Allison J. Pugh is Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia. Her book Longing and Belonging: Parents, Children, and Consumer Culture won the William J. Goode Book Award from the American Sociological Association Section on Sociology of the Family, and the Distinguished Contribution Award from the ASA Section on Children and Youth.

The Tumbleweed Society offers a subtle, brilliant look at how people craft a sense of ethical purpose in an era of laissez-faire institutions, where the community has little to offer and financial security can vanish overnight. It's also a riveting read, rich with fascinating human stories.

• PrefaceAcknowledgementsChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Managing the Unrequited ContractChapter 3: New Economy Winners and the Moral WallChapter 4: The Imperative of DetachmentChapter 5: The Knots of DutyChapter 6: The Giving TreesChapter 7: The Stable OasisChapter 8: Duty and the Flexible ChildChapter 9: The Coral SocietyEpilogueAppendix A: Commitment TalkAcknowledgementsEndnotesBibliographyIndex

Allison J. Pugh is Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia. Her book Longing and Belonging: Parents, Children, and Consumer Culture won the William J. Goode Book Award from the American Sociological Association Section on Sociology of the Family, and the Distinguished Contribution Award from the ASA Section on Children and Youth.

The Tumbleweed Society offers a subtle, brilliant look at how people craft a sense of ethical purpose in an era of laissez-faire institutions, where the community has little to offer and financial security can vanish overnight. It's also a riveting read, rich with fascinating human stories.

• PrefaceAcknowledgementsChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Managing the Unrequited ContractChapter 3: New Economy Winners and the Moral WallChapter 4: The Imperative of DetachmentChapter 5: The Knots of DutyChapter 6: The Giving TreesChapter 7: The Stable OasisChapter 8: Duty and the Flexible ChildChapter 9: The Coral SocietyEpilogueAppendix A: Commitment TalkAcknowledgementsEndnotesBibliographyIndex

Allison J. Pugh is Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia. Her book Longing and Belonging: Parents, Children, and Consumer Culture won the William J. Goode Book Award from the American Sociological Association Section on Sociology of the Family, and the Distinguished Contribution Award from the ASA Section on Children and Youth.

The Tumbleweed Society offers a subtle, brilliant look at how people craft a sense of ethical purpose in an era of laissez-faire institutions, where the community has little to offer and financial security can vanish overnight. It's also a riveting read, rich with fascinating human stories.

• PrefaceAcknowledgementsChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Managing the Unrequited ContractChapter 3: New Economy Winners and the Moral WallChapter 4: The Imperative of DetachmentChapter 5: The Knots of DutyChapter 6: The Giving TreesChapter 7: The Stable OasisChapter 8: Duty and the Flexible ChildChapter 9: The Coral SocietyEpilogueAppendix A: Commitment TalkAcknowledgementsEndnotesBibliographyIndex