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Coming Apart
- The State of White America, 1960–2010
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
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Publisher's summary
From the best-selling author of Losing Ground and The Bell Curve, this startling long-lens view shows how America is coming apart at the seams that have historically joined our social classes.
In Coming Apart, Charles Murray explores the formation of American classes that are different in kind from anything we have ever known, focusing on whites as a way of driving home the fact that the trends he describes do not break along lines of race or ethnicity.
Drawing on five decades of statistics and research, Coming Apart demonstrates that a new upper class and a new lower class have diverged so far in core behaviors and values that they barely recognize their underlying American kinship—a divergence that has nothing to do with income inequality and that has grown during good economic times and bad.
The top and bottom of white America increasingly live in different cultures, Murray argues, with the powerful upper class living in enclaves surrounded by their own kind, ignorant about life in mainstream America, and the lower class suffering from erosions of family and community life that strike at the heart of the pursuit of happiness. This divergence puts the success of the American project at risk.
The evidence in Coming Apart is about white America. Its message is about all of America.
Charles Murray is the W. H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He first came to national attention in 1984 with Losing Ground. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard and a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He lives with his wife in Burkittsville, Maryland.
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Since Alexis de Tocqueville, restlessness has been accepted as a signature American trait. Our willingness to move, take risks, and adapt to change have produced a dynamic economy and a tradition of innovation from Ben Franklin to Steve Jobs. The problem, according to legendary blogger, economist, and best-selling author Tyler Cowen, is that Americans today have broken from this tradition - we're working harder than ever to avoid change.
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MUST READ
- By RJW on 05-06-17
By: Tyler Cowen
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The Big Sort
- Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart
- By: Bill Bishop, Robert G. Cushing
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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In 2004, journalist Bill Bishop coined the term "the big sort". Armed with startling new demographic data, he made national news in a series of articles showing how Americans have been sorting themselves into alarmingly homogeneous communities - not by region or by state but by city and even neighborhood. Over the past three decades, we have been choosing the neighborhoods (and churches and news shows) compatible with our lifestyles and beliefs.
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Build the Wall?
- By Amazon Customer on 01-23-19
By: Bill Bishop, and others
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Korea
- The Impossible Country
- By: Daniel Tudor
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Long overshadowed by Japan and China, South Korea is a small country that happens to be one of the great national success stories of the postwar period. From a failed state with no democratic tradition, ruined and partitioned by war, and sapped by a half-century of colonial rule, South Korea transformed itself in just 50 years into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that serves as a model for other countries. With no natural resources and a tradition of authoritarian rule, Korea managed to accomplish a second Asian miracle.
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Amazing book
- By Antoine on 12-14-18
By: Daniel Tudor
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This Noble Land
- My Vision For America
- By: James A. Michener
- Narrated by: Arthur Addison
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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This Noble Land is Michener's most personal statement about America, an examination of the issues that threaten to fragment and undermine the nation - racial conflict, the widening gulf between rich and poor, the decline of education, the inadequacies of our health care system - as well as a thought-provoking prescription for sustaining our "outstanding success". First published shortly before Michener's death, This Noble Land stands as a wake-up call for a troubled era, infused with the wisdom and passion of a lifetime.
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A startling realization
- By Amazon Customer on 08-15-15
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The Conservative Heart
- How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America
- By: Arthur C. Brooks
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Conservative Heart, Arthur C. Brooks contends that after years of focusing on economic growth and traditional social values, it is time for a new kind of conservatism - one that helps the vulnerable without mortgaging our children's future. In Brooks' daring vision, this conservative movement fights poverty, promotes equal opportunity, celebrates earned success, and values spiritual enlightenment. It is an inclusive movement with a positive agenda to help people lead happier, more hopeful, and more satisfied lives.
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Outstanding recitation of conservatism!
- By GLENNO on 08-06-15
By: Arthur C. Brooks
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The Nordic Theory of Everything
- In Search of a Better Life
- By: Anu Partanen
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Moving to America in 2008, Finnish journalist Anu Partanen quickly went from confident, successful professional to wary, self-doubting mess. She found that navigating the basics of everyday life - from buying a cell phone and filing taxes to education and childcare - was much more complicated and stressful than anything she encountered in her homeland. At first she attributed her crippling anxiety to the difficulty of adapting to a freewheeling new culture. But as she got to know Americans better, she discovered they shared her deep apprehension.
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A non-radical perspective on two societies
- By kwdayboise (Kim Day) on 06-20-17
By: Anu Partanen
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All the Single Ladies
- Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation
- By: Rebecca Traister
- Narrated by: Candace Thaxton, Rebecca Traister - introduction
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In a provocative, groundbreaking work, National Magazine Award finalist Rebecca Traister, "the most brilliant voice on feminism in this country" (Anne Lamott), traces the history of unmarried women in America who, through social, political, and economic means, have radically shaped our nation.
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Excellent book, destroyed by narration
- By Theresa Holleran on 03-06-16
By: Rebecca Traister
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Kids These Days
- Human Capital and the Making of Millennials
- By: Malcolm Harris
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone knows "what's wrong with millennials". Glenn Beck says we've been ruined by "participation trophies". Simon Sinek says we have low self-esteem. An Australian millionaire says millennials could all afford homes if we'd just give up avocado toast. Thanks, millionaire. This millennial is here to prove them all wrong.
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A devastating dream of revolution
- By Kevin Tierney Jr on 11-23-17
By: Malcolm Harris
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The 9.9 Percent
- The New Aristocracy That Is Entrenching Inequality and Warping Our Culture
- By: Matthew Stewart
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 21st century America, the top 0.1 percent of the wealth distribution have walked away with the big prizes even while the bottom 90 percent have lost ground. What’s left of the American Dream has taken refuge in the 9.9 percent that lies just below the tip of extreme wealth. Collectively, the members of this group control more than half of the wealth in the country - and they are doing whatever it takes to hang on to their piece of the action in an increasingly unjust system.
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Fantastic
- By Davena on 01-05-23
By: Matthew Stewart
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American Grace
- How Religion Divides and Unites Us
- By: Robert D. Putnam, David E. Campbell
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 18 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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American Grace takes its findings from two of the largest, most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on religion and public life in America, plus in-depth studies of diverse congregations---among them a megachurch, a Mormon congregation, a Catholic parish, a reform Jewish synagogue, and an African American congregation.
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Interesting Analysis
- By Daniel on 10-08-12
By: Robert D. Putnam, and others
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Thank you for writing this
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A great book ruined by a terrible recording
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The thesis of Human Diversity is that advances in genetics and neuroscience are overthrowing an intellectual orthodoxy that has ruled the social sciences for decades. The core of the orthodoxy consists of three dogmas: Gender is a social construct. Race is a social construct. Class is a function of privilege. The problem is that all three dogmas are half-truths. They have stifled progress in understanding the rich texture that biology adds to our understanding of the social, political, and economic worlds we live in. It is not a story to be feared. But it is a story that needs telling.
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Purchase the Kindle version not the audio book
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The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead
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Good Book: From one curmudgeon to another
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Finally, some possible solutions
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Our Kids
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It's the American dream: get a good education, work hard, buy a house, and achieve prosperity and success. This is the America we believe in - a nation of opportunity, constrained only by ability and effort. But during the last 25 years we have seen a disturbing "opportunity gap" emerge. Americans have always believed in equality of opportunity, the idea that all kids, regardless of their family background, should have a decent chance to improve their lot in life.
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A more relatable, less rigorous, Coming Apart
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Thank you for writing this
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A great book ruined by a terrible recording
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Purchase the Kindle version not the audio book
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Good Book: From one curmudgeon to another
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Title does not reflect the content
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Long Long book
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Best book ever for space, ops, and engineering fans
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Respected conservative journalist and commentator Timothy P. Carney continues the conversation begun with Hillbilly Elegy and the classic Bowling Alone in this hard-hitting analysis that identifies the true factor behind the decline of the American dream: It is not purely the result of economics as the left claims, but the collapse of the institutions that made us successful, including marriage, church, and civic life.
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A good companion to Murray's Coming Apart
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The Big Sort
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In 2004, journalist Bill Bishop coined the term "the big sort". Armed with startling new demographic data, he made national news in a series of articles showing how Americans have been sorting themselves into alarmingly homogeneous communities - not by region or by state but by city and even neighborhood. Over the past three decades, we have been choosing the neighborhoods (and churches and news shows) compatible with our lifestyles and beliefs.
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Build the Wall?
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Incisive and Illuminating
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Another book you wish was part of every university world history curriculum
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If more had these insights we'd be better off
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The Great Escape
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The world is a better place than it used to be. People are healthier, wealthier, and live longer. Yet the escapes from destitution by so many has left gaping inequalities between people and nations. In The Great Escape, Angus Deaton - one of the foremost experts on economic development and on poverty - tells the remarkable story of how, beginning 250 years ago, some parts of the world experienced sustained progress, opening up gaps and setting the stage for today's disproportionately unequal world.
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not worth listening
- By Kyung on 04-26-20
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Equal Is Unfair
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We've all heard that the American Dream is vanishing, and that the cause is rising income inequality. The rich are getting richer by rigging the system in their favor, leaving the rest of us to struggle just to keep our heads above water. To save the American Dream, we're told that we need to fight inequality through tax hikes, wealth redistribution schemes, and a far higher minimum wage.
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While I agree with most of this book,...
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Troubled
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Rob Henderson was born to a drug-addicted mother and a father he never met, ultimately shuttling between ten different foster homes in California. When he was adopted into a loving family, he hoped that life would finally be stable and safe. But divorce, tragedy, poverty, and violence marked his adolescent and teen years, propelling Henderson to join the military upon completing high school.
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Surprisingly good
- By Chris on 06-04-24
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What listeners say about Coming Apart
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ronald
- 09-03-12
An important book
Would you listen to Coming Apart again? Why?
Have already listened to it twice. This is an important book for those wanting to understand one of the dynamics shaping our society -- bifurcation by cognitive ability -- and its implications. While that was not new to me, its dimensions and its effects added to what I had already dimly perceived. What was new was how and why it was destroying "American Exceptionalism". Murray lays out the drivers of human happiness and how the modern welfare state enervates true human happiness. His prescription for a potential rebirth is quite interesting, and plausible in theory, but I don't think it will happen any time soon, and certainly not soon enough to prevent the withering away of American Exceptionalism. Too many decades of brainwashing (I tried to think of a less pejorative term but could not) have shaped an important segment of our population to the absolute need for and advantages of the welfare state. Only a complete collapse of the welfare state, which is probably decades away now that the printing of money has not only become acceptable but demanded, will force us to rethink what we have been told and learned.
Who was your favorite character and why?
None
What does Traber Burns bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I probably would not have had the time to read the book. I listen to books when I exercise. Otherwise my day is quite full and there would be little time to read as many books as I listen to.
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6 people found this helpful
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- RBS
- 04-06-17
Murray's valedictory work...
Brilliant, data-driven work by America's premiere libertarian intellectual. I highly recommend it, whether you are a Bobo in Paradise, or not.
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- Karen S. Robinette
- 11-13-18
Excellent Source of Very Important Data
This book is chock full of useful data about the state of America today. Dr. Murray provides solid evidence of the growing cultural and communication gap between lower and working middle class Americans and the often named upper 1 percent. This time, he has avoided the racism charge often thrown at him in the past by comparing only white members of each social class. The data is here. Dr. Murray knows his facts. Shouting at them and denying them will not change reality.
The massive amount of data makes the text better as a reference source than as reading material and that's probably why the reading seemed dry. Still, the information was eye opening and important - well worth reading.
Members of our educated upper class, especially in government or the media, should read or listen to this book with care and attention. Your public pronouncements and the governmental policies you tend to support demonstrate a complete lack of awareness of what America's laboring classes think and care about. Historically, such gulfs in understanding have led to revolutions. With only one exception I know of, America, those have always turned out badly for everybody involved. The unique conditions that made America's revolution turn out well are no longer present, so let's not go there.
Read this book. Pay attention. Keep it as a reference. Share with others. Let's try to understand what's pulling America apart and try to put it back together again.
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- Dan Collins
- 02-21-21
Class, not Race
I am not sure how this wound up on my reading list but I am glad it did. The author does a respectable job of handling data and explaining his reasoning on whether, for instance, two data sets support or confound one another and so should be explained or can be compartmentalized. At times I found this rigor to be a buzz kill but considering the controversy the topic and subject matter might generate, it was hard to be too harsh in my expectations that we " move this along" for the sake of my challenged attention span .
The author starts the book with the insistence that his desire is to look unblinkingly at the data with the intent of avoiding biases and preconceived notions. Based on the result, I think the author accomplishes this and gives the reader much to think about.
I found the author's insistence that the reader should consider his findings in light of their own experience to be humble and refreshing. I hope you will too.
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- reader
- 03-16-12
Data-heavy for audio
Would you consider the audio edition of Coming Apart to be better than the print version?
This is a fantastic little bit of social science, but the author includes a lot of demographic data that can get confusing when in audio format. You'll lose some of the details by listening to it instead of reading it, but it will only matter if you're hoping to use the book as source material for research of your own. The narrator did what he could with it. Otherwise, well-performed and researched.
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15 people found this helpful
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- nathan
- 10-06-19
Take it from someone who’s lived in Fishtown
I was motivated to read this book first from hearing some interesting talking points from Murray on Sam Harris’ podcast, and then later because Philadelphia Bishop Charles Chaput referenced the book several times in his own book “Strangers in a Strange Land” which dedicated significant time to issues of culture and religiosity in modern America.
My main criticism of the book would be that some of the categories of upper and lower class seem arbitrary in a very Malcolm Gladwellian style (if that wasn’t a term, it is now). By the end of the book I’d moderate that criticism by saying any book on sociology will not be scientific as there are simply too many variables. I enjoyed this as speculation accompanied by statistics.
For all the purely materialist perspective I’ve been bombarded with (especially whenever things steer towards politics), it was very refreshing to get an approach that examines the effects of culture and religiosity on social class. I’ve lived in west Austin as well as Fishtown (areas specifically mentioned in the book), and I can attest that the statistics at least in these cases match my anecdotal experience. It’s ironic that since the publication of this book, the winds of gentrification have blown through Fishtown all but clearing out the prior inhabitants. I also have a vivid memory of a doctor I know who moved to Fishtown referring her neighbors who were born and raised in the neighborhood as, “you know, Trump people.” almost in a whispered tone as if they were unwelcome people of a foreign culture — perhaps they were.
The most surprising point the book makes is that in surveys that define religiosity as attending a service in the past week, people in the upper class (Murray defines this as a combination of income and education) are religious at roughly twice the rate of people in the lower class.
The data and discussion on single parenthood and the positive effect of complete families is a discussion that sorely needs to be had. Of course this is a third rail issue in the modern political world, but Murray is the second person I’ve heard bring it up now. The other was Larry Elder.
For the #yanggang people, this book briefly touches on UBI. I’m always skeptical of sweeping nationwide changes as having too many potential unintended negative consequences. I remain agnostic on this.
Anyways, it was a thought provoking and easy read. I think any discussion on social class should have at least some discussion about cultural differences.
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- noshcrissinger
- 09-02-18
A tough but must read
we wonder why it is the way it is and this will tell you why that is
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- TW
- 07-18-21
Insightful
A data driven long term presentation and analysis of the widening cultural divide caused by a number of things including increasing non sectarianism, growing dependence on government with less self reliance and the breakdown of the two parent family.
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- Norman
- 03-21-12
Fails to Ask the Real Questions
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You have to appreciate Murray's desire to speak the hard truths and that is definitely the strength of his book. However, he's a policy man in the end, and much of what he presents is crippled by his avowed libertarianism. For example, he argues that working class men have lost the desire to be
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- Joe S
- 08-23-17
Good statistical analysis of class division
You will learn about the new upper class in the new lower class trends in the white community over the last 50 years. The causes for these trends aren't necessarily discussed the trends are simply reported. America is coming apart at the seams based on class not race. Be prepared for a lot of statistical analysis.
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