- ISBN13: 9780684826783
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
This powerful account draws on research by sociologists and economists to reveal the depth of the poverty crisis, analyzing why such “invisible” citizens as the elderly, children, and minorities are not given adequate opportunities. Originally published in 1962, Harrington’s classic work on the plight of the poor in the midst of plenty remains all too relevant today…. More >>
The Other America: Poverty in the United States
I was bored. I want real stories and examples. I read “There are no Children here” and loved it!!! I read somewhere that the author was inspired by this book, so I couldn’t wait to get it. My guess is this author is a liberal, and not objective. The information was boring and one sided. I would have probably liked it more if the time frame was more current. I want to know more about today, not the 60’s.
Rating: 1 / 5
This is a classic for sure but a classic of what? Most of the people Harrington writes about have created their own worlds and then populated them. Yes, we do feel sorry for the underprivileged but most people in America have the privilege of a free education, free libraries and free charity. If they fail, whose fault is it?
Rating: 4 / 5
The Other America has been around for a very long time. I read it when it first came out in 1962, and did not like it at all, because its basic thesis is that poverty is the result of cultural pathology (except in the case of the elderly). At the time I was a radical SDS anti-poverty and anti-war activist, and our ideology was that the poor were exploited and discriminated against, and simply lacked money. We had nothing but contempt for the notion of a “culture of poverty,” because that implied that the poor were responsible for their own fate.
Well, I and my friends were very wrong. There is a culture of poverty and it accounts for much poverty, and this does not mean that we should ignore it because it’s the poor’s own fault. There but for the Grace of God go I, and you, dear reader, as well.
The deep accuracy and sensitivity with which Harrington portrays cultures of poverty ring as true today as a half century ago. The tragedy is that the War on Poverty and other anti-poverty measures of the last third of the Twentieth Century did not understand Harrington’s analysis, and treated poverty as the simple lack of material resources. How could the Federal Government have build public housing complexes, true breeding grounds of social pathologies, after reading Harrington’s depiction of urban poverty. What an unmitigated tragedy.
Many years ago I changed from criticizing the “blame the victim” mentality to embracing the notion that the victims should always blame themselves, because they are the only one who have the combined power and will to change things. When I am oppressed it is my fault and I better damn well figure out how to change the situation. Poverty in America will only be overcome when the culture of poverty is attacked, with vengeance and steadfastness, by the communities that are exploited by their pathological cultures of apathy and ignorance.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is the seminal work on the poor in America, analyzed within the context of government proffered, anti-poverty programs. It is a scathing critique and analysis of the war on poverty, where bold rhetoric and political grandstanding have often supplanted action. The author in his analysis categorizes poverty as a cultural and often institutional way of life that would require radical innovations, social planning, and long term financial investment, were the government really serious about eradicating poverty in America. What is amazing is that the arguments made by the author, when he wrote this over book forty years ago, are still sound today.
Rating: 4 / 5
I had to read this book for my History 1302 class and I must say I’m glad I chose this book out of all the others. The book was very easy to read, however, it sometimes gets confusing when all the facts about poverty are referenced at the same time. Although this book is short, at certain times it feels like Harrington is dragging out his ideology. Nonetheless, This book opened my eyes to the poverty in America not only in the past, but at its’ present state.
Rating: 4 / 5