"The Upswing, Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett’s ambitious new study of American Progressivism found and lost . . . .serves as a call to the generations who have succeeded the baby-boomers to imagine a better future for the American project, and to pursue it. . . .[A] magnificent and visionary book."

“A top-notch addition to the why-America-is-in-such-a-mess genre. . . . A tour de force exploration of why America got better and then went into reverse.”

“America’s deep-seated divisions were healed in the past and can be again, argues this sweeping and persuasive study. . . . This fresh, ambitious take on America’s fraying social fabric will provoke much discussion.”

"An impeccably sourced review of the last century’s economic divide....this will engage serious readers who are curious about the big picture of twentieth-century social economics, and who are in search of a worthy guide to lead them through the data. For those deeply inquisitive individuals, Putnam and Garrett will not disappoint."

"[The Upswing] will be the basis of endless papers, dissertations and argument for years to come. It is as important a book as I have read on American society."

"The Upswing is a revelation—tailor-made for this polarized age and destined to be a central reference point for urgent debates and determined activism. . . . Squarely facing race and gender inequity, Putnam and Garrett shed new light on the moral awakening and collective action that a diverse group of Americans sparked more than a century ago—and show how we can build on their example, but also learn from their blind spots, today.”

". . .masterfully re-casts the history of our country from the Gilded Age to the present. . . . The Upswing is a singularly illuminating book and a clarion call to action.”

"The Upswing is [a] masterpiece; it weaves seemingly unrelated stories into a grand master narrative of the last hundred years. A triumph.”

“Americans who feel we are now living in the worst of times will see their spirits lifted and their hopes raised after reading The Upswing. . . .[A] must-read for those who wonder how we can once again reclaim our nation’s promise.”