The Fall of Public Man

[…] Sennett is at once a historian, sociologist, student of psychoanalytic doctrine … and celebrant of city life… . Seldom have I read a serious work of social theory that explains as much contemporary experience as Sennett’s does. –Robert LekachmanOne of the most stimulating and challenging books to be written in years… . A major attempt … to re-examine the assumptions and objectives of the 1960s and transcend them without compromising their ideals. One admires the breadth of Professor Sennett’s erudition, the reach of his historical imagination… . By all means buy this book and read it. –Christopher Lehmann-HauptSennett presses social theory and historical experience to his service in developing a provocative thesis: that the public world stage has been usurped by the private psychic scene to the detriment of both individual and society. Sennett’s quest for the causes of the impoverishment of civil life in modern industrial society opens fascinating perspectives into the relationship between theater, politics, urban life, and the changing function of the family. –Carl Schorske, Princeton UniversityA fascinating evocation of changing styles of personal and public expression… . Sennett is at once a historian, sociologist, student of psychoanalytic doctrine … and celebrant of city life… . Seldom have I read a serious work of social theory that explains as much contemporary experience as Sennett’s does. – Robert Lekachman

Richard Sennett now works at the LSE where he runs their Cities Programme. His previous publications include his best-seller THE CORROSION OF CHARACTER. His next book, RESPECT- THE FORMATION OF CHARACTER IN A WORLD OF INEQUALITY, will be published by Allen Lane in January 2003.