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rebeccarowlandbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Data driven and informative with action items on how you can become a poverty abolitionist, as we all, who are not in poverty’s grips, should.
mborer23's review against another edition
5.0
This book dares to ask the reader: what are you willing to do to abolish poverty? And it challenges the reader to get involved, to speak up, to fight for a real safety net that would help all of us, not just the wealthy, that would create a healthier, happier, more educated country.
Essential reading for every American.
Essential reading for every American.
ahmedaminea's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly, the people who criticize the book for not being detailed enough do not understand its point.
If you want to read all the fine print of the statistics, Desmond has multiple lectures, papers, and conferences where the technical details are laid out.
This book is a reminder that behind the numbers, there are people and lives. Treating the poor as numbers is incredibly dehumanizing.
It's always important to remember what it means for the rich to exploit the poor.
If you want to read all the fine print of the statistics, Desmond has multiple lectures, papers, and conferences where the technical details are laid out.
This book is a reminder that behind the numbers, there are people and lives. Treating the poor as numbers is incredibly dehumanizing.
It's always important to remember what it means for the rich to exploit the poor.
quigonchuy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
What a great, short read. A different way of looking at the society we've built. Analyzing it in a way that questions our preconceptions about poverty, wages, housing, tax breaks, social programs, etc. Jam packed with research, facts, and examples from history, the US, other countries around the world. I mean, how he packed this much into this book is astounding.
stromby's review against another edition
4.0
Desmond is such an engaging and invigorating writer - gets you very fired up about the many causes of poverty in our country. This book scratches the surface of a lot of different sub-issues and I just wish he would have dived in a little deeper in the text instead of having to refer to the notes section.
Highly recommend this, and I look forward to eventually reading Evicted too.
Highly recommend this, and I look forward to eventually reading Evicted too.
janaebeaver's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
sadietay's review against another edition
4.0
This book tackled the cruelty of American poverty in a bi-partisan, very well-researched way. The biggest thing I learned was just how much ALL Americans rely on government welfare money…such as tax breaks. I loved his focus on how he wishes “conscientious/activist-led consumerism” could reach to how businesses treat their low-income workers, just like buyers have started to make waves of changes for climate change and animal rights.
There were times where the rhetoric felt so persuasive that it felt like preaching to the choir. If you read a book about US poverty, odds are you already see the inequality as an issue and care about it.
“When we ignore the role that exploitation plays in trapping people in poverty, we end up trapping people in policy that are weak at best and ineffective at worst.”
There were times where the rhetoric felt so persuasive that it felt like preaching to the choir. If you read a book about US poverty, odds are you already see the inequality as an issue and care about it.
“When we ignore the role that exploitation plays in trapping people in poverty, we end up trapping people in policy that are weak at best and ineffective at worst.”
sarah_lynggaard's review against another edition
informative
3.75
i liked this it’s very informative
i will say at times it feels a little unorganised. there is of course a wealth of information and statistics about poverty and its causes in the US but sometimes the constant new statistics made the text feel incoherent and the chapters not rlly what they were about. kind of like “oh wait and this and this and don’t forget this”
it’s also not narrative non fiction at all meaning it’s just facts on facts, more academic than bringing you along on a journey if that makes sense so if you don’t have a real interest in poverty in america and it’s causes i wouldn’t recommend
i will say at times it feels a little unorganised. there is of course a wealth of information and statistics about poverty and its causes in the US but sometimes the constant new statistics made the text feel incoherent and the chapters not rlly what they were about. kind of like “oh wait and this and this and don’t forget this”
it’s also not narrative non fiction at all meaning it’s just facts on facts, more academic than bringing you along on a journey if that makes sense so if you don’t have a real interest in poverty in america and it’s causes i wouldn’t recommend