Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond

POVERTY, BY AMERICA by Matthew Desmond (Evicted) has been getting quite a bit of attention lately, including coverage in The New York Times, The Guardian, and Economist. Plus Desmond, Professor of Sociology, Princeton University, will be speaking April 12 at local Family Action Network events with fellow scholars Reuben Jonathan Miller and Alex Kotlowitz. If you cannot make either event, a video recording of the evening session should be posted soon. Desmond’s analytical ability and skills as an award-winning author are once again evident as he encourages readers to tackle tough questions, particularly “Why Haven’t We Made More Progress?” He is unflinching in his commentary, noting in the prologue that “This is who we are: the richest country on earth, with more poverty that any other advanced democracy,” stressing that the United States has more poor people than Australia or Venezuela’s entire populations. The statistics are astounding (e.g., more than one million public school children are homeless), but Desmond wants his readers to move beyond looking at the poor, saying “those of us living lives of privilege and plenty must examine ourselves.” POVERTY, BY AMERICA received a starred review from Booklist and will be on our shelves soon.