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mcloonejack's review
5.0
“Poverty abolitionists do the difficult thing. They donate to worthy organizations, yes, but they must do more. If charity were enough, well, it would be enough, and this book would be irrelevant.”
Unfortunately, “Poverty, By America” is not irrelevant, but luckily Matthew Desmond has crafted an exhaustive-yet-digestible look at not just what being poor in America looks like, but how this society is built to keep the impoverished there. It is stunning for a book this thorough and unrelenting to be this compact and readable. The main text clocks in at under 200 pages but it doesn’t feel lacking in any respect.
Whether you’re just coming into class consciousness or have been an ardent poverty abolitionist for some time, Desmond has something to offer for you. Particularly for the former, he traces the lines of power and bureaucracy that are purposefully designed to let the rich profit off of poverty with unforgiving clarity and righteous anger. It takes a special author to be this clearly seething but not feel preachy with his text, and Desmond pulls it off.
While the majority of the book can, and should, make you feel incredibly despondent at the shape of this country, Desmond spends the last two chapters framing how we can make things better, some tried and true but not widespread enough (New Jersey gets well-deserved shoutout for its court-mandated affordable housing program which, he notes, sure hasn’t lowered property values as opponents always claim to fear) and some more theoretical.
I finished this book the day the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s student debt relief plan, surely signaling yet another cruel surge in poverty enacted by the powerful. There is unfortunately always a news peg for this book, and it is a must-read.
Unfortunately, “Poverty, By America” is not irrelevant, but luckily Matthew Desmond has crafted an exhaustive-yet-digestible look at not just what being poor in America looks like, but how this society is built to keep the impoverished there. It is stunning for a book this thorough and unrelenting to be this compact and readable. The main text clocks in at under 200 pages but it doesn’t feel lacking in any respect.
Whether you’re just coming into class consciousness or have been an ardent poverty abolitionist for some time, Desmond has something to offer for you. Particularly for the former, he traces the lines of power and bureaucracy that are purposefully designed to let the rich profit off of poverty with unforgiving clarity and righteous anger. It takes a special author to be this clearly seething but not feel preachy with his text, and Desmond pulls it off.
While the majority of the book can, and should, make you feel incredibly despondent at the shape of this country, Desmond spends the last two chapters framing how we can make things better, some tried and true but not widespread enough (New Jersey gets well-deserved shoutout for its court-mandated affordable housing program which, he notes, sure hasn’t lowered property values as opponents always claim to fear) and some more theoretical.
I finished this book the day the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s student debt relief plan, surely signaling yet another cruel surge in poverty enacted by the powerful. There is unfortunately always a news peg for this book, and it is a must-read.
mybookishreverie's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.75
suzehint's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
jallands's review
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.0
For some reason the author is allergic to being anti communist or Marxist -- and no, I see no sign that was a messaging decision. Otherwise it was a good book.
jknoxwhite's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
A solid polemic, makes a good case for what the central issues around poverty are and what it would take to address them.
Having read a lot on the subject, I am not sure it covered a little of new ground for me, but it's a good primer on the subject and compelling.
Having read a lot on the subject, I am not sure it covered a little of new ground for me, but it's a good primer on the subject and compelling.