Better Together : Restoring the American Community

Rating:
Summary: Why building social capital is important
Review: In this book by Robert D. Putnam and Lewis M. Feldstein with Don Cohen the idea of developing social capital is explored. This book has a number of interesting stories that illustrate social capital and how different organizations develop social capital. The organizations that develop social capital in this book aren't doing it just to do it but are using social capital for a number of reasons. Many different organizations from an evangelical mega-church to UPS to the structure of Portland's city government are profiled in this book.
This book shows how some groups are using social capital to achieve their goals but this book isn't a scientific study to try to test a hypothesis. This book also isn't a how to book meant to teach the reader how to build social capital in order to achieve certain goals. This book presents examples of different ways of building social capital and what can be done when you build social capital.
The book is good for getting idea's for building social capital and for getting some idea of the significance of building social capital in an organization who's purpose and goals aren't social. Many different types of organizations with different goals and situated in different regions and of different sizes are explained in this book so if you are wanting to build social capital you should be able to find the elements that make up just about any group or organization in this book and get good ideas.
This book is quick and easy to read so anybody can read it. Anybody who is trying to organize for a certain goal should read this book so that the significance of building social capital is understood.

Rating:
Summary: Let's get "Better Together"
Review: No matter your interest, religious, political, environment, academic, left, right, or center, if you have interest in seeing things change (or stay the same), Better Together: Restoring the American Community by Robert Putnam and Lewis M. Feldstein, with Don Cohen (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003) is a must read.

Better Together tells the stories of twelve different groups: from a community organization to a church, as well as a dance group and a web site, from a union to a branch library, a Fortune 500 corporation and a neighborhood group, to name a few. The stories hold in common the building up of community, of social capital. It is the best book of general interest that I have read in more than a year.

Putnam addresses a critical aspect of how we are brought together as citizens and neighbors. I cannot stress enough how highly I recommend this book.