Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Ladd's book is nice reading and it does serve to balance out Putnam's work "Bowling Alone." I attended an NCA conference where Putnam was a featured lunchtime speaker. I bought his book and was surprised that he chose to play so fast and loose with the numbers. What I felt was that Putnam uncovered some databases and started working on how all of it could be tied together, but many of his charts and graphs lack any semblance of continuity. The data are often not from the same time periods and the scales on many of the graphs totally lack a Y-axis descriptor. In some cases, the lines are deceptive in the graphs.
In any case, Ladd does a less flamboyant, but equally compelling, job at inspecting the state of American social repsonsibility in his report. This book lacks the same PR machine that Putnam appears to have behind his book (maybe Putnam's title and cover are flashier?), but I found it to be a more sobering read. Please, before you go citing Putnam in any of your own literature, buy and read this book first.
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The U.S. economy has passed through one of the longest and most impressive booms in its history. We are enjoying our highest standard of living ever, buoyed by low crime and an improving environment. Still, we worry that, in other important ways, we're losing ground as a society. In particular, social commentators are bemoaning the state of our communities. Is our civic engagement declining even amidst material well-being? Do we no longer join together, care about each other, and trust one another as we once did? Everett Carll Ladd, a political scientist who directs the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, uses a vast array of data to offer a definitive report on the state of America's civic life. He shows that, far from withering, civic life is thriving. Participation in community affairs has dramatically increased. You might be surprised, considering most media portrayals, to learn that: The national PTA has declined, but overall parent-teacher involvement has soared, and more parents report spending more time than ever with their kids' schooling. The Sierra Club and Audubon Society have grown fourfold since 1970. A rich variety of new community churches find their membership burgeoning. Despite the decline of mainline denominations, more people attend church now than ever before. Levels of charitable giving have been climbing steadily in real terms for more than a half century. Volunteer rates are up significantly. For all the time-squeeze on two-wage-earner families and the allure of television sitcoms, a record number of Americans now do volunteer work. If you are wondering how to organize your own community, or how you can pitch in, or simply want to know what all the doomsayers are talking about, then The Ladd Report is for you. Here is an essential guide that will answer every argument and remind us all how right Tocqueville was when he described America as a "nation of joiners."
