The heart of the book is a comparison of the author's memories of his childhood in the 1950s in Port Clinton, Ohio, and the reality faced by children living in the same town today. The difference is remarkable and disturbing. Putnam's main point is that when he was young, Americans cared about other people's kids. Now, people only really care about their own kids. It's a damning but pretty accurate assessment of where we stand today. And he backs it up with both personal stories and objective data.
This is a must-read book that goes beyond the numbers. It takes you inside the American social fabric and lets you see what inequality and poverty really mean for real people--and what it portents for the future of America if we don't address the problem.
