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A review by rpcroke
Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life by Eric Klinenberg
3.0
I really, really, really wanted to like this book but came away underwhelmed. I cannot agree more with the author's premise but his argument seems unorganized. He takes an extraordinarily broad definition of what social infrastructure is - and admits so in the book - and then proceeds to write 100 pages of anecdotes and policy wishes better suited for a political candidate. In fact, his last paragraph in the book pleas for rebuilding infrastructure, a super-set of social infrastructure, and his entire thesis is lost.
Moreover, he uses loads of correlations to try and prove points. Where is the causality? Every once in a while he throws in the (paraphrasing here) "though not definitely proving a causal effect, the study implies..." which I find a bit dishonest.
I'm a bookstore and library enthusiast, a wannabe bibliophile, so I badly want to support the book. It comes off as pressed, like it's forcing an issue. The author seems like a great writer but there was no emotion here. I recently read Dopesick where you could feel the author's pain in every sentence. This book was just so damn academic.
Moreover, he uses loads of correlations to try and prove points. Where is the causality? Every once in a while he throws in the (paraphrasing here) "though not definitely proving a causal effect, the study implies..." which I find a bit dishonest.
I'm a bookstore and library enthusiast, a wannabe bibliophile, so I badly want to support the book. It comes off as pressed, like it's forcing an issue. The author seems like a great writer but there was no emotion here. I recently read Dopesick where you could feel the author's pain in every sentence. This book was just so damn academic.