reading lists about the 1980s. A quintessential examination of the mental space of middle class white America, in the late Cold War years, the book is a curiously normative document framed as a piece of positive sociology. Its immense popularity stems probably from precisely this balancing act, as well as the great learning wrapped up within Bellah's mellifluous if curiously relaxed and at times repetitive prose. Despite the nuances, at the end of the day, the argument is quite simple: that the narcissistic pursuit of material abundance (what Bellah in an earlier phase of his career had celebrated as "modernization") has revealed itself to Americans as quite empty (the book refuses the Marxist language of "alienation" though it could well be rewritten in that frame), and the choice over how to move forward is between what they refer to as the "therapeutic model," on the one hand, and a return to communitarian integration, focused around family and religion.
Certainly the critique of therapeutalism is sound. Basically, therapy is designed to make people accept the purely individualistic presmises of American social life that are the primary target of HotH: "The problem with therapy is not that intimacy is tyrannically taking over too much of public life. It is that too much of the purely contractual structure of the economic and bureaucratic world is becoming an ideological model for personal life.... The prevalence of contractual intimacy and procedural cooperation, carried over from the boardroom to bedroom and back again, is what threatens to obscure the ideals of both personal virtue and public good." (127) "While the emphasis on connectedness and community would seem to be an advance over 'noncaring self-actualization,' one must ask whether the relentless emphasis on self-interest does not raise doubts as to whether there has really been a shift." (135).
This quotes shows why HotH typifies one of the main directions that people could go as the invested technocratic hopes for what is here referred to as "the Administered society" fade away, especially if they refused to embrace what was not yet being called neoliberalism (e.g. the contractual structure of the economic as an ideological model for personal life) -- e.g. communitarianism, of which it is the great representative. Turning away from technocratic managerialism, the book also offers a deep critique of the enduring American cult of individualism, both in its "utilitarian" form (the rush to get ahead and/or keep up) and in its "expressive" form (the desire to "find oneself" by define one's own private ethics and system of belief).
So what should Americans do once the give up on these materialistic and personalized conception of fulfillment? At every page, the book reinforces the notion that the proper cure to what ails the American soul (here called "heart") is to return to republican political values and the communal integration, especially those offered by tolerant religious sects. The book closes with a methodological call for sociology to reassert itself as "public philosophy," that is, as the profession of norms: the assertion of belief and moral advocacy.
In other words, to be slightly anachronistic, HofH is "1000 points of light" for liberals. The text is highly symptomatic of that worldview for all the things it doesn't do, and for all the things it doesn't acknowledge not doing. It barely acknowledges that it is not about all of America, but specifically about white middle class, suburban America. It remains completely uninterested in any broader transnational context for the struggles it talks about. Its critique of contemporary economic life focuses more on what corporate practices does to the interior lives of workers, rather than on social injustices perpetrated or reinforced by these structures. It shamelessly blends fact and value, claiming that all Americans yearn for the solutions that they pose, whether or not they quite realize it (again, while they studiously avoid Marxist jargon, the shadow of "false consciousness" shrouds much of the argument). There is no acknowledgement of the darker aspects of the American soul, not just in the vicious inter-communal hatreds (these are treated as having faded), but also in the intra-communal repressiveness which is essential to the integrating function that communities serve. Bellah implicitly assumes that there is a basic compatibility between community and individual, that is, that communal endeavor is the best way to achieve individual fulfillment, rather than the abnegation of the same. To which one can only say, that really depends on what your community makes of your individual desires.
Finally, there is a curious note about the anxiety of influence: while Bellah returns obsessively to Tocqueville as the touchstone for the communitarianism he calls for, the book barely acknowledges (except via brief, largely dismissive footnotes) other sociological investigators who have plowed the same terrain with striking different results, notably the Lynds, David Riesman, and Christopher Lasch. (less)
flag9 likes · Like · 1 comment · see review
Bob Prophet
Sep 16, 2010Bob Prophet rated it really liked it
Shelves: favorites
As a former student of sociology with intense curiosity about modern social/political/economic phenomena, I really enjoyed this book and would probably give a copy as a gift to student friends. What I especially liked was the ending where the six (3 pairs) American visions of the public good are outlined, ending with the Administered Society vs. Economic Democracy, neither of which sound pleasant.
I especially like how this analysis unfolds from a "classical republican" perspective and maintains a distance from current partisan stances. The authors' critique of what's being peddled as "therapeutic" was refreshing, challenging the increasingly popular mindset that we need so-called "experts" to teach us how to live and cope.
This is a worthwhile read for those interested in a sociological perspective on shifting American values alongside systemic changes occurring in our society. As a non-religious individual interested in ethics and morality, this book proved a valuable addition to my collection. (less)
flag4 likes · Like · comment · see review
Chris J
Aug 17, 2013Chris J rated it really liked it · review of another edition
One of those rare examples of academic writing that escaped to the hoi polloi. The title comes from a phrase used by Tocqueville in his observations of American culture. Bellah, et al., examine modern therapeutic culture and how it contrasts with the deepest, in some ways subconscious desires of society and ideas of the "good life."
In 1985 I'm certain this was paradigm-shifting stuff and I'm also certain it inspired much of the reappraisals of modernity as well as those committed,long-standing proponents of tradition.
If you can persevere through the ground-laying first chapter, it's a good read and well worth the time. (less)
flag4 likes · Like · comment · see review
Jonathan
Jun 16, 2008Jonathan rated it really liked it
Shelves: assigned-to-shane, contemporary-america, contemporary-philosophy
The gist: Individualism (whether economic or spiritual) cannot provide meaning, however worthy the freedom it offers may be. Nor can the weak forms of association found in "lifestyle enclaves," inhabited as they are only by similar people who join seeking personal fulfillment. A meaningful life can only be lived in a community, sustained by tradition and by service to others. (less)
flag4 likes · Like · comment · see review
Nadya
Jan 13, 2014Nadya rated it did not like it
Bellah (et al) are primarily concerned with discussing the inevitable overlap of private and public life in American society. Based on 200+ interviews with a representative population of white middle-class America, Bellah draws the conclusion that, as much as Americans are focused on attaining self-reliance and individualism, individualism (i.e. private life) is most meaningful when it is complemented by engagement with society (i.e. public life). He asserts, “individuality and society are not opposites but require each other” (p. 246-7). This interlinking reciprocal relationship, he suggests, is demonstrated through an individual’s involvement in a [conservative Christian] church community.
Bellah uses case studies to demonstrate his point, but his conclusions are not justified by his method. As mentioned, Bellah limits his sample population to white middle-class Americans ..but then goes on to speak of an allegedly singular American identity...
Though impeccably dense, this (at times) reads like a self help book. I would not have finished the book had it not been a required reading for one of my graduate seminars. I am surprised it has such a high rating. (less)
flag3 likes · Like · comment · see review
Margaret Sankey
Sep 22, 2014Margaret Sankey rated it liked it
1985 sociological study which offers some genuinely profound insights into how Americans talk themselves into narratives of self-made people and idealized small towns, although markedly biased by its date (amazingly, women were starting to not see men as "permanent meal tickets" and small town companies were civic minded and hadn't off-shored all the jobs yet). (less)
flag3 likes · Like · comment · see review
John Henry
Nov 19, 2015John Henry rated it really liked it
Shelves: my-library
To become a missional community in our culture, we need this instruction from a cultural anthropologist's view. This book outlines how Americans are living as products of their surrounding culture. It helps us see the forest through the trees. (less)
flag3 likes · Like · see review
Eric
Nov 12, 2019Eric rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Was introduced to the work by way of a Tim Keller video on individualism in the modern culture. This is a well done treatment of current issues in the US, although 'current' in this case goes back to 1985 which made me call into question some of its conclusions. For example, the chapter on religion had one figure that indicated about 40% attendance in weekly worship and that number has not been reached for in the last couple decades, and the current number is usually report in the 18% range. That said there are excellent reasons to take in this book for any student of the current woes of the American psyche.
It took over an hour to get to the meat of the work, but that was an hour well spent in understanding where the authors wanted to take you. And there was a lengthy concluding chapter that recapitulated where you had been. The multiple authors we are told were each to do their own monographs of the data sets that had been compiled - might be worth investigating. (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Dan Gorman
Jun 17, 2018Dan Gorman rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: nonfiction
Thought-provoking read! Robert Bellah and his coauthors argue that individualism, both in capitalistic/utilitarian and personal-expression ways, has run amok. Our participation in civic life is declining across the board, income inequality's soaring, and free-market solutions aren't cutting it. What we need, according to the authors, is a revival of solidarity and communal spirit. This doesn't negate individualism; rather, citizens should recognize something greater. The authors cite "Biblical religion" derived from the Puritans and "civic republicanism" derived from Jefferson as good starting points, for religion and republicanism offer a moral foundational, connecting the individual to other people and recognizing their shared dignity. Yes, Bellah et. al. play up the Puritan roots of America, when there were a lot of other Christianities at work, and they have a fanboy attitude toward Jefferson (albeit a very restrained, Ivory Tower kind of fanboying). Yet I respect the fact that Bellah et. al. think your foundational belief could be religious OR secular.
The authors' central claim, that a society needs a shared foundation, is persuasive. The authors' discussion of an ascendant individualism, which is then used to justify everything from foolhardy tax cuts to welfare reductions to class divisions, is disturbing. Many of the interviews whiz by with the pithy quotes and aw-shucks moralizing of vintage Newsweek articles. This book is kind of a work of academic journalism — not the strongest on historicizing problems, but observant and making some fair criticisms of American society. The book's interview sample has serious structural problems, notably its complete omission of the Midwest, South, and the parts of the West that aren't California, and its focus on white Americans to the exclusion of people of color. Like David Riesman's "The Lonely Crowd," Elaine Tyler May's "Homeward Bound," and similar books reliant on sociological data, the findings in "Habits of the Heart" apply to segments of America, not the whole. Bellah and his collaborators acknowledge there are social groups they didn't study, but they don't give a persuasive rationale for omitting people of color. The fact is, there is no rationale for omitting minorities from a study of American civic life. At least the authors believe that white flight and residential segregation are some of the worst embodiments of individualism.
So: Read with several grains of salt, and keep searching for a strong historical explanation of the transition from a proto-industrial 19th-century culture to a consumer-oriented 20th-century culture. Bellah and his team still point out the dangers of individualism in public life. This book is best read in tandem with Alan Trachtenberg's "The Incorporation of America," Riesman's "The Lonely Crowd," and maybe Roland Marchand's "Advertising the American Dream." I'm still learning the literature about capitalism and its effects on public life, but that's a start. (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Trinity
Apr 15, 2019Trinity rated it it was ok
I had to read this book for one of my classes, so I had to slog my way through it. The premise of the study, an attempt to reconcile American individualism with a need to connect to a community was interesting. I actually learned a lot about the human experience in America and the roles that religion, therapy, and politics play in creating a cohesive community. I found the ideas that were presented to be interesting, but the writing was why I gave this book two stars. The writing was dry, and the book was overly repetitive. The authors were constantly referring to earlier chapters in the book and restating their argument again and again but adding very little new information. I often found myself nodding off because I was not mentally engaged in the topic. You have to sift through all the repetition to get to their meaning, so if you like a tedious game of find the point of this section then I would recommend this book to you. Otherwise, I would say skip it, and if you have to read it for a class good luck and perhaps try reading it while you are standing! (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Jilz
Apr 27, 2009Jilz is currently reading it · review of another edition
I am intrigued. More and more lately, I find myself questioning my lifelong premise that there is a particular purpose for my life, and that it is my duty to discover and fulfill that purpose. One may even be hard pressed to prove conclusively that there is any particular purpose, at all, to our individual lives. It may be that my life has whatever purpose and meaning I choose to assign to it. I'm not particularly comforted by that, but now that I have made it through the Preface to the 2008 Edition, and the Preface to the 2006 Edition, and the Preface to the First Edition, and 8 little pages into the first chapter, I read "American cultural traditions define....the purp0se of human life in ways that leave the individual suspended in glorious, but terrifying, isolation." I think that I may be reading this book at just the right time. (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Michael
Oct 25, 2012Michael rated it really liked it
This is an exceptional sociological examination of American society. The authors use Democracy in America as an interpretive horizon for the evolution of American Society in the late 20th century. Where de- Tocqueville's America was politically and socially engaged, the socio-economic factors that have emerged in the last 40 years have worked to undermine communal opportunity. The authors provide a nice balance between case studies and social science. An exceptional read. ...more
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Landon
Mar 29, 2012Landon rated it did not like it · review of another edition
Recommends it for: students of sociology
Recommended to Landon by: class assignment
Sociological study...with a focus upon Christianity and American individualism...not my style. This was a class assignment, and the sociology in the book is quite the turn-off. It is dryly written and unengaging, for the layman. It provides the reader with analysis of all of America's problems in regards to individualism, but offers no solutions - highly frustrating. (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
John Wise
Apr 01, 2016John Wise rated it it was amazing
Shelves: culture, education
Next to De Tocqueville, an excellent work on American culture.
The Appendix contains an extremely helpful explanation of the difference between research universities and traditional colleges. Research universities have increased the material prosperity of America, but have impoverished America culturally.
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Derek
Oct 04, 2017Derek rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: favorites
Enlightening and shocking and overwhelming. One gets every indication this is a sociological masterpiece. The opposite of a 'light summer read', yet spending the summer underlining, circling, and contemplating the sentences in this book was as demanding as it was satisfying. There is too much to summarize here, but one day, maybe. (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Kristina
Feb 28, 2012Kristina rated it did not like it
I could not get through this book. The whining, self-centeredness, and limited scope of types of people included made the generalizations impossible to stomach. It is probably best loved by children of the 60s, or people who spend their time trying to "find themselves." (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Thadeus
Aug 13, 2008Thadeus rated it it was amazing
Shelves: philosophy, sociology, returned, com-library
This book gives you some vocabulary to think and talk about the state of the American society. I found it very thoughtful and stimulating.
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Lauren
May 17, 2010Lauren rated it did not like it
Though written in the 1980s, the racist and sexist tones in this book would make you think it was written in the 1880s. Horrible.
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Ken
Jun 29, 2014Ken rated it it was amazing
Every American should read this book. It perfectly explains why our society has reached the current fractious, even destructive point it has.
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Rick
May 14, 2017Rick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: favorites, philosophy, non-fiction
Remains one of my favorites; really sharp analysis of American life and individualism.
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
