Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation
By:
Jonathan Kozol
Buy it now at Amazon.com!
Lowest New Price: $6.25
List Price: $14.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Description:
The children in this book defy the stereotypes of urban youth too frequently presented by the media. Tender, generous and often religiously devout, they speak with eloquence and honesty about the poverty and racial isolation that have wounded but not hardened them. The book does not romanticize or soften the effects of violence and sickness. One fourth of the child-bearing women in the neighborhoods where these children live test positive for HIV. Pediatric AIDs, life-consuming fires and gang rivalries take a high toll. Several children die during the year in which this narrative takes place. A gently written work, Amazing Grace asks questions that are at once political and theological. What is the value of a child's life? What exactly do we plan to do with those whom we appear to have defined as economically and humanly superfluous? How cold -- how cruel, how tough -- do we dare be?
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: 1996-09-27
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
PERFECT Condition & Fast Shipping! - The book is in perfect condition, not a single rip or tear, no markings..GREAT PRICE TOO!!
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Amazing Grace - Amazing Grace
Jonathan Kozol
1995
Genre: Nonfiction
Topic: Living conditions of minority children in the Mott Haven neighborhood of New York's South Bronx
ISBN: 0-06-097697-7
In his introduction to Amazing Grace, Jonathan Kozol writes, "When I look for hope these days, I tend to look less often to external signs of progress such as housing reconstruction...than to the words and prayers of children and the spiritual resilience of so many of their mothers and grandmothers. It is, above all, the very young whose luminous capacity for tenderness and love and a transcendent sense of faith in human decency give me reason for hope."
This is a fitting introduction to a book that offers an insight into the lives of people in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States, the Mott Haven district of the South Bronx. His purpose is to draw attention to the fact that although many social reconstruction projects have been initiated over the years, true change does not come from government projects, but rather from committed and caring individuals.
By conducting numerous interviews with both children and adults, Kozol shares the insights of Mott Haven residents who both recognize the need for change and are working to improve their environment. One individual is the Reverend Martha Overall, a woman who abandoned a career as a corporate attorney in favor of a service ministry. She works with extremely poor individuals at St. Ann's church, in a neighborhood where drug needles are passed out for free to prevent drug addicts from spreading AIDS by using shared needles. He also interviews Alice Washington, a woman who was desperately ill with both cancer and AIDS but still found time to help her children, her grandchildren, and her neighbors, and Mr. Castro, a writer who took a teenaged boy under his wing and gave him food and guidance. Throughout the story, he shows how the residents of this desperately poor neighborhood are attempting in their own small way to provide stability and offer compassion to those around them.
Amazing Grace is organized simply in numbered chapters, and there is no table of contents. The book is not illustrated. The `Note' section at the end of the book provides the original sources for newspaper articles and other documents which were used as reference material. Amazing Grace is written from the first person, and the writing style is informal and conversational, yet it is articulate and coherent. Kozol uses interviews with individuals from Mott Haven to illustrate the point that although government programs are helpful up to a point, true change will not come without the consent and participation of individual citizens.
This book affected me because like Mr. Kozol, I'm also a teacher, and although my students are far from Mott Haven, I see many of the same health issues and concerns among my minority students and their families, such as asthma, dental problems and untreated medical conditions. Many of the parents of my students are in jail, in gangs, or on drugs. Nearly all of my kids qualify for free and reduced lunches. I could relate with many of the concerns faced by the children of Mott Haven because I see the same types of issues in my own students each day. It surprised me because I didn't expect to see so many similarities, and it made me sad because despite `the words and prayers of children and the spiritual resilience of so many of their mothers and grandmothers,' the fact remains that the residents of Mott Haven as well as in many other locations, such as my own, remain desperately poor and have little hope for a better future.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
The most vivid imagery is the teddy bears in the trees. - This is a story about a very different kind of community, in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. The question most readers are left with in their hearts is to ask, can this community be changed? And if so, what would it take to make that happen? A useful parameter in this text is that it is written, presumably, from the voices of the children who are in this unknown-to-us reality of dire impoverishment. A valid criticism of the book is that there is not even an indirect suggestion for "what's next" in terms of response to poverty, or change. I assign this book as part of my Community Psychology course, and most with whom I'm discussed this book, when asked what was most memorable, reference the teddy bears in the trees. There is a park where single mothers buy drugs and clean needle exchanges take place, and there is a set-apart place in the park for the children of the women, in order to keep them distant from the transactions. Community members have hung teddy bears on the branches of the trees there, and it is depicted as a fun place for the kids to play. It makes me think of the daycare in the upscale grocery store, where parents leave the kids while they go buy what they need... At this point late 2009 the content is over 15 years old (Published in 1996, obviously written before published). Demographics have changed and we know of other U.S. communities akin to this one. Still, it's an important book to read to remind us of a sombering relationship of social science constructs: sense of community does not always empower.
Customer Review: 2 out of 5
Good Purpose; Poorly Executed - While I respect Jonathan Kozol's efforts in trying to raise an awareness to the public about the lives of poor children (mostly black, Hispanic, and Puerto Rican) in the dangerous and gloomy areas of America, particularly the South Bronx, I thought that his means of captivating the reader and keeping the book interesting were not that great. For one thing, I felt that Kozol had a tendency to muddle up the book and confuse the hapless reader with superfluous words that served very little purpose other than for the barely plausible reason to fill out the book with approximately twice as many pages as necessary (although that may be a bit of an exaggeration). But still, I felt that often times, Kozol would use more words than he needed to in order to convey the message.
I felt that the best parts of the book were when he talked to the children and other figures of the city. Although, really not so much when he talked to the kids, but rather when they talked to him. Sometimes what they had to say was very interesting. I particularly enjoyed Cliffie with his humorous fibs. The deaths of people were often very sad and shocking. I cannot imagine living in such a place as the South Bronx, as it is described in this book.
I read and have read a lot of books, of many genres. I do not frequently refer to books as boring (being one of the few students in my class last year who thoroughly enjoyed To Kill A Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet) but I will say that Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace is boring. Just because it was on the New York Times Bestseller list, doesn't mean that it was well written, or interesting for that matter. Sometimes, I dreaded reading it. I figured that there were better things to do with my time, such as performing in Oklahoma!, playing my guitar, climbing a tree, toasting a bagel, sticking my fingers in an electrical outlet, etc.
And that's about all I have to say. Thank you for your time and loyal support. This paper was made possible in part by teachers like you. Emergency exits are in the front, sides and rear of the vehicle. Do not take if pregnant. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your stay!
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Amazing Grace - I truly could not put this story down! Both this story and "Random Family" should be required reading for everyone. We all need to open our minds and hearts and begin to help change this country.
--> Find out more about "Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation" at Amazon.com or Order Now
| 