1. Coming of Age in a Risk Society ; 2. Prisoners of the Present ; 3. Insecure Intimacies ; 4. Hardened Selves ; 5. Coming of Age in the "Mood Economy" ; Conclusion: The Hidden Injuries of Risk ; Notes ; References ; Index

"Impeccably researched and skillfully articulated, Silva's work is a timely primer on the current state of blue-collar Millennials." --Publishers Weekly "In the tradition of Studs Terkel's Working and Lillian Rubin's Worlds of Pain, this poignant and powerful book takes us inside the lives of today's working class. With remarkable empathy and painful detail, Silva illuminates the personal stories of young workers with no unions, no pensions, no assets, and little hope for more than unstable low-wage jobs. Rather than blaming neoliberal capitalism for their precarious futures, she finds that these young people blame themselves. A smart and compelling page-turner, Coming Up Short is a truly masterful work." --Sharon Hays, author of Flat Broke with Children "Capitalism and its devastating effects are best examined at the bottom of the social order, where men and women struggle with unemployment, with intimacy, and with forming self-respect. Coming Up Short studies working-class lives from a new perspective: that of the management of risk. It is a masterful contribution to our understanding of how capitalism creates the many anxieties that make up our lives." --Eva Illouz, Professor of Sociology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem "This outstanding book offers a heartbreaking account of America's 21st century working class as they transition to adulthood. Dreaming of a life of college education, steady well-paying jobs, marriage, home-ownership, and children, they confront a reality of student loan debt, low-paying service sector jobs, unstable relationships, and a changed landscape of individual risk and self-blame. Silva's extraordinary ability to connect with these young people brings their perspectives to life, and her sharp analyses link their lives to wider social currents. Written with a rare combination of empathy and clear-eyed reasoning, Silva exemplifies sociology at its very best. This should be required reading for every young adult in America, and everyone who loves a young adult." --Mary Waters, M.E. Zukerman Professor of Sociology, Harvard University "If you care about our country's future, ponder the compelling personal histories that Jennifer Silva portrays in this impressive book. Silva describes with grace and sensitivity how the economic and social changes that have rocked America in the last half century reverberate in the lives of young working class adults, radically isolated and striving to craft a sense of self in a world without security, without solidarity, and without trust. It is a chastening tale." --Robert D. Putnam, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University, and author of Bowling Alone "[A] brief yet devastating book that blends academic analysis and oral history to put a new face on well-documented trends that are more usually described in the abstract." --Boston Globe "Silva has made a major contribution to understanding where young adults are coming from, what influences them, and what they consider to be common sense." --The American Conservative "Fascinating" --Feministing.com "[A]n enjoyable read and raises important issues that we generally overlook." --Washington Independent Review of Books "Coming Up Short is a brief, but powerful, update of the status, difficulties, behaviors and distresses that characterize the lives of young working class adults. Based on in-depth interviews with 100 subjects, both White and African American, the book is -- among other things -- a reminder of the power of qualitative research, where the subjects' statements and the vignettes about them poignantly document a number of themes in a way that statistical tables could not... Coming Up Short is highly recommended for sociologists and social welfare students and academics alike. It informs in telling detail the difficult circumstances and self-perceptions of a significant portion of the American population. It is also a window into how the 'helping professions' have influenced the thinking of young adults and suggests that those professions need help their clients see their troubles in broader terms than they apparently currently do." --Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare "I enjoyed reading this book. It will stay in my memory long after it returns to my bookshelf, although I suspect it will not stay there long. For sociologists of youth and adulthood, like me, it contains many insights that spur the sociological imagination. But above all, the young working-class lives that Silva enables us to hear will continue to haunt me. They may be "coming up short" in an economic and social system that promises much, yet often delivers little, but to my mind and throughout Silva's book, they are adults with important messages to convey and lives to lead." --American Journal of Sociology

Selling point: A powerful and compelling examination of young, working-class adults and the economic, social, and cultural forces that have upended their lives. Selling point: Provides a powerful and compelling perspective on several high profile issues at the forefront of public debate: economic instability, class instability, and the changing composition of the American family.

Selling point: A powerful and compelling examination of young, working-class adults and the economic, social, and cultural forces that have upended their lives. Selling point: Provides a powerful and compelling perspective on several high profile issues at the forefront of public debate: economic instability, class instability, and the changing composition of the American family.