Averaged American: Surveys, Citizens, and the Making of a Mass Public

by Sarah E. Igo

Book Overview

Americans today "know" that a majority of the population supports the death penalty, that half of all marriages end in divorce, and that four out of five prefer a particular brand of toothpaste. Through statistics like these, we feel that we understand our fellow citizens. But remarkably, such data--now woven into our social fabric--became common currency only in the last century. Sarah Igo tells the story, for the first time, of how opinion polls,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674027426
• ISBN13: 9780674027428
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 8.0"