or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Sell Back Your Copy
For a $1.34 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture [Paperback]

Robert S. Lynd (Author), Helen Merrell Lynd (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

List Price: $38.95
Price: $33.40 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save: $5.55 (14%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it delivered Wednesday, February 1? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Book Description

April 15, 1959
The first of two classic studies that examined the daily life of a typical small american city-in actuality, Muncie, Indiana-in the mid-1920s, using the approach of social anthropology. Of enduring interest to students of SOCIOLOGY (740), these works inspired an acclaimed six-part television series. Foreword by Clark Wissler; Index.

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Middletown in Transition: A Study in Cultural Conflicts (Harvest/HBJ Book) $20.04

Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture + Middletown in Transition: A Study in Cultural Conflicts (Harvest/HBJ Book)


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sociologist and educator Helen Merrell Lynd (1896-1982) was a coauthor of the classic sociological study "Middletown: A Study in Contemporary American Culture". With her husband, Robert S. Lynd, she studied the beliefs and practices of the residents of a small industrial town to provide a unique portrait of American life in the 1920s. They returned to the town during the Great Depression of the 1930s to observe changes in the community, a study which was published as "Middletown in Transition: A Study in Cultural Conflicts".

Helen Merrell Lynd, with her husband, Robert S. Lynd, coauthored the classic sociological work Middletown: A Study in Contemporary American Culture. A study of the lives of the citizens of an average American town in the 1920s, the book became a best-seller and a standard text for sociology students. The Lynds followed up on Middletown residents in the 1930s, producing the volume Middletown in Transition: A Study in Cultural Conflicts. In addition to these collaborative works with her husband, Lynd also had a successful independent career in academia. A longtime member of the staff of Sarah Lawrence College, she wrote a number of books on education, history, philosophy, and sociology.

Lynd was born Helen Merrell on March 17, 1896, in La Grange, Illinois.



Sociologist and educator Helen Merrell Lynd (1896-1982) was a coauthor of the classic sociological study "Middletown: A Study in Contemporary American Culture". With her husband, Robert S. Lynd, she studied the beliefs and practices of the residents of a small industrial town to provide a unique portrait of American life in the 1920s. They returned to the town during the Great Depression of the 1930s to observe changes in the community, a study which was published as "Middletown in Transition: A Study in Cultural Conflicts".

Helen Merrell Lynd, with her husband, Robert S. Lynd, coauthored the classic sociological work Middletown: A Study in Contemporary American Culture. A study of the lives of the citizens of an average American town in the 1920s, the book became a best-seller and a standard text for sociology students. The Lynds followed up on Middletown residents in the 1930s, producing the volume Middletown in Transition: A Study in Cultural Conflicts. In addition to these collaborative works with her husband, Lynd also had a successful independent career in academia. A longtime member of the staff of Sarah Lawrence College, she wrote a number of books on education, history, philosophy, and sociology.

Lynd was born Helen Merrell on March 17, 1896, in La Grange, Illinois.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 550 pages
  • Publisher: Harcourt Brace Javanovich (April 15, 1959)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0156595508
  • ISBN-13: 978-0156595506
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A New Type of History, December 23, 2001
By 
This review is from: Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture (Paperback)
When this book was written, it was absolutely revolutionary: it was the first time someone had used anthropological tecniques on a modern American town! The authors studied newspapers, visible trends, and interviews with many of the inhabitants of Muncie, Indiana (which they picked and renamed "Middletown" because it was supposed to be an average American town). What they created was a vibrant picture of modern America.

Now, seventy years later, the book is an incredibly important historical work about the 1920's. Yet it's also a great read: my favorite part was the chapter where all the teenagers complain about how their parents never let them do anything, and the parents complain about how their teenagers have too much freedom and are probably getting into bad things.

I definately reccomend this book to anyone who is interested about the 1920's. Even if you don't like the book, you'll understand why Muncie, Indiana is used in so many pop culture references to average mid-western towns!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and important book, January 26, 2003
This review is from: Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture (Paperback)
Middletown is a very interesting and important work of anthropology, sociology and history. Not just because it's the first time anthropological techniques were applied to a study of a single American city, but also Lynd's findings provide an interesting look at how by the time of his writings in the 1920s, things between then and now haven't changed in certain respects. Lynd reports disputes between parents and children over the use of the family autombile, the children out too late at parties and those parties not breaking up until the wee hours of the morning. All of this is certainly still prevalent today in many American families. Lynd also discusses how many people in "Middletown" did not vote in the 1922 elections and were cynical about politicians in general. This feeling again, is quite prevalent in American politics today.
Lynd's book serves to support the cliche, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
For anybody who thinks that the problems of American society are new and caused by a decline in morality due to technology and other recent influences, get this book. Lynd will show you that this "decline" is not new nor caused by recent outside influences such as TV, the Internet. movies or music.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, October 18, 2009
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture (Paperback)
Middletown is a fascinating look at life in middle America in the 1920s. So much has changed, so much is the same.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The aim of the field investigation recorded in the following pages was to study synchronously the interwoven trends that are the life of a small American city. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
business class mother, business class women, forty business class families, business class wives, business class people, other civic clubs, dominant religious beliefs, federated clubs, working class church, upper years, working class wives, gas boom, working class wife, vocational work, working class housewives, young baker, leading paper, petting parties
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Sunday School, United States, New York, Social Service Bureau, Jesus Christ, Board of Health, Dorothy Dix, Federal Census, South Side, Ethical Society, Community Chest, Ministerial Association, Trades Council, Middle West, Saturday Evening Post, Advertising Club, Board of Education, Humane Society, American Child Health Association, Anti-Tuberculosis Association, Christian Endeavor, Civil War, World War, Associated Charities, Girl Reserves
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:





Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject