Rating: 
Summary: Blow harder
Review: Self indulgent self justification, anyone? This "analysis" of a "social trend" is focused on the thinnest demographic slice of our nation's population. If you're a member of the bohemian bourgeoisie and a fan of the poppiest pop-psych, you may see your own reflection here and enjoy the view, which is gracefully etched. But if you're looking for insight about the world around you, search elsewhere. This book will leave you empty handed and gasping for air.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny and insightful
Review: The best part of the book are the personal anecdotes and life stories integrated into the broader theme of the book. I particularly enjoyed the author's self deprecating style and laughed out loud many times. This is a charming, nuanced, and intelligent study of a modern lifestyle trend.
Rating:
Summary: I wish I could give this book MINUS 3-star review!
Review: The fact that this book got published defies comprehension. It's poorly written, the author is completely unlikable and self-absorbed, and it's supremely repetitive. After suffering through so many pages, I realize that this is just another example of a media company wanting to cash in on a trendy catch phrase: "Urban Tribes." It suckered me. Please, don't let it sucker you.
Rating: 
Summary: Great text book potential, but ugh... boring "fun" read.
Review: This book seemed to be a long drawn out version of the article the author wrote as the basis for this book. The first few chapters were interesting, but about 3/4 of the way through the book I just had to close it for good.
This book would be great as a text book as it would be interesting to hear students? perspectives of the concepts, but as a "fun read" I would not recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow pop sociology
Review: This is a book that started out as a magazine piece and probably should have stayed there. It's sloppily edited, repetitive and presents a grab bag of anecdotes as if it were a serious analysis of social trends. It's an attempt at social science without the science.While the title concept is appealing and has some promise--I can think of "urban tribes" that I know of--it's the execution of this concept that is disappointing. While the book is entertaining at times, it's not based on much. And, sadly, the author seems to buy in to the notion that singles in their 20's and 30's are just biding their time until the inevitable: marriage. He pays almost no attention to people who don't desire marriage, or to gays and lesbians who may want to get married but can't. Although the phrase "urban tribe" conveys a certain cutting-edge hipness, Watters' underlying premises are about as square as they come. How sad to think that time with friends is just a means of marking time until one gets married, or that being single in one's late 20's or 30's should be a cause for desparation or angst. I'd like to think that marriages/serious partnerships and meaningful, lifelong friendships can co-exist more harmoniously than Watters implies.
Rating:
Summary: repetition, repetition, repetition (but no insight)
Review: When I purchased this book, I thought that it would be an interesting exploration of people like myself--urban professionals who are in their late 20s and early 30s and unmarried and childless. Instead, I found a dreadfully boring account of the author's tepid exploration of this cultural trend. He didn't seem quite interested in the topic himself--just kind of aimless, self-absorbed and bored enough to wonder. This half-hearted soul searching was repeated over and over with little insight, fostering a very frustrating sense of vague deja vu. Please, people. He is not the spokesman for my generation.
Rating:
Summary: A journey worth exploring
Review: You meet the damnedest people stuffing envelopes at the headquarters for the American Association of Single People, doling out licorice whips in the Black Rock Desert, and trolling the conference floor of the American Psychological Association's annual convention. These are some of the stops along the way for Ethan Watters in his quest to understand this unique clustering of friends common to most twenty- and thirty-somethings. Urban Tribes asks the questions you've been afraid to ask, and Watters is willing to put himself in harm's way to get the answers. Among those questions: Is my urban tribe of friends advancing my life or holding me back? The book is a turbulent, often wacky trip that I'm glad I took.
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