Through a national survey of 1,500 Americans and more than 250 in-depth interviews with community leaders, volunteers, and ordinary citizens, Robert Wuthnow focuses his trained and caring eye on America's quest for community and spirituality in the contemporary world. "Loose connections" are Americans' new ways of joining together, from neighborhood task forces to support groups to meetings around single issues such as toxic waste or local schools.

Americans are joining more varied and informal networks, and Wuthnow helps us understand why this is happening and how the experience of working with others toward specific ends, even in loose connections, contributes to stronger ties within the community as a whole.