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Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression
With a Foreword by Bruce Springsteen
In Someplace Like America , writer Dale Maharidge and photographer Michael S. Williamson take us to the working-class heart of America, bringing to life—through shoe leather reporting, memoir, vivid stories, stunning photographs, and thoughtful analysis—the deepening crises of poverty and homelessness. The story begins in 1980, when the authors joined forces to cover the America being ignored by the mainstream media—people living on the margins and losing their jobs as a result of deindustrialization. Since then, Maharidge and Williamson have traveled more than half a million miles to investigate the state of the working class (winning a Pulitzer Prize in the process). In Someplace Like America , they follow the lives of several families over the thirty-year span to present an intimate and devastating portrait of workers going jobless. This brilliant and essential study—begun in the trickle-down Reagan years and culminating with the recent banking catastrophe—puts a human face on today’s grim economic numbers. It also illuminates the courage and resolve with which the next generation faces the future.
In Someplace Like America , writer Dale Maharidge and photographer Michael S. Williamson take us to the working-class heart of America, bringing to life—through shoe leather reporting, memoir, vivid stories, stunning photographs, and thoughtful analysis—the deepening crises of poverty and homelessness. The story begins in 1980, when the authors joined forces to cover the America being ignored by the mainstream media—people living on the margins and losing their jobs as a result of deindustrialization. Since then, Maharidge and Williamson have traveled more than half a million miles to investigate the state of the working class (winning a Pulitzer Prize in the process). In Someplace Like America , they follow the lives of several families over the thirty-year span to present an intimate and devastating portrait of workers going jobless. This brilliant and essential study—begun in the trickle-down Reagan years and culminating with the recent banking catastrophe—puts a human face on today’s grim economic numbers. It also illuminates the courage and resolve with which the next generation faces the future.
276 pages, Paperback
First published May 2, 2011
About the author
Dale Maharidge
25 books119 followersI'm a professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. I've published ten books, including And Their Children After Them, which won the 1990 non-fiction Pulitzer Prize. The most recent is Bringing Mulligan Home/The Other Side of the Good War (PublicAffairs). Before that I released the paperback edition of Someplace Like America/ Tales from the New Great Depression(University of California Press), with a foreword by Bruce Springsteen.
My books are all thematically connected, I believe, rooted in my curiosity about America and who we are as a people. I've documented the economic crisis since the 1980s. For working people, there is no other way to describe it. If you want, check out the afterword I wrote for the paperback of Someplace Like America--I reported in Detroit for it and I found some very interesting things there that raises questions about where we are going as a country.
I spent the first 15 years of my career as a newspaperman, working in Cleveland and Sacramento. I also taught at Stanford University for 10 years, in the Department of Communication.
My books are all thematically connected, I believe, rooted in my curiosity about America and who we are as a people. I've documented the economic crisis since the 1980s. For working people, there is no other way to describe it. If you want, check out the afterword I wrote for the paperback of Someplace Like America--I reported in Detroit for it and I found some very interesting things there that raises questions about where we are going as a country.
I spent the first 15 years of my career as a newspaperman, working in Cleveland and Sacramento. I also taught at Stanford University for 10 years, in the Department of Communication.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 23, 2012
Dale Maharidge and photographer Michael Williamson have chronicled for 40 years the demise of the American middle class. Their previous books, Journey to Nowhere, And Their Children after Them, The Last American Hobo, and Homeland are extensively excerpted into this book and several lives are followed from decade to decade. My main criticism is that too much of the book is exerpted from previous books. Since I had not read the previous books, I found it of interest but it a condensed version from the previous books could have provided the necessary background.
Many of the lives presented are just flat depressing. Not everyone is a sympathetic character. Some people are solid, salt of the earth people who have had circumstances beyond their control push them out of their middle class lives into situations that they never imagined could happen to them. Others have drug, alcohol, mental illness problems for which there was no safety net for them.
While the first 3/4 of this book is fairly interesting, the final quarter is outstanding. This is the portion of the book that brings us up to date to the current Great Receession with its jobless recovery, compares it with the social, political, and economic situations of the Great Depression of the 1930's.
Maharidge postulates that we are essentially relearning the lessons of the 1930's. We are also reliving a version of its political and economic battles, as well as fighting new ones. For example, the concentration of wealth at the very top:
In 1928, 23.9 % of the national wealth went to the upper 1%.
In the 1970's between 8 and 9% of the national wealth went to the upper 1%
In 1982, 12.8%
1988, 16.6%
2007, 23.5%
A second example is the rate of unemployment: In 2010, 37% of individuals between 18 and 29 are jobless. Almost exactly what it was in the 1930's.
There are other example of the similarities of the two economic tsunamis such as the turn to right wing extremists such as radio personalities as Father Coughlin of the 30's and the Glen Beck /Rush Limbaughs of today.
To me, the best part of the book was the "What do we do now?" section.
First is taking personal responsibility-- people must realize that no one and no government entity is coming to rescue them. The people in this section are forming their own small communities, raising gardens, canning and preserving food, raising poultry and small animals, shopping for needed items at thrift stores, staying way low on the economic radar.
Second is the area of Government responsibility
1. Fair tax rates for rich and poor
2. Jobs programs such as CCC
3. Cut military interventions and spending
It is an excellent book and deserves to be widely read and discussed.
Many of the lives presented are just flat depressing. Not everyone is a sympathetic character. Some people are solid, salt of the earth people who have had circumstances beyond their control push them out of their middle class lives into situations that they never imagined could happen to them. Others have drug, alcohol, mental illness problems for which there was no safety net for them.
While the first 3/4 of this book is fairly interesting, the final quarter is outstanding. This is the portion of the book that brings us up to date to the current Great Receession with its jobless recovery, compares it with the social, political, and economic situations of the Great Depression of the 1930's.
Maharidge postulates that we are essentially relearning the lessons of the 1930's. We are also reliving a version of its political and economic battles, as well as fighting new ones. For example, the concentration of wealth at the very top:
In 1928, 23.9 % of the national wealth went to the upper 1%.
In the 1970's between 8 and 9% of the national wealth went to the upper 1%
In 1982, 12.8%
1988, 16.6%
2007, 23.5%
A second example is the rate of unemployment: In 2010, 37% of individuals between 18 and 29 are jobless. Almost exactly what it was in the 1930's.
There are other example of the similarities of the two economic tsunamis such as the turn to right wing extremists such as radio personalities as Father Coughlin of the 30's and the Glen Beck /Rush Limbaughs of today.
To me, the best part of the book was the "What do we do now?" section.
First is taking personal responsibility-- people must realize that no one and no government entity is coming to rescue them. The people in this section are forming their own small communities, raising gardens, canning and preserving food, raising poultry and small animals, shopping for needed items at thrift stores, staying way low on the economic radar.
Second is the area of Government responsibility
1. Fair tax rates for rich and poor
2. Jobs programs such as CCC
3. Cut military interventions and spending
It is an excellent book and deserves to be widely read and discussed.
January 20, 2012
Dale Maharidge was my spring seminar professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He had won a Pulitzer in Nonfiction the year before for his book, And Their Children After Them, for following up on James Agee and Walker Evans's Depression-era families who never escaped poverty. His latest book is a tribute to his dedication to documenting homelessness and the working poor for three decades. After grad school, I spent four years covering the Bronx and poverty was only part of the beat. Dale has always been on the beat and in this book he spoke of it as a war correspondent would of his wounds. This book is a page-turner, full of gripping stories about people on the edge, like a slave labor camp exploiting homeless alcoholics that he and his partner, photographer Michael Williamson, infiltrate and perilously escape; abandoned buildings full of squatters and drugs and death after Katrina; a homeless family living in a campground who survives a Tornado; the working man and woman unable to make ends meet, struggling to keep their homes; and most recently, tent compounds cropping up like shantytowns in "someplace like America." The book is full of human stories and disturbing facts and figures about poverty and the growing wealth gap in this country. It should be required reading for all of us.
September 29, 2013
Wonderful book! I have read "And Their Children After Them" also by Maharidge & Williamson, and this collaboration by the two of them didn't disappoint. Despite the ongoing financial problems in the US, many people do not realize how rough some people have it, and the book with it's amazing pictures gives you a portrait of the bleakness that certain families are enduring. This book is eye-opening & thought provoking, and I would recommend it greatly.
July 24, 2013
This was a pretty good read. I am quite a ways away from the author politically, but I think he made a lot of good points about where our country is headed and I appreciated his perspective. The pictures are quite haunting.
February 1, 2012
someplace like america: tales from the new great depression, as with so many other important and deserving books, may never enjoy the level of attention and readership it so obviously merits. written by dale maharidge and featuring photographs by long-time collaborator michael s. williamson (both of whom are pulitzer prize recipients), someplace like america is a haunting, cross-country journey through the individual lives of america's increasingly neglected working class. spanning some three decades from the early years of the reagan administration through the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis, maharidge and williamson offer a trenchant, personal glimpse into the hardship, humiliation, and suffering endured by countless americans as a result of the nation's prolonged and systemic avarice.
revisiting many of the individuals and families documented in their 1985 book, journey to nowhere: the saga of the new underclass, maharidge and williamson crisscrossed the nation (often by hopping trains) to find and interview subjects devastated by an economy that often appears to be systematically excluding more and more people. many of the interviewees were middle class citizens recently made homeless by layoffs, medical debt, or foreclosure. while volumes could be written about our nation's poor, the focus of someplace like america is instead upon people who were aspiring towards the so-called american dream when, for one reason or another, they had everything ripped out from beneath them.
these tales of woe and misfortune are what have followed after three decade's worth of failed policies, including trickle-down economics, nafta and the ensuing outsourcing of jobs, predatory lending, and banking deregulation. as keynesian economics were forsaken in favor of the more libertarian theories of milton friedman, the united states fell prey to a slow repeal of the new deal-era programs and policies that not only helped restore the economy following the great depression but also set up a social safety net aimed at forestalling, or at least mitigating, the next economic catastrophe. as americans are forced to confront many of the same challenges of the 1930s, a variety of complicating factors have made it more difficult for them to stave of the prospects of home foreclosure, hunger, and homelessness. maharidge deftly portrays the precariousness faced by so many americans today, as the working class is forced to make ever more concessions amidst stagnating wages and harder-to-find jobs, while the wealthy consolidate their riches even further.
revisiting many of the individuals and families documented in their 1985 book, journey to nowhere: the saga of the new underclass, maharidge and williamson crisscrossed the nation (often by hopping trains) to find and interview subjects devastated by an economy that often appears to be systematically excluding more and more people. many of the interviewees were middle class citizens recently made homeless by layoffs, medical debt, or foreclosure. while volumes could be written about our nation's poor, the focus of someplace like america is instead upon people who were aspiring towards the so-called american dream when, for one reason or another, they had everything ripped out from beneath them.
these tales of woe and misfortune are what have followed after three decade's worth of failed policies, including trickle-down economics, nafta and the ensuing outsourcing of jobs, predatory lending, and banking deregulation. as keynesian economics were forsaken in favor of the more libertarian theories of milton friedman, the united states fell prey to a slow repeal of the new deal-era programs and policies that not only helped restore the economy following the great depression but also set up a social safety net aimed at forestalling, or at least mitigating, the next economic catastrophe. as americans are forced to confront many of the same challenges of the 1930s, a variety of complicating factors have made it more difficult for them to stave of the prospects of home foreclosure, hunger, and homelessness. maharidge deftly portrays the precariousness faced by so many americans today, as the working class is forced to make ever more concessions amidst stagnating wages and harder-to-find jobs, while the wealthy consolidate their riches even further.
we are essentially struggling to relearn the lessons of the 1930s. we are also reliving a version of its political and economic battles, as well as fighting new ones.from youngstown, ohio to post-katrina new orleans to both coasts and points in between, the nation's financial predicament has strayed from the mere realm of economics to shape and inform other current debates, including race and immigration (with all its requisite scapegoating). the combination of maharidge's prose and williamson's photographs portray this stark era in american history with both compassion and incisiveness. the personal tales recounted in someplace like america are troubling and often heartbreaking, yet not without a hopeful outlook. maharidge and williamson's book is often an emotional one, but the courageousness and perseverance evinced by their subjects is inspiring and redemptive. someplace like america is a work so important, so revealing, that it ought to be read by all americans, to say nothing of our culpable and adversarial elected officials.
what i want to tell all of them is this: we don't have to be a tarp nation. we overcame that kind of desperation and lack of caring for our fellow citizens in the 1930s. we can do it again. no little girl in this country should have to grow up with the memory of huddling homeless and terrified in a tent as a tornado blows in. we will at long last relearn what is truly too big to fail- the lives and hopes of working men and women.
February 19, 2012
What starts out as a mess of a book becomes incredibly informative, emotional, and worrisome. Journalist Dale Maharidge and photographer Michael S. Williamson have documented America's poor for thirty years. This book stands as a tour of duty through poverty, economic collapse, job loss, homelessness, and how people in America are affected over the long-term. The book starts in 1982 and follows peoples' stories through 2011. Hence the messiness of the book. What possible way is there to trace the stories of people starting in the 1980s to the present day? No neatness or clean narrative edges are in any of the reportage. In fact, some of the most powerful parts of the book come when stories break down, and people are unable to be found in later years, for whatever reason. Maharidge suggests many parallels and stark differences between now and the 1930s-era great depression. There is no current equivalent to FDR, and the historic American government's support of workers during the depression, white and blue class alike. This work is a totally necessary read for anybody interested in history, today's recession, journalism, photography, and figuring out what to do. And what is there to do? Maharidge struggles to answer, but provides more than enough options. Gardening is a major one, along with the creation of long-term communities. Or even short-term communities. Something to focus on what's happening on the ground in America. This book is my optimum format of written journalism mixed with documentary photos.
As a side note, while reading this book I tried watching the 2011 oscar winner for best adapted screenplay, The Descendants. I had a real hard time paying attention to the movie, and found myself very frustrated by the plot. Even re-reading what I just wrote here is extremely unnerving. Why was I suddenly more angry about a movie plot, with sleazy Hawaiian land owners? It might have to do with reading about how wealthy the very few are, and how many American's live in poverty. Someplace like America will stick with me for a long time to come.
As a side note, while reading this book I tried watching the 2011 oscar winner for best adapted screenplay, The Descendants. I had a real hard time paying attention to the movie, and found myself very frustrated by the plot. Even re-reading what I just wrote here is extremely unnerving. Why was I suddenly more angry about a movie plot, with sleazy Hawaiian land owners? It might have to do with reading about how wealthy the very few are, and how many American's live in poverty. Someplace like America will stick with me for a long time to come.
April 11, 2011
Words cannot possibly do justice to the importance of this book...but I will try. By following up on several of the heart-wrenching stories he first presented in his 1985/1996 book, 'Journey To Nowhere', Maharidge & photographer Michael S. Williamson have crafted a work of journalistic brilliance that harkens back to the best fictional work of Steinbeck, but is, for better or worse, 100 percent non-fictional. Thirty years on, readers are re-introduced to the failed rust-belt city of Youngstown, Ohio--the centerpiece of each book, but by no means the only US city/region featured.
'Journey' focused on the lives upended by the closure of steel mills and similar blue-collar jobs at the dawn of Reagan's 1980's. At that time, places like Youngstown/Warren, Gary, IN, etc. were seemingly the exception...the work done there had simply become outmoded in our new global economy. 'Someplace' proves that, like a cancer, what happened in Youngstown 30 years ago has now spread throughout America with white-collar jobs now being added into the mix of never-ending recession and unemployment despair. We are all Youngstown now.
Thirty years of failed economic policy has done little to help anyone but the richest one percent or so of Americans. The rest of us are pretty much left to fend for ourselves in an economy based on part-time minimum wage service sector jobs offering little in the way of long-term benefits. Welcome to the modern US feudal society.
Maharidge does not provide any easy answers to our shared plight. But really, are there any? He successfully connects the dots between the period leading to the Great Depression and today's so-called "Great Recession". And he accomplishes this feat in a readily accessible writing style that will keep you turning the pages long after you should have gone to bed. If you are even remotely interested in what is happening in America today, READ THIS BOOK. You will not be disappointed.
'Journey' focused on the lives upended by the closure of steel mills and similar blue-collar jobs at the dawn of Reagan's 1980's. At that time, places like Youngstown/Warren, Gary, IN, etc. were seemingly the exception...the work done there had simply become outmoded in our new global economy. 'Someplace' proves that, like a cancer, what happened in Youngstown 30 years ago has now spread throughout America with white-collar jobs now being added into the mix of never-ending recession and unemployment despair. We are all Youngstown now.
Thirty years of failed economic policy has done little to help anyone but the richest one percent or so of Americans. The rest of us are pretty much left to fend for ourselves in an economy based on part-time minimum wage service sector jobs offering little in the way of long-term benefits. Welcome to the modern US feudal society.
Maharidge does not provide any easy answers to our shared plight. But really, are there any? He successfully connects the dots between the period leading to the Great Depression and today's so-called "Great Recession". And he accomplishes this feat in a readily accessible writing style that will keep you turning the pages long after you should have gone to bed. If you are even remotely interested in what is happening in America today, READ THIS BOOK. You will not be disappointed.
July 4, 2011
Definitely one of the most important books I've ever read and a sobering one at that. Nevertheless, this book is one I wish all Americans would read, because it reveals the faces of struggling fellow citizens, the likes of which we haven't seen in these numbers since the Great Depression. "Someplace Like America" is like a real-life, modern-day version of the torment Steinbeck laid out in "The Grapes of Wrath" all those years ago, albeit with numerous stories in various places across America.
As Maharidge himself states, this is a journalistic effort, not a wonky policy book, but he deftly weaves in how various political/policy decisions over the years have resulted in the suffering of Americans regardless of class, age race, sex or region of the country. We are all vulnerable, now more than ever.
My only complaint with the book is that due to the structure, it didn't feel like it really flowed and felt "all of a piece" for a while, and that's probably because it builds on previous books/articles and then moves into the present day, so there isn't necessarily a strong continuum in places. It starts in the 1980s, jumps to the 90s and 00s, revisits some of the individuals and families Maharidge and Williamson encountered previously, and then proceeds forward to document more current struggles throughout America.
Regardless of my quibbles, I found this to be a most enjoyable read, even though the subject matter is heavy and hard to take at times. It's a remarkable piece of work, and a true modern-day classic.
As Maharidge himself states, this is a journalistic effort, not a wonky policy book, but he deftly weaves in how various political/policy decisions over the years have resulted in the suffering of Americans regardless of class, age race, sex or region of the country. We are all vulnerable, now more than ever.
My only complaint with the book is that due to the structure, it didn't feel like it really flowed and felt "all of a piece" for a while, and that's probably because it builds on previous books/articles and then moves into the present day, so there isn't necessarily a strong continuum in places. It starts in the 1980s, jumps to the 90s and 00s, revisits some of the individuals and families Maharidge and Williamson encountered previously, and then proceeds forward to document more current struggles throughout America.
Regardless of my quibbles, I found this to be a most enjoyable read, even though the subject matter is heavy and hard to take at times. It's a remarkable piece of work, and a true modern-day classic.
May 7, 2017
"How curious that a mob fond of likening President Obama to Hitler knows so little about history that it doesn't recognize it's own small-scale mimicry of Kristallnacht." --New York Times columnist, Frank Rich
This book serves as a frightening, sobering reminder that many of us aren't more than a few months away (should we lose our paychecks) from living on credit cards or moving in with relatives. We need to be paying attention to the poor. And while I certainly include the mentally ill and addicted when referencing issues like homelessness, I am quick to also mention the working poor. There are people all over this country who work full time, spend NO money on extras, go to bed with their stomachs empty and still can't make ends meet. Imagine working 60, 70, 80+ hours a week at a job (or two or three), not being able to get health insurance and having to tell your child "NO" at every turn. There are people living in this country, like people live in 3rd world countries and turning our backs to it and not talking about it won't make it go away. I believe that soon, people will be FORCED to look at it, there will be no other choice.
This book serves as a frightening, sobering reminder that many of us aren't more than a few months away (should we lose our paychecks) from living on credit cards or moving in with relatives. We need to be paying attention to the poor. And while I certainly include the mentally ill and addicted when referencing issues like homelessness, I am quick to also mention the working poor. There are people all over this country who work full time, spend NO money on extras, go to bed with their stomachs empty and still can't make ends meet. Imagine working 60, 70, 80+ hours a week at a job (or two or three), not being able to get health insurance and having to tell your child "NO" at every turn. There are people living in this country, like people live in 3rd world countries and turning our backs to it and not talking about it won't make it go away. I believe that soon, people will be FORCED to look at it, there will be no other choice.
June 24, 2014
What starts out as a wonderfully blunt look at the situation of working class, poor, and homeless America turns into a piece of propaganda against the right and those who do not support illegal immigration. If the book stayed on topic and explored poverty in America then I would have given it five stars. The oversimplification of FDR (he wasn't the benevolent savior of poor America like Maharidge portrays him to be), the awkward plug for illegal immigration (if he wanted to write about illegal immigration then it should have been for a completely different book; it doesn't fit here), and the harsh blame of the Republican party and those on the right (even when he critiques the Democrats he makes it clear that it's because they supposedly could not do what they really wanted to do because of the Republicans) cost this book two stars.
July 3, 2011
Great book! I loved professors like this when I was in college. This is one book that explains what is going on in this country in an enjoyable-to-read format without being straight scholarly. There are some quotes I want to remember:
"Obama caved in to Republican demands without a fight and extended tax cuts for multimillionaires, which meant that the richest 0.1 percent of Americans each received an average tax cut of $370,000. To secure these tax cuts for the wealthy, Republicans had held hostage the unemployment benefits for the 2 million jobless who were about to fall off the rolls, claiming that helping the jobless would increase the national debt - a debt that...had originally ballooned in part as a result of those same tax cuts for the extremely rich.
"Obama caved in to Republican demands without a fight and extended tax cuts for multimillionaires, which meant that the richest 0.1 percent of Americans each received an average tax cut of $370,000. To secure these tax cuts for the wealthy, Republicans had held hostage the unemployment benefits for the 2 million jobless who were about to fall off the rolls, claiming that helping the jobless would increase the national debt - a debt that...had originally ballooned in part as a result of those same tax cuts for the extremely rich.
November 30, 2012
Should be mandatory read for anyone who is trying to understand America in the last 30 so years. The photographs are moving yet simple and the writing is calm, collective, but also vivid and compelling. The stories will leave you wanting to know more which in a way represents all relationships and encounters in life: wanting more. Truly, we can help those who are swept under the rug and forgotten. This book doesn't have all the answers, but it has enough to get the ball rolling. Did I mention Bruce Springsteen gives an excellent foreword? Who else to better explain America than a man who has written about these struggles all his life? All in all, this book is factual, relevant, and entertaining that will teach you more than you'll ever believe.
September 2, 2012
I had to read this for one of my classes, but it is probably one of my top books I've ever read! It's so hard to imagine people who have been living in dire straits for over 30 years, but they have been. Dale draws you in with every family's personal story of struggle (from the 80s). Then, he revisits them in 2009 and 2010 to do an update. Captivating story! A definite must read before the election!
October 31, 2012
sort of like a really interesting documentary in book form. part memoir, part journalism, part photo essay. these dudes are really willing to get out there for their story. i liked the behind-the-scenes parts, how they got to their interview subjects, almost as much as (sometimes more than) the actual stories themselves. drawbacks: didn't tell me a lot i didn't already know/was from a white dude outsider perspective, but it's still an interesting and important read.
August 15, 2011
Not an easy read, have to be mentally ready to listen to all these sad accounts of people that have been left by the government and society. Helps to bring insight to the issue of homelessness and that most people are victims of a system that lets them down... Helps to break the prejudice that people have towards this issue...
June 11, 2011
Amazing book that traces people and families from 1983 - 2009 Homeless, Hobos. Eye opening on
who the homeless relating it to 1930's depression and facts from Economic policy Institute beginning each chapter
who the homeless relating it to 1930's depression and facts from Economic policy Institute beginning each chapter
June 22, 2016
It is quite interesting for someone like me who doesn't know much about economy. The author lingers in his authoriality a bit too much. A memory of the writing of a book. If I'd know how, I'd give it a three and a half stars :)
March 16, 2013
Best book I have read in a long time. Gives a real picture of what is going on in America and the tragedy of inequity of opportuniyt.
May 19, 2013
Wow. Powerful picture of socioeconomic fringe of America. But, also more of a memoir of the authors and their reporting through the years on the topic.
November 1, 2014
Excellent and frightening
Want to Read
November 5, 201411/5/14 found it in Bruce Springsteen's list of all time favorite books. He wrote the forward. It looks like a quick read and is at our local library.
July 14, 2024
An extremely poignant and humanising look at the human cost of economic recession in the US throughout the past decades. It's well worth the read but hard to read at times, particularly when the people affected by poverty and their stories are juxtaposed directly with the cruel quotes from conservative politicians and big business owners.
November 22, 2020
"We have to change how we treat people."
March 11, 2022
This is a huge piece of journalism with a focus on Americans who are not rich. People on the margins and fringes of wealthy, productive capitalist culture. And one of his general theses revolves around the United States' lack of willingness to take care of ALL of its citizens.
It's compelling, but I didn't always feel like the scope was narrow enough. I sometimes felt like his quaisi-communist bias didn't allow him to close the door on the difference between people who were victimized by unscrupulous practices, and those who were just unfit. This discrepancy kept me unduly skeptical throughout.
It's compelling, but I didn't always feel like the scope was narrow enough. I sometimes felt like his quaisi-communist bias didn't allow him to close the door on the difference between people who were victimized by unscrupulous practices, and those who were just unfit. This discrepancy kept me unduly skeptical throughout.
December 23, 2011
Gripping, enlightening, sad, infuriating...
April 3, 2013
The dynamic duo of the under class has done it again!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews