The data Putnam collected and analyzed represents a major achievement. Yet, after doing all that hard work he failed to go very far down some paths his data showed him. For example, more Americans are part of the work force than in previous decades, when many two-adult families had only one adult in the work force, leaving the other free to participate in community and neighborhood activities. The phenomena of overwork and overspending, explored brilliantly by Juliet Schor, is tied to the decline in social capital, but in this book is not given its due.