A New Engagement? Political Participation, Civic Life, andthe Changing American Citizen. By Cliff Zukin, ScottKeeter, Molly Andolina, Krista Jenkins, and Michael X. DelliCarpini. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. 253p. $19.00.

Should we be really worried about declining public engagement? Orshould we accept that it is merely changing shape? This bookdescribes substantial alterations in the ways Americans are involvedin public life, particularly younger citizens, and analyzes a widerange of empirical data with the goal of understanding theimplications—both negative and positive—of these emerging patternsof participation.