Take a photo of a barcode or cover
vforvanessa's review against another edition
5.0
If a single cause were identified, a remedy might be readily designed. It would fit neatly into a liberal or conservative prescription. If either the system's exploitation or the victims' irresponsibility were to blame, one or the other side of the debate would be satisfied. If the reasons were merely corporate greed or government indifference or impoverished schools, then liberal solutions would suffice. If the causes were only the personal failures of parents and children, then conservative views would hold. But "repression is a seamless garment," as Salman Rushdie wrote. This is repression of a kind, and it lacks clear boundaries that would define the beginning and end of accountability.
This book reinforces what, I hope, is already known by the educated audience reading this review: "working harder" is seldom the solution to poverty, and those of us who are succeeding in middle or upper class lives have reached this point not just because of our own gumption but also because of some fortuitous combination of birth, wealth, positive role models, education, stable upbringing, and good luck.
Do the poor sometimes make bad choices? Of course, and we're introduced to many throughout the book. We also see how many of those cases are simply people who've never been taught any better, who've never had the education or good role models to learn parenting skills or workplace etiquette from, who lack the services accessible to those with even a little extra money (therapy, tutoring, babysitting, etc.). Yet others are doing everything right, but due to bad fortune - car problems, a sudden illness, etc. - find themselves struggling to make any progress.
Overall, an eye-opening read, even if you already acknowledge that the solutions to poverty are more complex than political talking points boil them down to. One single, easily-applied solution will never untangle the complex web of problems and disadvantages faced by people trying to pull themselves up into prosperity. Let's acknowledge that and hold our leaders to it next budget or election.
dusty_folds's review against another edition
3.0
This is an interesting study of working poor people in the US around 2000. Shipler interviews a variety of people, including homeless individuals, undocumented workers, employers, and those living on the edge of poverty. The stories they share give a wonderful insight to the differences and commonalities for this group. Shipler does a great job criticizing both conservative and liberal politicians and media outlets for how they address (and ignore) the working poor. The language he uses often provides a wonderful narrative, but in some places, it did feel a bit condescending. Also, I thought he could have included additional conversations about how race played a role in these people's lives and the different experiences that poor people might have. Overall, though, this is a good study and worth the reading.
annahunn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
cherylph's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent supplemental reading; this is definitely a good read after Nickel and Dimed. They touch on a lot of the same subjects, though this book is a lot more focused on the stats and somewhat removed stories of the minimum-wage worker.
thatabbygirl's review against another edition
3.0
this is a very good book to read if you know a little about the policy problems facing the working poor and want to get a better idea of the human stories of people affected by them, or if you don't know anything about the daily lives of the working poor and need a good illustration of the thicket of problems trapping them in poverty.
however, if you are looking for a systemic analysis of which policies and procedures create this poverty trap and perpetuate these conditions, this is not the book for you. while it gave me an extremely vivid and personal view into the lives of many individuals and families struggling with poverty in the US because of different reasons - disability, poor education, substandard housing, sexual abuse, domestic violence, etc - but does little to discuss how we can best address, ameliorate, or eliminate these problems.
i have really mixed feelings about these kinds of books. certainly when i hear poverty discussed in political terms, especially by conservatives, there is little acknowledgement of the extremely limiting effect of the interlocking systems and policies of oppression and deprivation - so it's nice to have such a clear illustration of why lack of health insurance can prevent someone from getting a job. on the other hand, the focus on the individual reinforces a sense that poverty should be addressed on the individual level - the book details how church networks managed to keep several individuals from becoming homeless or hungry, thus implying expansion of that level of charitable programming as a solution.
i wanted to read more big picture ideas, that prevent people from getting to this state, that address the systemic problems, and there was not a lot of that in this book.
however, if you are looking for a systemic analysis of which policies and procedures create this poverty trap and perpetuate these conditions, this is not the book for you. while it gave me an extremely vivid and personal view into the lives of many individuals and families struggling with poverty in the US because of different reasons - disability, poor education, substandard housing, sexual abuse, domestic violence, etc - but does little to discuss how we can best address, ameliorate, or eliminate these problems.
i have really mixed feelings about these kinds of books. certainly when i hear poverty discussed in political terms, especially by conservatives, there is little acknowledgement of the extremely limiting effect of the interlocking systems and policies of oppression and deprivation - so it's nice to have such a clear illustration of why lack of health insurance can prevent someone from getting a job. on the other hand, the focus on the individual reinforces a sense that poverty should be addressed on the individual level - the book details how church networks managed to keep several individuals from becoming homeless or hungry, thus implying expansion of that level of charitable programming as a solution.
i wanted to read more big picture ideas, that prevent people from getting to this state, that address the systemic problems, and there was not a lot of that in this book.
deecue2's review against another edition
4.0
Although there weren't any astonishing revelations (and I'm not sure that's even possible with this subject matter) the author did an excellent job of conveying the fragile interrelationships between education, housing, health, upbringing, transportation, health insurance (etc.) and how one problem can trigger a devastating financial setback. He writes, "For practically every family, then, the ingredients of poverty are part financial and part psychological, part personal and part social, part past and part present. Every problem magnifies the impact of the others, and with results far distant from the original cause. A run-down apartment can exacerbate a child's asthma, which leads to a call for an ambulance, which generates a medical bill which cannot be paid, which ruins a credit record, which hikes the interest rate on an auto loan, which forces the purchase of an unreliable used car, which jeopardizes a mother's punctuality at work, which limits her promotions and earning capacity, which confines her to poor housing." He then proceeds to write about real people in such circumstances. And the people he writes about, for the most part, are hard working people struggling to stay off welfare.
The writing is fair and balanced and the author doesn't assign blame. One of the reviews said it was a book every American should read and read now. I wouldn't go that far but I do think it's an important book and to the extent someone is in any way interested in the subject matter I recommend it highly. It is a book I will want my children to read when they approach adulthood.
The writing is fair and balanced and the author doesn't assign blame. One of the reviews said it was a book every American should read and read now. I wouldn't go that far but I do think it's an important book and to the extent someone is in any way interested in the subject matter I recommend it highly. It is a book I will want my children to read when they approach adulthood.
kateland60's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent, excellent, excellent. No surprise, coming from Shipler. Well-informed, easy to read, and helpful for understanding the nuance of a very complex issue.
beladela7's review against another edition
5.0
Blew my mind and upset me greatly. Eye-opening account of several members of the US working poor who live all around us.
agenender's review against another edition
4.0
Really fascinating (and heartbreaking) account of how and why people get stuck in a cycle of poverty. Shipler outlines the causes of poverty through interviews with a couple dozen people, and their stories are a patchwork of bad personal choices, bad luck, poor health, poor education, drugs, physical and/or sexual abuse, inherited conditions, government policies, and societal ills that land or imprison these folks in what is for many of them a permanent state. I have found myself thinking about these people off and on since the day I started the book. Most of the book consists of these stories, but the last chapter is an overview of possible "fixes." The transition from the stories to Shipler's ideas on how to help is jarring, but I'm not sure how he could have done it differently unless he had just let the interviews tell the story and left out the last chapter. This book made me think, and continues to do so, more than any book that I've read in the last few years.
michellegotto's review against another edition
5.0
this book is outstanding and should be required reading - for every high school senior, for every voter, and certainly for EVERY person running for elected office. shipler lays out the problem in an understandable way - and lays blame where it belongs. this is no polemic - there is blame on all sides, government (republicans and democrats alike), society and the poor themselves. if you've never had to worry about how to feed your children, or whether you could keep the heat on, you MUST read this book. it will change the way you look at poverty, our current system, and the way we lift people out of it. (hint: it's not as simple as "get a job.")