2020

What unites us? What divides us? What do we value? Sociologist Eric Klinenberg had been studying what crises reveal about societies for over two decades when his home of New York became the deadliest hot spot of the global pandemic. In this book he combines what he and his research team learned on the ground from the events of that year with data gathered around the world to provide unprecedented insights into what societies are made of, why they come together or fall apart, and how they shape our lives.

At the heart of 2020 are the deeply reported stories of seven people, including a school principal, a bar manager, a transport worker and a political aide, living within the same city yet worlds apart. Klinenberg shows how their diverse experiences were determined, like those of different countries, not by geography, preparedness, or vaccines, but by social factors: how much we trust each other and our government, whether we value the collective or the individual, and how the actions of our leaders fostered or undermined those relationships.

The year 2020 was one of the most consequential in history. Why did the best prepared countries, the USA and UK, suffer the worst death-rates, while many vulnerable countries avoided them? Why, within a single city, were some communities so much more devastated than others? Why did America erupt into protest and violence while other societies endured lengthy lockdowns with relatively little disruption or dissent? In answering these questions, this riveting and affecting book shows that 2020 was also a once-in-a-generation opportunity: to see the truth about ourselves and our societies, as well as the challenges we must meet before the next crisis arrives.