In this book Daniel Monti reconciles liberal and conservative viewpoints to claim that Americans are indeed a community of believers and that a viable and vital civic culture exists in the United States despite notions of difference and apathy.

Daniel J. Monti, Jr. is Professor of Sociology at Boston University. He has written extensively on American ethnic relations, educational reform, civil unrest, youth gangs, and urban affairs. His other titles include Wannabe: Gangs in Suburbs and Schools (Blackwell, 1995) and Race, Redevelopment and the New Company Town (1990).