America clings to an array of historically derived ideals of citizen participation--18th-century town-hall meetings, 19th-century mass parties, early 20th-century direct democracy--even though it cannot possibly live up to all at once. These are the 'successive coats that laminate our political ideals,' as Mr. Schudson puts it; and each coat is tattered, so that the earlier ones show through. It is reassuring to find Mr. Schudson pleading that 'We can gain inspiration from the past, but we cannot import it.' It would be even better if his countrymen read his book.
-- The Economist
The Good Citizen is an admirable, consistently interesting attempt to lay out with some factual and conceptual precision the history of an issue usually discussed in platitudes...an extremely valuable book.
-- Nicholas Lemann Washington Monthly
A superb new book.
-- Robert Samuelson Washington Post
[A] splendid book.
-- George F. Will Newsweek
Schudson's argument is daring, persuasive, and refreshing. He draws a vast range of scholarship into a 300-page account of the shifting standards of good citizenship...The Good Citizen is synthetic scholarship designed to influence public debate of the sort so many historians call for but so few have produced. It deserves both the careful consideration of scholars and the wide audience it seeks...There is much to welcome in this book, especially because it challenges the facile historical assumptions that inform current discussions of civic declension...This [is a] rich and stimulating book. [Schudson] provides a superb model of scholarly citizenship and effectively restores historical perspective to what has often been an ahistorical public conversation.
-- James J. Connolly Reviews in American History
[An] excellent book...Americans beyond the academy of specialists would profit from reading this comprehensive effort to understand just what good citizenship means and has meant for Americans from the colonial period to the millennium...Schudson is original and convincing...he is innovative, perceptive, and--especially on today's culture--controversial.
-- Jean Harvey Baker American Historical Review
Michael Schudson has taken on the daunting task of trying to make sense of how citizenship has evolved and where it might be headed. His The Good Citizen is a thoughtful, carefully constructed mix of history and prognosis. His analysis is realistic; he offers no panacea...Looming over America's future is uncertainty about how nonchalant people can become before their democracy is severely damaged. Mr. Schudson says of this, 'There is surely some line of willful ignorance that, once crossed, crosses out democracy itself.' We have heard such warnings before. Mr. Schudson renews them eloquently. He deserves an attentive audience.
-- Philip Seib Dallas Morning News