Outstanding and eye-opening

In this outstanding and eye-opening ethnography, Matthew Desmond provided the public with an incredibly interesting look at inequality through the lens of housing accommodations for the poorest and most marginalized citizens in America. Despite studying inequality at length and reading as many books on inequality that I can get my hands on, this book really stood out because it added a level of complexity to my understanding of how inequality is maintained.

The writing was so exceptional, it was easy to become engrossed in the story of each person that I forgot that I was reading what amounts to a sociology book on human rights. The author did an excellent job of bringing to life the problems faced by both tenants and landlords in the slums of America.

In the epilogue he really tied everything together by both brining the reader back into the lives of many of the people discussed in the book and clearly connecting the dots between the stability provided by having a roof over one's head and how that stability is the only path to becoming a productive citizen. He thoughtfully questioned how high eviction rates might destabilize whole communities and contribute to crime. Desmond argued eloquently and convincingly that programs aimed at helping the poor find stable homes would be far more effective in creating productive citizens than policies aimed at punishing. In fact, putting money toward housing would be less expensive than what we pay to help these same citizens once they are fully homeless. His argument on this point was particularly salient. Similarly, it might be cheaper and more effective to help treat those with addiction than to punish them. Treatment over incarceration is something I have studied at length, which made me particularly happy to read his arguments.

Some of the questions Desmond tackles in this book are:

Who is eligible for housing assistance?
Who is not?
What are the results of these policies?
How do they affect the lives of poor and marginalized families who might have had a chance of living in the world in what would be considered a legitimate way?
How have these policies created more hurdles for those who already have such a steep climb to live a life of even the tiniest privilege?

37 people found this helpful

Intimate Cycle of Systematic Failure & Bad Choices

I honestly didn't know what to expect from this book. I chose this book because of the narrator, not the author or content. So i guess I'll start with the Dion. As always, Dion does an excellent job. I could listen to him read all day. He does an excellent job with the various voices and makes you feel their struggle, insecurities, worries and contentment. His narration makes the cases in the book more realistic than if I was just reading to myself.

As for the book itself, I was surprised at how engaging it was. I thought it would be a whole bunch of stats and studies, but it was a perspective book. It follows 8 families through their life of poverty for about a year in their own words. It shows a point of view of our country's poorest and how the cycle of the system and sometimes their decisions keeps them from prospering.

It was a very eye opening book. Things I thought I knew or assumed I knew were thrown out the window. It can become disheartening to see how a country with so many opportunities sets some of it's citizens up for consistent failure. Please don't get me wrong, the families showcased in this book made several bad decisions, but it seems as though when they want to do right; success is stacked against them.

It was also interesting to see the landlord's point of view. Although they seem harsh, I got the feeling that they had to be like that in that line of work or they would have been taken advantage of regularly. The neglect and sub-conditions was uncalled for though. One landlord seemed to take pride in how badly she treated her tenants.

What struck a cord with me the most are the children that were/are affected by the decisions of the parents. The poverty/evictions clearly shows the effects on the children. Outbursts of anger, lack of willingness to connect to people/items, hardening of hearts, partial education, etc... It seems as if they're in the pre-stages of the same cycle due to no fault of their own. It definitely makes you stop and think.

I would recommend this book. It gives you a different perspective about the casualties of a system that you may assume you understand. I believe the tenants and the landlords are both casualties, but most of all the children. I don't necessarily agree with all of the authors summaries at the end, but I do agree that something different must be done. I'll be pondering this one for a while.

18 people found this helpful

Read this powerful book about USA's social justice

If you could sum up Evicted in three words, what would they be?

Powerful. Depressing. Eye-opening

What was one of the most memorable moments of Evicted?

The epilogue was great to hear what really happened to the author in order to gain the depth of research he obviously reached to publish such an amazing, comprehensive, empathetic story.

Which character – as performed by Dion Graham – was your favorite?

n/a

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

This is not fiction - it's real life.

Any additional comments?

After you read Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption and The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, read Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. Outstanding real-life stories of the ongoing evictions of Americans happening every day across our country.

Having a roof over your head is central to one's health and happiness, yet millions are evicted every year, causing an ongoing spiral of poverty, poor health, and related unhappiness and mental health. After reading this book, I agree with the amazing research results of Matthew Desmond and others; we need to start a national dialog on homes for all Americans, since a stable home is central to our founding father's wish for all Americans to the "unalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness"... building more affordable housing, increasing the minimum wage, or hiring attorneys to represent tenants in eviction court are just some of the ways we can change the ongoing evictions in our country.

Can't recommend this book highly enough.

31 people found this helpful

A Must Read

I am by nature, a political conservative. I believe we have many protections afforded the less fortunate and believe as a whole this country does this as well as any nation on earth. Having said that I fully concede we can argue about the reason or cause of poverty yet until what Mr Desmond writes about is included in this discussion we are shoveling against the tide.

I often ask what plan can any politician offer that will improve the fate of single mother who did not graduate high school and now is trying to raise a child or two or more. The truth is nothing. The very act, as I believe this book proves, of surviving takes an enormous effort. So perhaps we help incrementally.

A plan to help offset this craziness of simply trying and retrying to find a place to live is something that can be done and done quickly. If we as a society allow these people to catch their breath, it benefits all.

As I said a am a conservative. I believe that our decisions impact our lives. But I also believe the children in this story are very likely to stay in this same cycle unless something is done. It make sponsors sense to have the children pay for adult errors.

The story in this book is excellent, and the performance is great. I look forward to his next work.

14 people found this helpful

Former Property Manager

It was very interesting.
A reality check for those of us who have never faced eviction.
As a former property manager I feel some guilt for pursing evictions so forcefully over the years. In the event I'm in that position again I know I'll remember to show compassion and remember the awful outcomes referenced in this book of the homeless.
We're all neighbors in this life!

51 people found this helpful

Fantastic book from a non non-fiction listen

First, the only way I stumbled on this book is because I was listening to The Force by Don Winslow, and Dion Graham happened to be the narrator. I liked Graham enough that I wanted to see what else he narrated. I found this book, and thought it looked interesting.

Let me also say that 99% of the audiobooks I listen to are mysteries and thrillers.

This book was so good. It was in-depth beyond believe. I was hooked to it like I get to an exciting thriller novel. I can't recommend it enough, and Dion Graham is one of the best narrators out there. Fantastic listen.

16 people found this helpful

Excellent Job, Interesting Read

I really enjoyed getting insight into the struggles of the subjects in this book. This book exposed struggles that I was not aware of - making the affects of the housing crisis salient to me. I appreciate the author's authentic and honest method of gathering information. As a black man in an large urban metro, it felt as if I was speaking to a family member or church member going through similar experiences: this is especially impressive considering the author's background. This was truly an enlightening book that is required reading for a thoughtful discussion on modern poverty in our communities.

6 people found this helpful

Worthy read

It's a heartbreaking well written book that takes you face-to-face with the private housing market.- it's winners and losers. While some of the stories are profoundly sad, he ends the book with a note of hope. Poverty has not removed their deep humanity. If we develop the political will we can reverse this unjust social design.

It's a must read for anyone who thinks they understand poverty, it's causes, it's victims and it's perpetrators.

5 people found this helpful

Disappointing Poverty Porn

I was expecting this book to talk about ways to SOLVE our desperate affordable housing problem, or at least a historical/sociological analysis of how we got here, but instead it offered moving portraits of several people and families in the grip of extreme poverty and housing insecurity. I'm sure it might be useful for someone whose wealth and privilege so insulate them from real life that they've never known anyone poor, evicted, or homeless. Instead, to me, it just felt tawdry and exploitative, capitalizing on people's pain while offering very, very little (one very short chapter at the end) analysis or solutions. The writing is, however, very strong, and the performance is good as well.

4 people found this helpful

A story that needed to be told!

This book has revealed many unspoken truths about poverty, homelessness, addiction, hunger, and the fact that the love of money has taken presidence over basic humanity. I have already recommended it to 4 people. Great work Mr. Desmond!

4 people found this helpful