Renowned scientists Christakis and Fowler present compelling evidence for our profound influence on one another's tastes, health, wealth, happiness, beliefs, even weight, as they explain how social networks form and how they operate.
Connected
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Harvard professor and health care policy specialist Christakis (Death Foretold: Prophecy and Prognosis in Medical Care) became interested in social connectivity when observing that the mortality rate of spouses spike after a partner passes away. Christakis sought out a collaboration with Fowler, a health systems and political scientist, and together they compare topology (the hows of a given structure) across different social networks to better explain how participation and positioning enhances the effectiveness of an individual, and why the "whole" of a network is "greater than the sum of its parts." Five basic rules describe the relationship between individuals and their networks-including mutual adaptation, the influence of friends and friends' friends, the network's "life of its own"-but the results do more than promote the good of the group: they also spread contagions; create "epidemics" of obesity, smoking and substance abuse; disseminate fads and markets; alter voting patterns; and more. A thorough but popular take on a complex phenomenon, this volume offers an entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking. 13 b/w illustrations, 8-page color insert.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"Christakis and Fowler have written the book on the exciting new science of social networks. CONNECTED could change your life forever. How? Read it yourself and find out." (Daniel Gilbert, bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness )
"In a category of works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world." (The New York Times )
"Groundbreaking." (Kirkus )
"An entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking." (Publishers Weekly )
"Engaging and insightful...sure-to-be a blockbuster...Connected succeeds in connecting with its audience." (SeedMagazine.com )
"Illuminating...The authors excel at drawing out the devil in the detail. Connected has profound implications." (New Scientist )
"Intriguing." (SmartMoney.com )
"Connected explores the startling intricacies of social networks." (O, The Oprah Magazine )
"Could well be one of the most important works of the decade. Full of fascinating stories and examples. A must read." (Ed Diener, Joseph Smiley Distinguished Professor of Psychology University of Illinois and author of Happiness )
"In a social world exploding with new ways to interact, Connected is a user's guide for ourselves in the 21st century." (Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics and author of Predictably Irrational )
"A God's-eye view of social relationships that may make you dizzy. Every business leader, teacher, and parent should see their life from this vantage." (Chip Heath, coauthor Made to Stick )
"A lively, well-written account of social networks and their power to shape our lives. The world becomes smaller and more meaningful after reading this engaging book." (Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day )
"The possibility that we all participate in one mind challenges religion, philosophy, and the meaning of life itself." (San Francisco Chronicle Deepak Chopra )
"[In a category of] works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world." (The New York Times )
"A clever, cogent, and enjoyable look at the latest thinking about humans in community. It provides a swath of important research in one place for readers and makes it a stimulating read."
(Michael Fitzgerald, Boston Globe )
"An intellectual but accessible approach. The authors make a persuasive case for the power of social networks to affect everything and everyone." (Business Week )
"In a category of works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world." (The New York Times )
"Groundbreaking." (Kirkus )
"An entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking." (Publishers Weekly )
"Engaging and insightful...sure-to-be a blockbuster...Connected succeeds in connecting with its audience." (SeedMagazine.com )
"Illuminating...The authors excel at drawing out the devil in the detail. Connected has profound implications." (New Scientist )
"Intriguing." (SmartMoney.com )
"Connected explores the startling intricacies of social networks." (O, The Oprah Magazine )
"Could well be one of the most important works of the decade. Full of fascinating stories and examples. A must read." (Ed Diener, Joseph Smiley Distinguished Professor of Psychology University of Illinois and author of Happiness )
"In a social world exploding with new ways to interact, Connected is a user's guide for ourselves in the 21st century." (Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics and author of Predictably Irrational )
"A God's-eye view of social relationships that may make you dizzy. Every business leader, teacher, and parent should see their life from this vantage." (Chip Heath, coauthor Made to Stick )
"A lively, well-written account of social networks and their power to shape our lives. The world becomes smaller and more meaningful after reading this engaging book." (Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day )
"The possibility that we all participate in one mind challenges religion, philosophy, and the meaning of life itself." (San Francisco Chronicle Deepak Chopra )
"[In a category of] works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world." (The New York Times )
"A clever, cogent, and enjoyable look at the latest thinking about humans in community. It provides a swath of important research in one place for readers and makes it a stimulating read."
(Michael Fitzgerald, Boston Globe )
"An intellectual but accessible approach. The authors make a persuasive case for the power of social networks to affect everything and everyone." (Business Week )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By B. Kim
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Connected" by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler is one of the most important books you will ever read. In this insightful and thought-provoking book, the authors explore our social networks and their powerful shaping role in our daily lives. The authors show that the powerful role of social networks obeys the Three Degrees of Influence Rule, meaning that our behaviors have impact on our friends, our friends' friends, and our friends' friends' friends. This amazing fact can be applied to human experience as diverse as happiness, loneliness and other emotions, political views, sex, and health. For example, happiness can spread through social networks from person to person to person, and our health behaviors can affect those of our friends, our friends' friends, and even our friends' friends' friends.
As I perused this book twice since its publication, I found reading "Connected" very delightful since it presents a constellation of thought-provoking, and sometimes counter-intuitive, ideas on social networks. We can enjoy the book solely for the purpose of enhancing our knowledge. But I think this book is much more than that and has meaningful implications in various ways. First and foremost, the book has very important implications for policymakers. For instance, as the authors articulated in Chapter 4, social-network perspectives can offer a whole new set of cost-effective public-health interventions. This innovative approach is particularly relevant at a time when soaring costs of health care are a major issue and health care reform is gaining momentum. Many policymakers now know that nudging is important, but they don't know how to implement it. This book provides a good answer.
Second, "Connected" has significant implications for academia as well. Efforts to understand human behavior have been confined to a long debate of individualism versus holism. This book offers an entirely different way. By studying social networks, the authors suggest, we can find the missing link between the two perspectives. In other words, through the investigation of how emergent properties arise and exert influence on our lives, we can truly understand human condition and behavior for the first time. This is almost a manifesto, calling for a change in the traditions of "either or approach" between individualism and holism towards "both and approach" by means of the solid bridge offered by social networks that could resolve the chasm. Such a manifesto is convincing and has a strong stance because it is soundly supported by the thoroughly researched evidence from the authors and others.
Finally, this book has meaningful implications for each and every individual because we are all embedded in our social network (both real-world and online network). The fact that we are all connected to others through social networks is significant to us partly because such networks influence us in every aspect. So after reading this book, some may behave differently so that social networks can have positive influence on them. For example, we may try to make friends with happy, slender and rich people. But I think that is not far from a kind of social determinism. Rather, what this book repeatedly stresses is the importance of our own role in social networks--the surprising power of us as humans and how we shape our social networks. The authors assert that social networks are important not only because of the effect others have on us but also because of the effect we have on them. In this sense, being embedded in social networks is a matter of our social responsibility with strong commitment to creating and enhancing public goods. This book thus teaches us one of the most important truths of our life that we are responsible for, and should take care of, others.
Whether you are a policymaker, scientist or everyman like me, if you want to understand who we are and what we must do to be truly human, "Connected" is a must-read. If you are to read just one book this year, this is the one.
As I perused this book twice since its publication, I found reading "Connected" very delightful since it presents a constellation of thought-provoking, and sometimes counter-intuitive, ideas on social networks. We can enjoy the book solely for the purpose of enhancing our knowledge. But I think this book is much more than that and has meaningful implications in various ways. First and foremost, the book has very important implications for policymakers. For instance, as the authors articulated in Chapter 4, social-network perspectives can offer a whole new set of cost-effective public-health interventions. This innovative approach is particularly relevant at a time when soaring costs of health care are a major issue and health care reform is gaining momentum. Many policymakers now know that nudging is important, but they don't know how to implement it. This book provides a good answer.
Second, "Connected" has significant implications for academia as well. Efforts to understand human behavior have been confined to a long debate of individualism versus holism. This book offers an entirely different way. By studying social networks, the authors suggest, we can find the missing link between the two perspectives. In other words, through the investigation of how emergent properties arise and exert influence on our lives, we can truly understand human condition and behavior for the first time. This is almost a manifesto, calling for a change in the traditions of "either or approach" between individualism and holism towards "both and approach" by means of the solid bridge offered by social networks that could resolve the chasm. Such a manifesto is convincing and has a strong stance because it is soundly supported by the thoroughly researched evidence from the authors and others.
Finally, this book has meaningful implications for each and every individual because we are all embedded in our social network (both real-world and online network). The fact that we are all connected to others through social networks is significant to us partly because such networks influence us in every aspect. So after reading this book, some may behave differently so that social networks can have positive influence on them. For example, we may try to make friends with happy, slender and rich people. But I think that is not far from a kind of social determinism. Rather, what this book repeatedly stresses is the importance of our own role in social networks--the surprising power of us as humans and how we shape our social networks. The authors assert that social networks are important not only because of the effect others have on us but also because of the effect we have on them. In this sense, being embedded in social networks is a matter of our social responsibility with strong commitment to creating and enhancing public goods. This book thus teaches us one of the most important truths of our life that we are responsible for, and should take care of, others.
Whether you are a policymaker, scientist or everyman like me, if you want to understand who we are and what we must do to be truly human, "Connected" is a must-read. If you are to read just one book this year, this is the one.
61 of 71 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
While the statistics in the original journal articles might be fine, the authors do not present the interpretations in a particularly convincing way. Many interpretations given are just stated and the reader is apparently supposed to accept that explanation without evidence why it is the correct explanation. Even I can think of alternate explanations for some of their observed data.
Also, in many chapters the point is made and then elaborated upon for pages when they could've stopped much earlier--or else instead of just restating the same conclusions over-and-over, they could've told why other explanations don't work.
Also, in many chapters the point is made and then elaborated upon for pages when they could've stopped much earlier--or else instead of just restating the same conclusions over-and-over, they could've told why other explanations don't work.
46 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I loved this book. Sensitive, aware people perceive on a daily basis that actions, behaviors and emotions impact the lives of those around us, but the science that proves conclusively that your behaviors are impacting mine, my spouse's and friend's in Idaho offers such hope for improvement in the cosmic social network of which we all have our "connectedness". I loved the anecdotal stories - Nicholas and Erika meeting, the Starbucks employee, crazy unstoppable laughter - to which each reader will add additional network stories. We are connected, like it or not, so perhaps we can all start behaving in ways that benefit the entire network. Everyone who reads this will think twice about the impact of cutting someone off in traffic. Dr Christakis and Dr. Fowler have written for the scientific world, NY Times and lay reader - all who are part of the network.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Obvious and Non-Insightful
When the average human being turns 6, he realizes that all people influence their friends. When the average human turns 12, he understands enough of logic to conclude that we also... Read more
Published 4 days ago by Daniel Ricketts
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but a little long winded
There are a number of interesting revelations and insights in the book, but it feels like there is a lot of repetition and it could have been tightened up to be more concise and to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jason Ross
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book to learn the importance of connections
Generally a good orientation to the way people interact and what it means to your personal well-being. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Herb Harmison
5.0 out of 5 stars
Three degrees of influence
This interesting and fast-paced book makes a lot of points about how we are who we are based on where we are in a social network. Read more
Published 3 months ago by S. Smith-Peter
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this book
I had to read this for a intro course in Sociology. This is an extremely great book and is an eye opener into the realm of the social world. Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Gates
4.0 out of 5 stars
We're all connected.
Nicholas is a scientist and not a writer. So realize that when reading this book. The book is very compelling and interesting but it may be lost on the average reader. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Damien
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!
Perfect shape, just like new. Just as described! Thanks! Would be glad to do business with you again anytime! Thanks!
Published 3 months ago by Maggie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Transformational
Applying the powerful lens of social networks on health and healthcare delivery has given the field a fresh and promising window into solutions. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Davide Engler
5.0 out of 5 stars
An eye-opening book
The book is very well written and interesting. I always knew, at some level, that we are influenced by people we do not know. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mixed reviewer
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Enjoyable Read
I have found this book to be quite a enjoyable read. It has that interesting take on the whole "one affects others" thing. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Zadius Sky
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