In his eye-opening book Why?, world-renowned social scientist Charles
Tilly exposed some startling truths about the excuses people make and
the reasons they give. Now he's back with further explorations into the
complexities of human relationships, this time examining what's really
going on when we assign credit or cast blame.
Everybody does it, but few understand the hidden motivations behind it.
With his customary wit and dazzling insight, Tilly takes a lively and
thought-provoking look at the ways people fault and applaud each other
and themselves. The stories he gathers in Credit and Blame range from
the everyday to the altogether unexpected, from the revealingly personal
to the insightfully humorous--whether it's the gushing acceptance speech
of an Academy Award winner or testimony before a congressional panel,
accusations hurled in a lover's quarrel or those traded by nations in a
post-9/11 crisis, or a job promotion or the Nobel Prize. Drawing
examples from literature, history, pop culture, and much more, Tilly
argues that people seek not only understanding through credit and blame,
but also justice. The punishment must fit the crime, accomplishments
should be rewarded, and the guilty parties must always get their just
deserts.
Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, Credit and Blame is a
book that revolutionizes our understanding of the compliments we pay and
the accusations we make.
