Putting Putnam’s Thesis in its Place

Whether or not one is persuaded by Robert Putnam’s major thesis on the decline of social and civic participation in America, Bowling Alone is based on an enormous assemblage of relevant and interesting data. There are sixty pages of notes in small print—too small not to place a strain on my aging eyes—and three methodological appendices covering thirty pages on how Putnam utilized his major sources. Nearly a hundred researchers and Harvard colleagues are acknowledged in a closing section entitled “The Story Behind This Book.” Needless to say, the project cost several million dollars.