Is America Breaking Apart?

Description

Is the United States a nation of materialistic loners whose politics are dictated by ethnic, racial, religious, or sexual identities? This is what America has become in the eyes of many commentators. Americans seem to fear that their society is breaking apart, but how accurate is this portrayal and how justified is the fear? Introducing another viewpoint into this debate, John Hall and Charles Lindholm argue that such alarm is unfounded. Here they explore the institutional structures of American society, emphasizing its ability to accommodate difference and diffuse conflict. The culture, too, comes under scrutiny: influenced by Calvinistic beliefs, Americans place faith in the individual but demand high moral commitment to the community. By combining history, sociology and anthropology, the authors cover a wide range of past and recent challenges to the stability of American society: from the history of unions to affirmative action, from McCarthyism to militant distrust of government, from an early prejudice toward Irish and Italian immigrants to current treatment of American Americans at the end of the 20th century.

John A. Hall is Professor of Sociology at McGill University. His recent books include Coercion and Consent and International Orders. Charles Lindholm is University Professor of Anthropology at Boston University. His recent books are Charisma and The Islamic Middle East: An Historical Anthropology.

"As [the authors] point out, in a book that is both soothing and convincing ... the nation, at least as a community of interacting individuals, is strong and safe."--The Economist Review "A brisk, unusually lively tour through American history and habits... Is America Breaking Apart? usefully urges us to probe for Balkanizing impulses in our own souls, then pronounces us healthy."--Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer "[A] short, stimulating book... Mr. Hall's and Mr. Lindholm's overall intention is to show how the United States has held together since the Founding, why it shows every promise of continuing to do so, and what are the positive and negative aspects of that history and present state of affairs."--Colin Walters, The Washington Times "Readable and highly recommended..."--Library Journal "A slim but very thoughtful volume that is well worth reading."--Kirkus Reviews "Briefly but brilliantly Hall and Lindholm marshal sociology and history to assert that there has never been a time in American history without hostilities and rifts... The prose is at once judicious and elegant. Appealing both to intellect and imagination, this work unites a clear vision of American past with expectations of future achievement. It deserves the widest possible audience."--Choice "I hope that this persuasive book will find the wide, nonacademic audience for which it is written... The authors manage the difficult task of being both brief and nuanced... The book is an important corrective to the sensationalist literature that contributes to the problems it supposedly decries."--Rhys H. Williams, Christian Century "Insightful and persuasive... The authors manage the difficult task of being both brief and nuanced."--Rhys H. Williams, Christian Century Mr. Hall's and Mr. Lindholm's overall intention is to show how the United States has held together since the Founding, why it shows every promise of continuing to do so, and what are the positive and negative aspects of that history and present state of affairs... [A] short, stimulating book."--Colin Walters, Washington Times