Understanding Poverty (Russell Sage Foundation Books at Harvard University Press),   ISBN:9780674008762

Customer Rating: 

This was one of our textbooks for a class on inequality and poverty in a graduate public policy program. Which means, unlike the only other reviewer of this book, I've actually read substantial portions of it. This book talks about poverty from a wide variety of perspectives, from unemployment, to housing markets, it provides an overview of welfare and welfare reform, what we've done right, where we're still not meeting the need. It also discusses how those who study poverty have sometimes missed the point. The book is soundly researched and supported by statistical data and analysis. The writers do not presume to know all of the answers, but you'll feel having read it, that they've all thought deeply about these issues. If you want to understand poverty in the US, this is the book to read. Once you've read it, you will be a person who knows more about poverty than what most uninformed people 'know' from having sat in their barcolounger in front of the tv.