Elinor Lipman's Books

Read, Love, Repeat

Three Novels by Elinor Lipman

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Read, Love, Repeat

Three Novels by Elinor Lipman

By: Elinor Lipman

For longtime fans and new readers alike, Read, Love, Repeat: Three Novels by Elinor Lipman collects three beloved works (My Latest Grievance, The Family Man, The View from Penthouse B) by the “enchanting, infinitely witty yet serious, exceptionally intelligent, wholly original, and Austen-like stylist”* Elinor Lipman. (*Fay Weldon, The Washington Post) MY LATEST GRIEVANCE My Latest Grievance stars the beguiling teenager Frederica Hatch, the “Eloise of Dewing College.” Born and raised in the dormitory of this small women's college and chafing under the care of “the most annoyingly evenhanded parental team in the history of civilization,” Frederica is starting to feel that her life is stiflingly snug. That all changes with the arrival on campus of a new dorm mother, the glamorous Laura Lee French, the frenetic center of her own universe. THE FAMILY MAN A hysterical phone call from Henry Archer’s ex-wife and a familiar face in a photograph upend his well-ordered life and bring him back into contact with the child he adored, a short-term stepdaughter from a misbegotten marriage long ago. Henry is a lawyer, an old-fashioned man, gay, successful, lonely. Thalia is now twenty-nine, an actress-hopeful, estranged from her newly widowed eccentric mother—Denise, Henry’s ex. Hoping it will lead to better things for her career, Thalia agrees to pose as the girlfriend of a horror-movie luminary who is down on his romantic luck. When Thalia and her complicated social life move into the basement of Henry’s Upper West Side townhouse, she finds a champion in her long-lost father, and he finds new life—and maybe even new love—in the commotion. THE VIEW FROM PENTHOUSE B Unexpectedly widowed Gwen-Laura Schmidt is still mourning her husband, Edwin, when her older sister Margot invites her to join forces as roommates in Margot’s luxurious Greenwich Village apartment. For Margot, divorced amid scandal (hint: her husband was a fertility doctor) and then made Ponzi-poor, it’s a chance to shake Gwen out of her grief and help make ends meet. To further this effort, she enlists a third boarder, the handsome, cupcake-baking Anthony. As the three swap moneymaking schemes and timid Gwen ventures back out into the dating world, the arrival of Margot’s paroled ex in the efficiency apartment downstairs creates not just complications but the chance for all sorts of unexpected forgiveness. A sister story about love, loneliness, and new life in middle age from one of our finest comic writers.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

1019

Publisher

HarperCollins

Published Date

ISBN 10

0358003989

ISBN 13

9780358003984

Good Riddance

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Good Riddance

By: Elinor Lipman

Daphne Maritch doesn't quite know what to make of the heavily annotated high school yearbook she inherits from her mother. She discards it when she moves to New York. But when it's found by a neighbor/documentary filmmaker, the yearbook's mysteries - not to mention her own family's - take on a whole new urgency

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

303

Publisher

Harper

Published Date

ISBN 10

0544808258

ISBN 13

9780544808256

The Family Man

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Family Man

By: Elinor Lipman

A hysterical phone call from his ex-wife and a familiar face in a photograph upend Henry Archer's well-ordered life to bring him back into contact with the child he adored, a stepdaughter from a misbegotten marriage long ago 320 pp.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

322

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published Date

ISBN 10

0618644660

ISBN 13

9780618644667

Then She Found Me

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Then She Found Me

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

April Epner teaches high school Latin, wears flannel jumpers, and is used to having her evenings free. Bernice Graverman brandishes designer labels, favors toad-sized earrings, and hosts her own tacky TV talk show: Bernice G! But behind the glitz and glam, Bernice has followed the life of the daughter she gave up for adoption thirty-six years ago. Now that she's got her act together, she's aiming to be a mom like she always knew she could. And she's hurtling straight for April's quiet little life....

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

296

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1439186723

ISBN 13

9781439186725

The Inn at Lake Devine

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Inn at Lake Devine

By: Elinor Lipman

This "tale of delicious revenge" (USA Today) is also "a punchy little comedy of manners.... Think Jane Austen in the Catskills" (Chicago Tribune). It's 1962 and all across America barriers are collapsing. But when Natalie Marx's mother inquires about summer accommodations in Vermont, she gets the following reply: The Inn at Lake Devine is a family-owned resort, which has been in continuous operation since 1922. Our guests who feel most comfortable here, and return year after year, are Gentiles. For twelve-year-old Natalie, who has a stubborn sense of justice, the words are not a rebuff but an infuriating, irresistible challenge. In this beguiling novel, Elinor Lipman charts her heroine's fixation with a small bastion of genteel anti-Semitism, a fixation that will have wildly unexpected consequences on her romantic life. As Natalie tries to enter the world that has excluded her—and succeeds through the sheerest of accidents—The Inn at Lake Devine becomes a delightful and provocative romantic comedy full of sparkling social mischief.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

273

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307814211

ISBN 13

9780307814210

Ms. Demeanor

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Ms. Demeanor

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

“Ms. Demeanor is a complete and utter delight. Of course it is. What Elinor Lipman novel isn’t?”—Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls and Chances Are . . . “Who knew house arrest could be sexy and fun? Not me, at least not until I read Ms. Demeanor. Written with Elinor Lipman’s signature wit and charm, this breezy, engrossing novel tells the story of two people who make the most of their shared confinement.”—Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of Tracy Flick Can’t Win “When a neighbor’s complaint about consensual al fresco sex turns into house arrest and a suspended legal license, Jane’s recipe for survival involves cooking for another home-arrested tenant (could this be a match made in confinement?) while trying to figure out the whys and hows of her mysterious accuser. Filled with food, family, romance and intrigue, Lipman’s novel cooks up a bounty of delights as sparkling as prosecco and as deeply satisfying and delicious as a five-star meal.”—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You From one of America’s most beloved contemporary novelists, a delicious and witty story about love under house arrest Jane Morgan is a valued member of her law firm—or was, until a prudish neighbor, binoculars poised, observes her having sex on the roof of her NYC apartment building. Police are summoned, and a punishing judge sentences her to six months of home confinement. With Jane now jobless and rootless, trapped at home, life looks bleak. Yes, her twin sister provides support and advice, but mostly of the unwelcome kind. When a doorman lets slip that Jane isn't the only resident wearing an ankle monitor, she strikes up a friendship with fellow white-collar felon Perry Salisbury. As she tries to adapt to life within her apartment walls, she discovers she hasn’t heard the end of that tattletale neighbor—whose past isn’t as decorous as her 9-1-1 snitching would suggest. Why are police knocking on Jane’s door again? Can her house arrest have a silver lining? Can two wrongs make a right? In the hands of "an inspired alchemist who converts serious subject into humor” (New York Times Book Review)—yes, delightfully.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

273

Publisher

HarperCollins

Published Date

ISBN 10

0063280299

ISBN 13

9780063280298

The Ladies' Man

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Ladies' Man

By: Elinor Lipman

From the bestselling author of The Inn at Lake Devine ("Rivals her own best work for its understanding of the way smart, opinionated people stumble toward happiness"--Glamour) and Isabel's Bed ("It's Fannie Farmer for the soul . . . delivered in a delicious style that is both funny and elegant"--USA Today) comes a darkly romantic comedy of manners that confirms Elinor Lipman's appointment to the Jane Austen chair in modern American sensibility. Thirty unmarried years have passed since the barely suitable Harvey Nash failed to show up at a grand Boston hotel for his own engagement party. Today, the near-bride, Adele Dobbin, and her two sisters, Lois and Kathleen, blame Harvey for what unkind relatives call their spinsterhood, and what potential beaus might characterize as a leery, united front. The doorbell rings one cold April night. Harvey Nash, older, filled with regrets (sort of), more charming and arousable than ever, just in from the Coast, where he's reinvented himself as Nash Harvey, jingle composer and chronic bachelor, has returned to the scene of his first romantic crime. Despite the sisters' scars and grudges, despite his platinum tongue and roving eye, this old flame becomes an improbable catalyst for the untried and the long overdue. The refined and level-headed Adele finds herself flirting with her boss--on public television. Entrepreneurial Kathleen is suddenly drinking cappuccino with Lorenz, the handsome doorman at the luxury high-rise where she owns a lingerie boutique. And Lois, the only sister to have embarked on the road to matrimony and, subsequently, divorce, revives her long-cherished notion that Harvey abandoned Adele rather than indulge his preference for another Dobbin. Both comic and compassionate, The Ladies' Man has all of Lipman's trademark wit, wattage, and social mischief--with an extra bite.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

275

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

030781422X

ISBN 13

9780307814227

My Latest Grievance

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

My Latest Grievance

By: Elinor Lipman

A liberal New England college campus is a peculiar place for a girl to grow up in this “lovable, psychologically intricate [and] bittersweet farce” (The New York Times Book Review). Massachusetts, 1970s. Born to a pair of “bleeding heart” professors who live on campus as dorm parents, Frederica Hatch soon finds herself the unofficial mascot of Dewing College. Life is so ideal that by the time she becomes a teenager, Frederica finds herself chafing under the care of "the most annoyingly evenhanded parental team in the history of civilization." But she’s about to learn that life isn’t as simple or idyllic as it seems—even amid the manicured lawns of a small women’s college like Dewing. A new dorm parent has just arrived on campus. Laura Lee French is glamorous, worldly, and the former wife of Frederica’s father. Suddenly, Frederica sees her parents’ lives—and by extension her own—in a whole new light. “May be Lipman's best work so far... Every page offers laugh-out-loud dialogue.”—The Seattle Times

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

378

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published Date

ISBN 10

0547527144

ISBN 13

9780547527147

The View from Penthouse B

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The View from Penthouse B

By: Elinor Lipman

Two newly-single sisters, one a divorce?, the other a widow, become roommates with a handsome, gay cupcake-baker as they try to return to the dating world of lower Manhattan.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

269

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published Date

ISBN 10

0547576218

ISBN 13

9780547576213

The Ladies' Man

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Ladies' Man

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

From the author of the bestselling The Inn at Lake Devine and Isabel's Bed comes a delicious novel about a woman jilted at the alter and a man who has the audacity to show up and apologize--30 years later.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

260

Published Date

ISBN 10

1841151386

ISBN 13

9781841151380

The Pursuit of Alice Thrift

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Pursuit of Alice Thrift

By: Elinor Lipman

In her newest well-tuned, witty, and altogether wonderful novel, bestselling author Elinor Lipman dares to ask: Can an upper-middle-class doctor find love with a shady, fast-talking salesman? Meet Alice Thrift, surgical intern in a Boston hospital, high of I.Q. but low in social graces. She doesn’t mean to be acerbic, clinical, or blunt, but where was she the day they taught Bedside Manner 101? Into Alice’s workaholic and wallflower life comes Ray Russo, a slick traveling fudge salesman in search of a nose job and well-heeled companionship, but not necessarily in that order. Is he a conman or a sincere suitor? Good guy or bad? Alice’s parents, roommate, and best friend Sylvie are appalled at her choice of mate. Despite her doubts, Alice finds herself walking down the aisle, not so much won over as worn down. Will their marriage last the honeymoon? Only if Alice’s best instincts can triumph over Ray’s unsavory ways.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

306

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307429237

ISBN 13

9780307429230

I Can't Complain

(All Too) Personal Essays

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

I Can't Complain

(All Too) Personal Essays

By: Elinor Lipman

A winning collection of essays about home, love, cooking, politics, and the writing life from the acclaimed novelist.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

179

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published Date

ISBN 10

054757620X

ISBN 13

9780547576206

The Dearly Departed

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Dearly Departed

By: Elinor Lipman

With her trademark humor and warmth, the beloved author of The Ladies' Man and The Inn at Lake Devine explores going home again; about finding light in the dark corners of one's inhospitable past; about love, golf, and DNA. Everyone in King George, New Hampshire, loved Margaret Batten, part-time amateur actress, full-time wallflower, and single mother to a now-distant daughter, Sunny. But accidents happen. The death of Margaret, side by side with her putative fiancé, brings Sunny back to the scene of the unhappy adolescence she thought she’d left behind. Reentry is to be dreaded; there’s no hiding in a town with one diner, one doctor, one stop sign, one motel. Yet allies surface; even high school tormentors have grown up in unforeseen and gratifying ways. Just possibly, Sunny begins to think, she wasn’t as beleaguered as she felt she was. And maybe her mother’s life was richer than anyone suspected. Add to the mix a chief of police whose interest in Sunny exceeds his civic duty, and you have the makings of an irresistibly beguiling tale from an author who writes with all the wit and wry authority of a latter-day Jane Austen.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

290

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

140003325X

ISBN 13

9781400033256

Ms Demeanor

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Ms Demeanor

By: Elinor Lipman

A joyride with a potent dose of wry social commentary' New York Times 'I never miss one of Elinor Lipman's funny, delightful novels' Judy Blume authorAre You There God? Jane Morgan is a valued member of her law firm – or was, until a prudish neighbour, binoculars poised, observes her having sex on the roof of her Manhattan apartment building. Police are summoned, and a judge sentences her to six months of home confinement. With Jane now jobless and rootless, trapped at home, life looks bleak. Yes, her twin sister provides support and advice, but mostly of the unwelcome kind. So, when a doorman lets slip that Jane isn't the only resident of her building wearing an ankle monitor, she strikes up a friendship with fellow white-collar felon Perry Salisbury. As she tries to adapt to her new circumstances, she discovers she hasn't heard the end of that nosy neighbour – whose past isn't as decorous as her snitching would suggest. Why are police knocking on Jane's door again? Might her house arrest have a silver lining? Can two wrongs make a right?

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

269

Publisher

Eye & Lightning Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1785633813

ISBN 13

9781785633812

Rachel to the Rescue

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Rachel to the Rescue

By: Elinor Lipman

Rachel Klein is sacked from her job at the White House after she sends an email criticizing Donald Trump. As she is escorted off the premises she is hit by a speeding car, driven by what the press will discreetly call "a personal friend of the President." Does that explain the flowers, the get-well wishes at a press briefing, the hush money offered by a lawyer at her hospital bedside? Rachel's recovery is soothed by comically doting parents, matchmaking room-mates, a new job as aide to a journalist whose books aim to defame the President, and unexpected love at the local wine store. But secrets leak, and Rachel's new-found happiness has to make room for more than a little chaos. Will she bring down the President? Or will he manage to do that all by himself? Rachel to the Rescue is a mischievous political satire, with a delightful cast of characters, from one of America's funniest novelists.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

307

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published Date

ISBN 10

0358653258

ISBN 13

9780358653257

Isabel's Bed

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Isabel's Bed

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

When Harriet Mahoney first sees it, Isabel Krug's bed is covered with sheared sheep and littered with celebrity biographies. Unpublished, fortyish, and recently jilted, Harriet has fled Manhattan for Isabel's loudly elegant Cape Cod retreat, where she will ghostwrite The Isabel Krug Story, based on the sexy blond's scandalous tabloid past. Unusually "talented" in the man department ("I give lessons"), Isabel revamps and inspires Harriet as they gear up to tell all, including the tangled history Isabel shares with her odd lodger, Costas. Life according to Isabel is a nonstop soap opera extravaganza, an experience to be swallowed whole -- and the attitude is catching....

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

406

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1439122040

ISBN 13

9781439122044

Tweet Land of Liberty

Irreverent Rhymes from the Political Circus

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Tweet Land of Liberty

Irreverent Rhymes from the Political Circus

By: Elinor Lipman

Elinor Lipman (@elinorlipman) chronicles the 2012 election season with a poem a day—all in 140 characters or less.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

121

Publisher

Beacon Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807042439

ISBN 13

9780807042434

Rachel to the Rescue

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Rachel to the Rescue

By: Elinor Lipman

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

307

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published Date

ISBN 10

0358653258

ISBN 13

9780358653257

The Ladies' Man

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Ladies' Man

By: Elinor Lipman

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

275

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

030781422X

ISBN 13

9780307814227

The Dearly Departed

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Dearly Departed

By: Elinor Lipman

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

290

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0375724583

ISBN 13

9780375724589

Good Riddance

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Good Riddance

By: Elinor Lipman

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

303

Publisher

Harper

Published Date

ISBN 10

0544808258

ISBN 13

9780544808256

The Way Men Act

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Way Men Act

By: Elinor Lipman

One-time popular and eye-catching Melinda LeBlanc finds her world as a successful florist is not enough.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

324

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

0671748416

ISBN 13

9780671748418

The Pursuit of Alice Thrift

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Pursuit of Alice Thrift

By: Elinor Lipman

The stunning new novel from Elinor Lipman, the sparkling comic writer praised by Maggie O'Farrell as 'Hilarious. Imagine, if you can, a cross between Philip Roth and Melissa Bank. 'Poor Alice Thrift: book-smart but people-hopeless. Alice graduated second in her class at medical school, but hospital life is proving quite a challenge. Evaluations describe her performance as 'workmanlike' and her people skills as 'hypothermic'. Luckily, Alice's roommate Leo, the most popular nurse at the hospital, and her feisty neighbour Sylvie, take on the task of guiding Alice through the narrow straits of her own no-rapport zone. When Ray Russo, a social-climbing fudge salesman, dedicates himself to a romantic pursuit, Leo and Sylvie harbour serious doubts. Yet as the chase intensifies, Alice's bedside manner begins to thaw. Can this dubious character be the one to lift Alice out of the depths of her social ineptitude? Written with bite, pace and effortless wit, this seriously funny novel puts romance under the microscope with hilarious consequences.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

308

Publisher

HarperPerennial

Published Date

ISBN 10

0007161204

ISBN 13

9780007161201

Isabel's Bed

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Isabel's Bed

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

406

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1439122040

ISBN 13

9781439122044

The Inn at Lake Devine

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Inn at Lake Devine

By: Elinor Lipman

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

273

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307814211

ISBN 13

9780307814210

I Can't Complain

(All Too) Personal Essays

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

I Can't Complain

(All Too) Personal Essays

By: Elinor Lipman

A winning collection of essays about home, love, cooking, politics, and the writing life from the acclaimed novelist.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

179

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published Date

ISBN 10

054757620X

ISBN 13

9780547576206

Then She Found Me

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Then She Found Me

A Novel

By: Elinor Lipman

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

296

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1439186723

ISBN 13

9781439186725

The Family Man

By: Elinor Lipman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Family Man

By: Elinor Lipman

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

322

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published Date

ISBN 10

0618644660

ISBN 13

9780618644667

Working Together

Collective Action, the Commons, and Multiple Methods in Practice

By: Amy R. Poteete,Marco Janssen,Elinor Ostrom

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Working Together

Collective Action, the Commons, and Multiple Methods in Practice

By: Amy R. Poteete,Marco Janssen,Elinor Ostrom

Advances in the social sciences have emerged through a variety of research methods: field-based research, laboratory and field experiments, and agent-based models. However, which research method or approach is best suited to a particular inquiry is frequently debated and discussed. Working Together examines how different methods have promoted various theoretical developments related to collective action and the commons, and demonstrates the importance of cross-fertilization involving multimethod research across traditional boundaries. The authors look at why cross-fertilization is difficult to achieve, and they show ways to overcome these challenges through collaboration. The authors provide numerous examples of collaborative, multimethod research related to collective action and the commons. They examine the pros and cons of case studies, meta-analyses, large-N field research, experiments and modeling, and empirically grounded agent-based models, and they consider how these methods contribute to research on collective action for the management of natural resources. Using their findings, the authors outline a revised theory of collective action that includes three elements: individual decision making, microsituational conditions, and features of the broader social-ecological context. Acknowledging the academic incentives that influence and constrain how research is conducted, Working Together reworks the theory of collective action and offers practical solutions for researchers and students across a spectrum of disciplines.

Average ratings

N/A