Carnoy's analysis of labor data, along with astute personal insights, are his tools for describing a changing world of work, family, and community. He examines tchnology-based workplace changes, as well as trends concerning globalization and the impact of women's role in the labor force and changing family structures. The "cloth" of Carnoy's vision is woven from many emerging trends which affect the way we define community. He concludes that societies might benefit from a shift in power from mega-nationals to innovative local governments, requiring active commitment on the part of citizens, a a redirection from job-centeredness to knowledge-centeredness.

Martin Carnoy did a great job to organize his own field works and general trends into a seamless fabric. The broad features of new economy is captured by a deft hand with timely insertion of lively facts. Whenever I meet materials on this kind of subject, I cannot but be assured that social sciences are not science but a derivative of literature. They tend to be super-optimistic or ultra-pessimistic. But equipped with well founded conception, Carnoy takes a realistic stance. He shows what should be called social sciences
The author raises the question: How to sustain current economic expansion? On the face of cut-throat global competition, the workplace could not but be transformed to attain flexibility. With it, firms compete in the new environment. But flexibility indicates disaggregating workers from the social institutions that reproduce human capital and social capital. The author calls for public intervention to establish reintegrating institutions for two reasons:
1. Traditional nuclear family and local community have been stressed with mounting pressures from labor market. Those institutions have been the very place where human capital and social capital are reproduced. Human capital and social capital are indispensable to sustain the economic growth. New economy is more vulnerable to such undermining the very infra, society, where the economy is embedded.
2. What is the most distinct in the new economy is knowledge. Knowledge, or human capital, should be reproduced. Now it¡¯s relegated to the individual¡¯s hand. This has devastating effects on social integration. Without some measures, the access to knowledge, skills, and information divide workforce into the dual labor market where winner and loser reproduce themselves for good.

This book explains the current transformation of employment and work, and the consequences for families and communities. It shows, with an impressive documentation, that flexibility is the norm. The new economy is productive because workers move around and change jobs and activities. But this flexibility may be socially unsustainable, unless we strengthen the family, the community, and the schools. What I really like about this book is that it is a great piece of academic research, yet it is a down to earth, policy oriented book that could help us and our politicians to make the new economy socially sustainable. Required reading for economic and social sciences in colleges. And easy, interesting reading for everybody wanting to understand our new world. Manuel Castells, Berkeley, California.

This book is well written, although perhaps too academic in nature for my tastes. But I thought it would be more helpful to me for my situation than it was. I am 40 and expecting my first child early next year. I'm seeking information that will help me be appropriately supportive of my wife and a better father for my child. If I had known the book spent so much time comparing how fathers raised their second families with how they raised their older children I would not have bothered.

Perhaps I'm just not in the target demographic for this book, and perhaps I will re-read it in a few years and get some insights that escaped me this time around. But I just didn't find it very helpful.

I would recommend that men who are starting second families read this book, but those who have never been through a wife's pregnancy should look elsewhere.

This is the only book of its kind. Millions of men become fathers at 40, 50 or more, which is something that nature has designed us to do. But there is very little information on what the issues are or how best to cope.

The book has some statistics but mostly anecdotes of specific families with either delayed or remarried fatherhood. It gives some glimpses of societal changes as we all live longer and healthier and so may have children later.

It has excellent breadth, taking in subjects of stepkids, may-december marriage, adoption, fathers-at-home, etc.

The writing is clear and it's an easy read.

This book hit it on the nail in so many ways. My partner and I have a 26year age gap and have question so much in the last 4years. This book helped us find so many answers to our questions concerning having children together and about our relationship. Since this topic isn't a subject that is easily conformed at the dinner table, I feel like I am normal in how I feel as does my partner. We don't feel like we are the only ones feeling the way we do now!

Some of the basic questions that it helped us through was how the child might feel having an older parent? How society might treat us? Death and divorce...all major topics in a relationship that are hard to talk about to anyone.

A lot of the book concentrated on second time children...having older children(in their twenties) and having young children(children under 10)at the same time. This doesn't really apply to us, but it was interesting reading. It even included a section on adapotion which was very interesting as well.

I hope this book can help other people as much as it has helped my partner and I.