Can someone recommend a good book (textbook OK) about social change?

[raccoon]

Why it happens when it happens?

Why it occurs in some eras/societies much more slowly than others?

[Captain Hilts]

1. That's a tough one...I'll think on that a bit. Check out Theda Skocpol's work, perhaps.

Protecting Soldiers and Mothers - about the origins of the welfare state

And States and Revolutions.

[patrice]

2. A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

. . . that is, if you haven't already read it.

[PADemD]

3. "Generations, the History of America's Future", by Strauss & Howe

[nashville_brook]

4. start with Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals -- just b/c it's THE classic. Then,

see if you can't find any Henry S. Kariel -- I love his book "Beyond Liberalism: Where Relations Grow." You might also see out some William Irvin Thompson, like "Transforming History," or "At The Edge of HIstory."

I'd also look at social change that has already happened -- so, reading the Seneca Falls Declaration is a thing. and Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman" which I cannot read without having a great big cry.

There's also lots of good academic stuff that falls under the heading of Radical Democracy.

[BurtWorm]

5. Nixonland (which I'm reading now) is a book about a particular era of social change.

Looking at the question of how things got to where they are now. All signs point to Nixon, according to Pearlstein.

[calicowest]

6. The Headline News Journal

The Headline New Journal:
Barack Obama Commemorative
Edition is a compilation of Newspaper Front pages from around the world of the Historic 2008 Presidential Election win. This book is very unique collectors item showcasing 589 full-color pages and highlighted with a page layout with additional color that make each page image appear 3-D. This Commemorative Edition Collector’s book is a must have for those who love HISTORY and beyond.


visit www.headlinenews-journal.com

[Sequoia]

7. Nixonland is a whopper.

[izzybeans]

8. The Sociology of Social Change

http://www.amazon.com/Sociology-Social-Change-Piotr-Sztompka/dp/0631182063

The index should be a gold mine on this topic. But its dated.

Here is an introduction to theories of social change that seems comprehensive:
http://www.amazon.com/Social-Theory-Change-Trevor-Noble/dp/0312233299/ref=pd_sim_b_5

This book is more about the formation of social structures, so it's change of a different sort I suppose. It's about social morphology proper.
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8912.html