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mmotleyu's review
4.0
Definitely new ground covered and got me thinking and self examining, especially the help I received. I grew up with this mindset fully engrained from my parents. And the stat that sticks with me...60%of.the world's wealth comes from inheritance
mothergreen3's review
4.0
Appreciated the American history lessons very much. There is so much we are not taught about our country.
otterno11's review
informative
medium-paced
3.5
A quick and informative read, journalist Alissa Quart’s work Bootstrapped calls into question the longstanding cultural myth of “individual responsibility” and “self-reliance” in the US, from its roots to the effects this misconception continues to exert on US society. After all, the idiom “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps” originated as a critique of the concept, being an impossible action, but still, it has come to inform many Americans’ political, economic, and personal ideals. Even as wealth disparity and growing inequality makes even joining or staying in the middle class impossible for many Americans, this attitude persists, throughout Bootstrapped Quart examines the reasons why.
In short, punchy chapters Quart details various aspects of how this “you're on your own” mentality formed in our culture, leading to such absurdities as crowd funding your own medical bills, and ends with some analysis of steps that can be taken to push back against this myth and foster a greater interdependence. While including some interesting points on such ideas as mutual aid, she doesn’t really go into too much depth on any of these topics, though she does provide an easy introduction to these concepts. As a whole, Bootstrapped works as a useful companion piece to Matthew Desmond’s work Poverty by America, examining the same issues through a slightly different lens.
In short, punchy chapters Quart details various aspects of how this “you're on your own” mentality formed in our culture, leading to such absurdities as crowd funding your own medical bills, and ends with some analysis of steps that can be taken to push back against this myth and foster a greater interdependence. While including some interesting points on such ideas as mutual aid, she doesn’t really go into too much depth on any of these topics, though she does provide an easy introduction to these concepts. As a whole, Bootstrapped works as a useful companion piece to Matthew Desmond’s work Poverty by America, examining the same issues through a slightly different lens.
maralyons's review
4.0
Bootstrapped focuses on how the American obsession with self-reliance has permeated our culture with toxic, unrealistic expectations. I fully agree with the author's premise, but still learned a bit about US history. The takeaways are pretty partisan, leaning to progressive ideology, so this may turn some people off if they share different views. I really liked the call to action at the end and ways we can help and build community.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.
jmbq_reads's review
5.0
We've all heard some variation on The American Dream: if you work hard, you will succeed in getting that big job, that big income, that big house, etc. etc. This ideal relies on what Quart calls "bootstrapping" -- the belief that individual effort and self-reliance are what you need to gain material success (and if you don't succeed, it's clearly your own fault). And it is, as Quart reveals over and over in this book, a big fat LIE.
Quart runs the journalism nonprofit Economic Hardship Reporting Project and understands income inequality inside and out, and she shows in this book just how damaging that inequality is in American society and psyches (especially given how that inequality increased throughout the pandemic). The bootstrapping narrative has undergirded American discourse through the days of Benjamin Franklin, Henry David Thoreau, Horatio Alger, Ayn Rand, Ronald Reagan, up to present day, and it has successfully turned most people's attention away from the flawed social safety net and toward "uplifting" personal stories that claim all you need is grit, hustle, or to lean in.
This book offers an insightful look at the origins of the myth of individualism and how it has promoted the idea of inequality as status quo, and it will have you rethinking many of your own long-held beliefs or assumptions. Quart goes on to examine the burdens that the American Dream places on people, from the lack of assistance in paying medical bills or caring for children to the ongoing grind of hustle culture and the gig economy. The last section of the book presents suggestions for how to turn from the bootstrapping ideal to mutual aid and interdependence within our communities. (It would have been especially helpful to list ideas for pressuring lawmakers to change laws in order to help eradicate inequality, but I do recognize that that is a major, multifaceted endeavor.)
An absolutely vital read for those wanting to understand how we can combat the inequality that affects more and more of us every year -- and how we can create a supportive social safety net that catches everyone.
4.5 stars rounded up
Thank you, Ecco/HarperCollins and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.
Quart runs the journalism nonprofit Economic Hardship Reporting Project and understands income inequality inside and out, and she shows in this book just how damaging that inequality is in American society and psyches (especially given how that inequality increased throughout the pandemic). The bootstrapping narrative has undergirded American discourse through the days of Benjamin Franklin, Henry David Thoreau, Horatio Alger, Ayn Rand, Ronald Reagan, up to present day, and it has successfully turned most people's attention away from the flawed social safety net and toward "uplifting" personal stories that claim all you need is grit, hustle, or to lean in.
This book offers an insightful look at the origins of the myth of individualism and how it has promoted the idea of inequality as status quo, and it will have you rethinking many of your own long-held beliefs or assumptions. Quart goes on to examine the burdens that the American Dream places on people, from the lack of assistance in paying medical bills or caring for children to the ongoing grind of hustle culture and the gig economy. The last section of the book presents suggestions for how to turn from the bootstrapping ideal to mutual aid and interdependence within our communities. (It would have been especially helpful to list ideas for pressuring lawmakers to change laws in order to help eradicate inequality, but I do recognize that that is a major, multifaceted endeavor.)
An absolutely vital read for those wanting to understand how we can combat the inequality that affects more and more of us every year -- and how we can create a supportive social safety net that catches everyone.
4.5 stars rounded up
Thank you, Ecco/HarperCollins and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.
katiemulcahy122's review against another edition
Accidental DNF at 7% because I got distracted and the library book expired. I'll get back to it eventually.