Reviews

The Other America: Poverty in the United States by Michael Harrington, Irving Howe

mjlin2009's review against another edition

4.0

I like Harrington's straightforward but compassionate approach to describing the plight of the poor. Also a very relevant book for understanding today's America! While reading it, I often forgot that it's a book written over 50 year ago, especially during the chapter describing the rural poor.

bobbo49's review against another edition

4.0

I first read this book forty years or so ago; this version was updated by the author in 1969 and 1981. Much of the discussion of entrenched poverty is still relevant and accurate today; the failure of the country to comprehensively address the issue not only remains a shameful reproach to our wealthy society, but, as the gap between rich and poor only increases over the decades, and the likelihood of a federal solution decreases, the book is a reminder of how far we are from our ideals.

victors314's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

Revealing and informative, even 60 years after the fact. It set the foundation for what could’ve been the most reformative and transformational revolution for modern American poverty.

cpirmann's review against another edition

books I've read,sociology

alexisrt's review against another edition

5.0

This is a depressing read because it's nearly 60 years old and yet so much of it is still true. LBJ's War on Poverty did lessen poverty, especially amongst the elderly. But too many of us believe in Reagan's quip that "we waged a war on poverty, and poverty won"--cutting benefits and giving up. Harrington's book still articulates the problems with conservative thinking on poverty, and his analyses of rural areas and black poverty still have a great deal of truth today.

2000ace's review against another edition

5.0

Michael Harrington's magnum opus on poverty in the United States says right on the cover that it is "the book that sparked the War on Poverty." And it did. Kennedy gave this book to his advisors and green-lighted a plan to eradicate poverty in America three days before he was killed. Lyndon Johnson referenced this book when he made the War of Poverty a reality. Clocking in at only 170 pages, this relatively short book delivered a powerful message for the poor. The closing lines of the book sum it up well:

"The means are at hand to fulfill the age-old dream: poverty can now be abolished. How long shall we ignore this underdeveloped nation in our midst? How long shall we look the other way while our fellow human beings suffer? How long?"

How long, indeed.

hmwestfall's review against another edition

3.0

This was a interesting read. The book was written in the early 60's so the statistics are off compared to where we are now in 2018. Or are they? To be honest, much of what he spoke about still felt applicable to me 50+ years later.