The Working Poor
Invisible in America
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Narrated by:
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Peter Ganim
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By:
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David K. Shipler
About this listen
Nobody who works hard should be poor in America, writes Pulitzer Prize-winner David Shipler. Clear-headed, rigorous, and compassionate, he journeys deeply into the lives of individual store clerks and factory workers, farm laborers and sweat-shop seamstresses, illegal immigrants in menial jobs, and Americans saddled with immense student loans and paltry wages. They are known as the working poor.
They perform labor essential to America's comfort. They are white and black, Latino and Asian - men and women in small towns and city slums trapped near the poverty line, where the margins are so tight that even minor setbacks can cause devastating chain reactions. Shipler shows how liberals and conservatives are both partly right - that practically every life story contains failure by both the society and the individual. Braced by hard fact and personal testimony, he unravels the forces that confine people in the quagmire of low wages. And unlike most works on poverty, this book also offers compelling portraits of employers struggling against razor-thin profits and competition from abroad.
With pointed recommendations for change that will challenge Republicans and Democrats alike, The Working Poor stands to make a difference.
©2004 David K. Shipler (P)2011 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Uri Gneezy, John A. List
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Uri Gneezy and John List are like the anthropologists who spend months in the field studying the people in their native habitats. But in their case they embed themselves in our messy world to try and solve big, difficult problems, such as the gap between rich and poor students and the violence plaguing inner city schools; the real reasons people discriminate; whether women are really less competitive than men; and how to correctly price products and services. Their field experiments show how economic incentives can change outcomes.
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Some Interesting Insights But Poor Science
- By Harold Toomey on 06-09-23
By: Uri Gneezy, and others
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The End of Men
- And the Rise of Women
- By: Hanna Rosin
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Men have been the dominant sex since - well, the dawn of mankind. And yet, as journalist Hanna Rosin discovered, that long-held truth is no longer true. At this unprecedented moment, women are no longer merely gaining on men; they have pulled decisively ahead by almost every measure. Already "the end of men" - the phrase Rosin coined - has entered the lexicon as indelibly as Simone de Beauvoir’s "second sex", Betty Friedan’s "feminine mystique", Susan Faludi’s "backlash", and Naomi Wolf’s "beauty myth" have.
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Great book, don't care for the reader's style
- By Darren on 12-05-12
By: Hanna Rosin
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Confucius Never Said
- By: Helen Raleigh
- Narrated by: Helen Raleigh
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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This book is a four-generation family journey from repression and poverty in China to freedom and prosperity in the United States. Their lives overlap with many significant historical events taking....
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Wake up America
- By K and J on 12-14-19
By: Helen Raleigh
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Overwhelmed
- Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time
- By: Brigid Schulte
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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According to the Leisure Studies Department at the University of Iowa, true leisure is “that place in which we realize our humanity.” If that’s true, argues Brigid Schulte, then we're doing dangerously little realizing of our humanity. In Overwhelmed, Schulte, a staff writer for The Washington Post, asks: Are our brains, our partners, our culture, and our bosses making it impossible for us to experience anything but “contaminated time”?
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Depressing, Dreary Listening Experience
- By Deb A on 04-19-15
By: Brigid Schulte
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One Child
- The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment
- By: Mei Fong
- Narrated by: Janet Song
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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When Communist Party leaders adopted the one-child policy in 1980, they hoped curbing birthrates would help lift China's poorest and increase the country's global stature. But at what cost? Now, as China closes the book on the policy after more than three decades, it faces a population grown too old and too male, with a vastly diminished supply of young workers. Mei Fong has spent years documenting the policy's repercussions on every sector of Chinese society.
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Best Book Club Discussion Ever!!
- By Rachael W. Schettenhelm on 05-01-17
By: Mei Fong
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A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves
- One Family and Migration in the 21st Century
- By: Jason DeParle
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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When Jason DeParle moved into the Manila slums with Tita Comodas and her family three decades ago, he never imagined his reporting on them would span three generations and turn into the defining chronicle of a new age - the age of global migration. In a monumental book that gives new meaning to "immersion journalism", DeParle paints an intimate portrait of an unforgettable family as they endure years of sacrifice and separation, willing themselves out of shantytown poverty into a new global middle class.
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Excellent and Important
- By Booklover on 03-22-20
By: Jason DeParle
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Nickel and Dimed
- On (Not) Getting By in America
- By: Barbara Ehrenreich
- Narrated by: Cristine McMurdo-Wallis
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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This engrossing piece of undercover reportage has been a fixture on the New York Times best seller list since its publication. With nearly a million copies in print, Nickel and Dimed is a modern classic that deftly portrays the plight of America's working-class poor.
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Good concept, but poor execution.
- By Marco Forcone on 08-24-04
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Methland
- The Death and Life of an American Small Town
- By: Nick Reding
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Crystal methamphetamine is widely considered to be the most dangerous drug in the world, and nowhere is that more true than in the small towns of the American heartland. Methland tells the story of Oelwein, Iowa (pop. 6,159), which, like thousands of other small towns across the country, has been left in the dust by the consolidation of the agricultural industry, a depressed local economy, and an out-migration of people.
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Beautifully written, but insubstantial
- By Flavius Krakdaddius on 02-10-10
By: Nick Reding
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Becoming Ms. Burton
- From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women
- By: Susan Burton, Cari Lynn
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Susan Burton's world changed in an instant when her five-year-old son was killed by a van driving down their street. Consumed by grief and without access to professional help, Susan self-medicated, becoming addicted first to cocaine then to crack. As a resident of South Los Angeles, a Black community under siege in the War on Drugs, it was but a matter of time before Susan was arrested. She cycled in and out of prison for over 15 years; never was she offered therapy or treatment for addiction.
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Compelling
- By Jean on 06-18-17
By: Susan Burton, and others
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Savage Inequalities
- Children in America's Schools
- By: Jonathan Kozol
- Narrated by: Mark Winston
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Jonathan Kozol traveled from the most blighted neighborhoods of Chicago to the urban wreckage of Camden, New Jersey; from the ghetto suburbs of Detroit to inner-city San Antonio; East St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. Everywhere, he discovered separate systems of public schools, with the children of America's poor condemned to schools that are underfunded, understaffed, physically crumbling, and imbued with despair.
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Excellent book for budding education professionals
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-17
By: Jonathan Kozol
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A Bittersweet Season
- Caring for Our Aging Parents - And Ourselves
- By: Jane Gross
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In telling the intimate story of caring for her aged and ailing mother, Jane Gross offers indispensable, and often surprising, advice for the rapidly increasing number of adult children responsible for aging parents. Gross deftly weaves the specifics of her personal experience with a comprehensive resource for effectively managing the lives of one's own parents while keeping sanity and strength intact.
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Exceptional, thought-provoking, liberating!
- By Anne on 08-10-11
By: Jane Gross
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Nickel and Dimed
- On (Not) Getting By in America
- By: Barbara Ehrenreich
- Narrated by: Cristine McMurdo-Wallis
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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This engrossing piece of undercover reportage has been a fixture on the New York Times best seller list since its publication. With nearly a million copies in print, Nickel and Dimed is a modern classic that deftly portrays the plight of America's working-class poor.
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Good concept, but poor execution.
- By Marco Forcone on 08-24-04
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$2.00 a Day
- Living on Almost Nothing in America
- By: Kathryn Edin, H. Luke Shaefer
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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There are, in the United States, a significant and growing number of families who live on less than $2.00 per person, per day. That figure, the World Bank measure of poverty, is hard to imagine in this country - most of us spend more than that before we get to work or school in the morning.
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I'm a conservative and this isn't bad
- By Richard L on 07-04-16
By: Kathryn Edin, and others
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Evicted
- Poverty and Profit in the American City
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.
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Former Property Manager
- By Charla on 05-18-16
By: Matthew Desmond
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Poverty, by America
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
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A testimonial based on facts and witness
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-27-23
By: Matthew Desmond
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Hand to Mouth
- Living in Bootstrap America
- By: Linda Tirado
- Narrated by: Linda Tirado
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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In her thought-provoking voice, Tirado discusses how she went from lower-middle class, to sometimes middle class, to poor and everything in between, and in doing so reveals why "poor people don't always behave the way middle-class America thinks they should."
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Buy the written copy, NOT the audio by the author
- By Jacqueline on 12-30-14
By: Linda Tirado
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Broke in America
- Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty
- By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, Bomani Jones - foreword
- Narrated by: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, JD Jackson
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Nearly 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line - about $26,200 for a family of four. Low-income families and individuals are everywhere, from cities to rural communities. While poverty is commonly seen as a personal failure, or a deficiency of character or knowledge, it's actually the result of bad policy. Public policy has purposefully erected barriers that deny access to basic needs, creating a society where people can easily become trapped - not because we lack the resources to lift them out, but because we are actively choosing not to.
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very left leaning
- By Bert Sloan on 09-06-22
By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, and others
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Nickel and Dimed
- On (Not) Getting By in America
- By: Barbara Ehrenreich
- Narrated by: Cristine McMurdo-Wallis
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This engrossing piece of undercover reportage has been a fixture on the New York Times best seller list since its publication. With nearly a million copies in print, Nickel and Dimed is a modern classic that deftly portrays the plight of America's working-class poor.
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-
Good concept, but poor execution.
- By Marco Forcone on 08-24-04
-
$2.00 a Day
- Living on Almost Nothing in America
- By: Kathryn Edin, H. Luke Shaefer
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are, in the United States, a significant and growing number of families who live on less than $2.00 per person, per day. That figure, the World Bank measure of poverty, is hard to imagine in this country - most of us spend more than that before we get to work or school in the morning.
-
-
I'm a conservative and this isn't bad
- By Richard L on 07-04-16
By: Kathryn Edin, and others
-
Evicted
- Poverty and Profit in the American City
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.
-
-
Former Property Manager
- By Charla on 05-18-16
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Poverty, by America
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
-
-
A testimonial based on facts and witness
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-27-23
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Hand to Mouth
- Living in Bootstrap America
- By: Linda Tirado
- Narrated by: Linda Tirado
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her thought-provoking voice, Tirado discusses how she went from lower-middle class, to sometimes middle class, to poor and everything in between, and in doing so reveals why "poor people don't always behave the way middle-class America thinks they should."
-
-
Buy the written copy, NOT the audio by the author
- By Jacqueline on 12-30-14
By: Linda Tirado
-
Broke in America
- Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty
- By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, Bomani Jones - foreword
- Narrated by: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, JD Jackson
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nearly 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line - about $26,200 for a family of four. Low-income families and individuals are everywhere, from cities to rural communities. While poverty is commonly seen as a personal failure, or a deficiency of character or knowledge, it's actually the result of bad policy. Public policy has purposefully erected barriers that deny access to basic needs, creating a society where people can easily become trapped - not because we lack the resources to lift them out, but because we are actively choosing not to.
-
-
very left leaning
- By Bert Sloan on 09-06-22
By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, and others
What listeners say about The Working Poor
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tyron
- 10-22-16
Depth, Breadth and Authenticity
The author was able to capture the joys and pains of the individual experiences, while compressing an complex topic into palatable portions. Thanks for telling MY story and enlightening me to the plight of many others!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lee Ganey
- 05-01-20
Very good.
A beautiful book with interesting stories. It says I have nine words remaining, so yeah.
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- Cynthia
- 07-28-12
Textbook Perfect Discussion of the Problem
When I purchased this, I was expecting a book closer to Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickle and Dimed: On (not) Getting by In America", or James D. Scurlock's "Maxed Out". Ehrenrich's and Scurlock's books are very good, but lightly touch on specific aspects of the problem.
I was pleased to find that "The Working Poor: Invisible in America" is a much more comprehensive and thoroughly researched book on the topic. In fact, it's so good, it really could be used in a college course on the subject.
At times, the author was bogged down in minute detail. The detail was appropriate, but sometimes wandered from the topic and was hard to follow.
I appreciated that this isn't a "those people" kind of book. When he uses real-life examples, Shipler knows and appreciates his subjects. He approaches them with clear eyes, neither deifying or demonizing them.
The performance was a little rough and slow. I would have appreciated a little faster narration.
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8 people found this helpful
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- nancy
- 10-05-12
A Must Read Book for the Middle-Class
Would you listen to The Working Poor again? Why?
Yes, because there are many statistics and stories in it that I'd like to reference to others.
What other book might you compare The Working Poor to and why?
Ruby Payne's The Culture of Understanding Poverty
What does Peter Ganim bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He did a fine job at voicing the various people highlighted in the book. Consequently, it was easy to keep them apart.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The part about the under-nourished children and day-care issues for working/welfare mothers was heart-rending. Shame on us for allowing this to happen in a country where we have so much.
Any additional comments?
The Working Poor very carefully explains the multitude of obstacles interfering with chronically poor American's inability to work their way into the middle class. Even though many of these deterrents are self-imposed, they are handicaps nevertheless. He also offers some sound solutions and inspirational programs that give a hand up and not just a hand out.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Karenbeth
- 03-22-15
Errors in the reading.
I found as I was listening the story, many of the facts were slightly different then the reading in the book. Still helped me comprehend on a deeper level the depth of the book.
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- Eduardo f
- 10-02-18
it deserves a Nobel prize for the work
full of facts and stories of real people, analyze how poverty is connected to many factors and how difficult it might be for someone to get out of poverty if does not have the right tools and connections, how easy is for someone in the middle class without proper back up to fall under the horrendous situation of poverty.
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- Alicia
- 10-18-18
A must read
This book should be read in every high school in America. Many are oblivious to the realities of the so called American Dream. It’s a nightmare to many.
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- E. Constantine
- 07-27-19
Thoughtful presentation of facts through stories
This is an important topic told well through stories of real people working hard when the odds are against them. It is a good opportunity for conservatives and liberals to understand the impacts of their policies.
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- Willis J. McDonald
- 08-18-18
Very informative
This book is an eye opener and has placed a new meaning for life, work and education to me. A definite read for anyone to overcome poverty
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- M Bell
- 06-29-18
One of the best books on poverty
This is truly one of the most thorough, comprehensive, holistic views of poverty that I have ever read.
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