Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis

Putnam tells poignant stories of rich and poor kids from cities and suburbs across the country, drawing on a formidable body of research undertaken especially for this book. Our Kids is a rare combination of moving personal narratives and authoritarive evidence -and for that reason, all the more troubling to read. It is a signal contribution to the ongoing discussion about inequality in America, a deeply informed and perceptive analysis of our country at a critical time. In the final chapter, Putnam offers suggestions for how we might halt this decline in opportunity and restore a greater chance for upward mobility.