Evicted

Poverty and Profit in the American City

De: Matthew Desmond

Narrado por: Dion Graham

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • One of the most acclaimed books of our time, this modern classic “has set a new standard for reporting on poverty” (Barbara Ehrenreich, The New York Times Book Review).

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.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY President Barack Obama • The New York Times Book Review • The Boston Globe • The Washington Post • NPR • Entertainment Weekly • The New Yorker • Bloomberg • Esquire • BuzzFeed • Fortune • San Francisco Chronicle • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Politico • The Week • Chicago Public Library • BookPage • Kirkus Reviews • Library Journal • Publishers Weekly • Booklist • Shelf Awareness

WINNER OF: The National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction • The PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction • The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction • The Hillman Prize for Book Journalism • The PEN/New England Award • The Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize

FINALIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE AND THE KIRKUS PRIZE

“Evicted stands among the very best of the social justice books.”—Ann Patchett, author of Bel Canto and Commonwealth

“Gripping and moving—tragic, too.”—Jesmyn Ward, author of Salvage the Bones

“Evicted is that rare work that has something genuinely new to say about poverty.”—San Francisco Chronicle

©2016 Matthew Desmond (P)2016 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Astonishing... Desmond has set a new standard for reporting on poverty.”—Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times Book Review

“After reading Evicted, you’ll realize you cannot have a serious conversation about poverty without talking about housing. . . . The book is that good, and it’s that unignorable.”—Jennifer Senior, New York Times

“This book gave me a better sense of what it is like to be very poor in this country than anything else I have read. . . . It is beautifully written, thought-provoking, and unforgettable.”—Bill Gates

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?

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.

Astonishing and crushing story

This book was impossible to stop listening to. Powerful and gripping from start to finish

Bleak but worthwhile read!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Scott's story about losing his nursing job due to addiction, and the subsequent evictions and struggles he went through really resonated with me. I can't explain why it got to me so much, except that I know people struggling with addiction and it is always compelling to hear the story behind the addiction.

What does Dion Graham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did a great job bringing voices and personality to each character that appeared, really bringing everyone to life. When I listen to an audiobook, I really pay attention to how the reader brings inflection and tone to the narration, and Dion did a good job here. I found his voice really comfortable to listen to as well, which is important to me.

Any additional comments?

This book is an insightful look inside the world of poverty and housing, bringing to light a unique view on just why it is so expensive to be poor. It shows how hard it can be to break the cycle of poverty.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the way the author chose to tell it - from the point of view of various people on both sides of the tracks, so to speak. It was not just a dry read of facts, but a story. Several stories. This was a worthwhile read, even if it was a bleak and depressing story.

Should be mandatory reading/listening!

What did you love best about Evicted?

The incredible care and tact the author displayed in his dealing with the very vulnerable population he studied

What other book might you compare Evicted to and why?

this would be great book to read together with M. Quiones Dreamland (about the heroin epidemic in the US) and/or Ghettoside.

What about Dion Graham’s performance did you like?

He did a great job keeping the 'voices' separate - I really felt like each of the people studied was a recognizable individual.

If you could give Evicted a new subtitle, what would it be?

The Underside of the American Dream

Any additional comments?

I'm not sure why Audible offered me a new recording of this title. The original recording, which I listened to in toto as soon as it became available, was just fine.

an eye opening experience

I loved this book. It was hard to read but not at any fault to the author but due to my peraonal limited experience with the topic at hand. Systemic racism is a problem and i am now more aware/woke to the reasons behind our issues and desperations. Thank you for this eye opening experience.

Incredibly important work

Matthew Desmond reveals an entire area of need that has never before been written about previously. The people in the in the book offer compelling stories of mistreatment by systems that are designed to provide support. Obstacles are so hard to conquer that many have given up. What a sad state we are in. A must read for those of us trying to help families and children.

Beautiful, Insightful.

Initially, I had felt that the pacing was very slow, and the stories were more or less monotonous. But that’s exactly what poverty is. These real-life stories don’t follow plot structures like the heroes journey. There’s no reward for simply existing. And Matthew Desmond writes the book in just that way. Arleen never found her kids a nice place to live. It’s not done to make the story a tragedy, but because it’s not a tragedy. It’s real life.

Enough rambling, go read it yourself. Worth every dollar and penny

Amazing book!

This is a must read / must listen for anyone interested in poverty and housing. Incredible book and terrific narration.

Moving

before you listen to this book, realize you will not finish it the same person as the one who started.