Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America
By:
Jonathan Kozol
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Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Description:
The story that jolted the conscience of the nation when it first appeared in The New Yorker
Jonathan Kozol is one of America’s most forceful and eloquent observers of the intersection of race, poverty, and education. His books, from the National Book Award–winning Death at an Early Age to his most recent, the critically acclaimed Shame of the Nation, are touchstones of the national conscience. First published in 1988 and based on the months the author spent among America’s homeless, Rachel and Her Children is an unforgettable record of the desperate voices of men, women, and especially children caught up in a nightmarish situation that tears at the hearts of readers. With record numbers of homeless children and adults flooding the nation’s shelters, Rachel and Her Children offers a look at homelessness that resonates even louder today.
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Release Date: 2006-08-15
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Powerful and mind-opening book - the truth about poverty in America - Reading the first edition of this book had a profound effect on my own life. Author and researcher Jonathan Kozol gave a voice to the invisible Americans. At a time of America's greatest prosperity, thousands of children were living in New York's welfare hotels, in deplorable and life-threatening conditions.
This book opened eyes and minds of countless numbers of middle-class people who had no real understanding of the modern homeless problem in America and it should be read by anyone planning on going into social work.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Kozol Misunderstood - I have been reading several reviews of books by Jonathan Kozol and I am disappointed. For starters, everyone seems to be blaming minority mothers for their "out of control baby making." I think the point of his books have been missed. Kozol is always looking at how societal ills effect children. He is not apologizing for families that are larger than can be afforded - he is sympathizing with the children that are born to them. He is sympathizing (better word empathizing) with the children who attend horrible run down schools and like in welfare hotels. As a public school teacher in Chicago, his revelations are very real. We do teach in terrible buildings. We do have homeless children. Would I ever think to point the blame at them? Am I pleased with the choices their parents have made? Not always, but I am also not the one to judge -- I am there to teach their children.As for all of the people who suggest all "these people" need to do is get up off their couches and get a job: I would like to know if you would be willing to hire these people with substandard educations and possibly no permanent residence. Middle and upper class America is quick to condem those without work, but also the last group of people to provide employment to those in most need. Before condeming the people in these situations, I firmly believe we all need to take a hard look at ourselves.
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
A Great perspective - Reading through the book Rachael And Her Children you are brought into a entirely new world. A world where the homeless are not just figures with hands held out asking for spare change. Kozol brings us into the lives of these homeless story by story case by case sharing his personal interviews with these misfortunate people. Instead of putting a empty face on what we normally walk by and think nothing of, Kozol shows us that these individuals were not just mere vermin but people whom grew up like any of us but for any which reason now are homelss. Kozol does an excellet job in showing us not only these poeples lives but also educates the reader in exactly how big of a problem homelessness in America actually is. After reading this book my understanding, knowledge, and compassion of how homeless are actually treated is rought into full perepective. The book has great readabillity and is compelling enough to keep you flipping the pages. I would recomend this book to anyone and think very highly of it-Matt
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Failure to Thrive - The term used in this book that describes the endangered status of an infant is "failure to thrive." As I translate the phrase, "failure to thrive" indicates the hopelessness of a child's future, the result of neglect from society, the dwindling of life. Jonathan Kozol's review of homeless families in America is a chilling depiction of the actual heartache and suffering endured by the homeless. So often does society lose sight of what it truly means to not have a place to call "home."
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Failure to Thrive - The term used in this book that describes the endangered status of an infant is "failure to thrive." As I translate the phrase, "failure to thrive" indicates the hopelessness of a child's future, the result of neglect from society, the dwindling of life. Jonathan Kozol's review of homeless families in America is a chilling depiction of the actual heartache and suffering endured by the homeless. So often does society lose sight of what it truly means to not have a place to call "home."
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