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dunderdorian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Overall this was a very informative read, I learned a lot and grew to become invested in the people she writes about. However, it’s quite repetitive, so the actual process of reading it could be a little trying at times. The appendix was really interesting, I really enjoyed seeing more about how she felt trying to integrate in a way that wouldn’t harm the people around her or the study she was conducting. And it was nice to get a more personal perspective, especially with the longer passage at the end about Chuck.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Police brutality, Drug use, and Racial slurs
jpowerj's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly, I couldn't put it better than Cornel West's review: "Alice Goffman's On the Run is the best treatment I know of the wretched underside of neo-liberal capitalist America. Despite the social misery and fragmented relations, she gives us a subtle analysis and poignant portrait of our fellow citizens who struggle to preserve their sanity and dignity."
gcolston1832's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
caitielusbooknook's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Murder, Death, Drug use, Violence, Gun violence, and Police brutality
abrswf's review against another edition
4.0
I dinged this one star because there is a bit too much repetition of the lessons learned at the end of each chapter -- I suspect that is because about 2/3 of this book is a dissertation. But the author is an excellent reporter of what it is like for people of color in the inner city in Philadelphia, and in addition the final third of the book, about what it was like for her personally to become so immersed in this experience, is very powerful. Anyone who cares about "The New Jim Crow" and the impact it is having in the U.S. should read this book, but in addition it is worth reading to the end because the author was so transformed by her "research," and conveys so clearly how that felt.
obscuredbyclouds's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. I'll start off with the positive:
- The topic is fascinating and really important. How there is a whole microcosm where young black men are almost destined to academically fail and end up entangled in criminality. How unjust the system is. How hard it is to break free from any of it.
- I learnt some things (mostly very angering things) about the US-American prison system and the police I didn't know yet. Things that really at times made me wonder "Can this be true? Everyone needs to see how clearly this is not a good system for anyone!"
- The people she writes about are interesting
- It's very easy to read which is not a given with a sociology book
- It's an interesting look at the lives of people I'd normally never get to know
Now the bad stuff:
This is mostly an academic research study and when I look at it from this standpoint, it is severely lacking. As far as methodology goes it's really bad. She meets a few families & groups of friends and draws conclusions that are much too far-reaching for her sample size.
And while it's super interesting that she becomes friends with her subjects, it also clearly obstructs her view and makes it impossible for her to be objective. Which is totally ok in general but not when you still want to write an unbiased work of non-fiction.
As far as enjoying the book goes, the repetition (which are important in academic texts, I know) make it a bit tiresome to read at times. I found myself only skim reading the conclusions at the end of each chapter.
- The topic is fascinating and really important. How there is a whole microcosm where young black men are almost destined to academically fail and end up entangled in criminality. How unjust the system is. How hard it is to break free from any of it.
- I learnt some things (mostly very angering things) about the US-American prison system and the police I didn't know yet. Things that really at times made me wonder "Can this be true? Everyone needs to see how clearly this is not a good system for anyone!"
- The people she writes about are interesting
- It's very easy to read which is not a given with a sociology book
- It's an interesting look at the lives of people I'd normally never get to know
Now the bad stuff:
This is mostly an academic research study and when I look at it from this standpoint, it is severely lacking. As far as methodology goes it's really bad. She meets a few families & groups of friends and draws conclusions that are much too far-reaching for her sample size.
And while it's super interesting that she becomes friends with her subjects, it also clearly obstructs her view and makes it impossible for her to be objective. Which is totally ok in general but not when you still want to write an unbiased work of non-fiction.
As far as enjoying the book goes, the repetition (which are important in academic texts, I know) make it a bit tiresome to read at times. I found myself only skim reading the conclusions at the end of each chapter.
niecytaylor's review against another edition
3.0
The entire time reading this I thought about my review. I wanted to like this book so much because she reminded me of myself during my young advocate days where I wanted to commit a petty crime to be booked in the Baltimore City Detention Center so I could really see what was going on inside. It was just basic. Very repetitious. It could probably be half the pages if she didn't repeat everything so much. To sum it up it was like an intro to urban ethnographies. If I ever went back to teaching Soc101 I'd consider adding it to my class reading list.
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Book review podcast now available - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nt-book-review/id1016232160?mt=2