Our Patchwork Nation: The Surprising Truth About the "Real" America

Chinni, Dante,Gimpel Ph.D., James

ISBN 10: 1592405738 / ISBN 13: 9781592405732

Published by Gotham, 2010

About this Item

Dust Jacket has some shelf/edge wear. No apparent marks throughout this book Foxing and tanning to pages. . Tracking available on most domestic orders.

Seller Inventory # mon0000414250

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Our Patchwork Nation: The Surprising Truth About the "Real" America
• Publisher: Gotham
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1592405738
• ISBN 13: 9781592405732
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Includes dust jacket.

About this title

Synopsis

A revolutionary new way to understand America's complex cultural and political landscape, with proof that local communities have a major impact on the nation's behavior-in the voting booth and beyond.

In a climate of culture wars and tremendous economic uncertainty, the media have often reduced America to a simplistic schism between red states and blue states. In response to that oversimplification, journalist Dante Chinni teamed up with political geographer James Gimpel to launch the Patchwork Nation project, using on-the-ground reporting and statistical analysis to get past generalizations and probe American communities in depth. The result is Our Patchwork Nation, a refreshing, sometimes startling, look at how America's diversities often defy conventional wisdom.

Looking at the data, they recognized that the country breaks into twelve distinct types of communities, and old categories like "soccer mom" and "working class" don't matter as much as we think. Instead, by examining Boom Towns, Evangelical Epicenters, Military Bastions, Service Worker Centers, Campus and Careers, Immigration Nation, Minority Central, Tractor Community, Mormon Outposts, Emptying Nests, Industrial Metropolises, and Monied Burbs, the authors demonstrate the subtle distinctions in how Americans vote, invest, shop, and otherwise behave, reflect what they experience on their local streets and in their daily lives. Our Patchwork Nation is a brilliant new way to debate and examine the issues that matter most to our communities, and to our nation.

About the Author

Dante Chinni is the correspondent for the Patchwork nation project, a collaboration among The Christian Science Monitor, PBS News Hour, and PBS member stations. He lives in Washington, D.C.
James Gimpel, Ph.D., is a professor of government at the University of Maryland, College Park.