The Spirit of Community: The reinvention of American Society (1993) by Amitai Etzioni

This book has been sitting on my shelf since the early days of the pandemic, and there’s clearly a reason I hadn’t picked it up until now. Although the title, The Spirit of Community: The Reinvention of American Society, resonates with my passion for community, the writing style and premise of the author do not. The book, written in 1993, feels dated— shaped by a different economic, social, and political climate. Perhaps it didn’t resonate with me because of the author’s limited understanding of what community truly means, or his narrow appreciation of the diversity and complexity of modern society. The pessimistic tone that permeates each chapter— suggesting there’s little good left in the world— only made it harder to connect with the content. Ultimately, I decided to set the book aside rather than struggle through a read that didn’t engage me.