Coming apart isolates the white culture of america to avoid the impact of race on the formation of values murray compares the culture of the 1960s to the culture of 2010 using a wide array of studies at times the amount of information is almost too much to take in but the implications are hard to miss. Coming apart the state of white america 1960 2010 is a 2012 book by charles murray a political scientist and wh brady scholar at the american enterprise institute overview charles murray describes what he sees as the economic divide and moral bifurcation of white americans that has occurred since 1960 murray describes diverging trends between poor and upper middle class white . First an explanation of the title coming apart the state of white america 1960 2010 mr murray does not want the distraction of bringing race into the equation when evaluating the state of american society murray contends that americans are becoming split between two distinct societies based upon class or more precisely the cognitive elite and well the less cognitive race is not . Coming apart the state of white america 1960 2010 by charles murray 2012 02 15 amazonca books