How the Other Half Lives by Jacob A. Riis, Luc Sante (Editor)
BUY IT NEW
- $14.00 List price$11.20 Online price$10.08 Member price(Save 27%)Limited Time Offer! Everyone receives the Member Price on books.
See Details
Reserve it at BN.com & pick it up in 60 minutes at your local store.
Enter a zip code
(Paperback - Reprint)
- Pub. Date: November 1997
- 256pp
- Sales Rank: 72,174
| More Formats | |
|---|---|
| Paperback - New Edition | $14.47 |
Buy it Used: 20 copies from $3.25 See All Available
Customers who bought this also bought
Product Details
- Pub. Date: November 1997
- Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
- Format: Paperback, 256pp
- Sales Rank: 72,174
- Series: Penguin Classics Series
- ISBN-13: 9780140436792
- ISBN: 0140436790
- Edition Description: Reprint
Synopsis
This famous journalistic record of the filth and degradation of New York's slums at the turn of the century is a classic in social thought and of early American photography. Over 100 photographs.
More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
David Leviatin has taught American studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the University of Rhode Island, and Charles University in Prague. In addition to the publication of numerous articles, Leviatin is the author of Prague Sprung: Notes and Voices from the New World (1993) and Followers of the Trail: Jewish Working-Class Radiclas in America (1989). He is also a freelance photographer whose photos have appeared in several major publications including the New York Times Magazine.
Customer Reviews
- Reader Rating:
- Ratings: 3Reviews: 3
- See All Reviews
How the Other Half Livesby Anonymous
Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings
December 12, 2006: ADED 5510 Book Review Riis, J. (1890 original, 1997 this edition). How the Other Half Lives. New York, New York: Penguin Classics Introduction How the Other Half Lives was written at a time when none of the social safety nets to contemporary society were in place. As an author, Riis provides us with an observational study of the squalid conditions that existed in urban New York for the working poor during the period near the end of the 19th century. The text is an unvarnished look at the circumstances that existed at the time of writing this observational study, during the urban industrial revolution. The author employs his journalistic abilities to illuminate the facts of the circumstances he was documenting, but avoids employing what we would call contemporary journalistic objectivity inasmuch as his inherent prejudice to the ethnic subjects of the study. A contemporary biologist would recognize the term ?rookery? in terms of animal enclaves, but in the context of this study, the term is used in terms of the horrendous living conditions of the poor, working class. Major Themes The central message of the book is the indifference that contemporaries of the time, operating in capitalist industrial revolution, simple saw and acted upon the financially adventitious actions of harvesting profits based on the living or existing needs of the working poor. This message is outlined in the book by the author?s historical accounts of the initial evolution of the living conditions during the mid-1800s in New York. The evolution of decay in sanitary and general behavioral conditions due to perennial neglect of the poorer neighborhoods is highlighted by the strong statements of the author in his recount of the efforts around 1869 after the disease outbreaks of cholera and smallpox had hampered the efforts of the 1867 remedial legislation (p. 17). It was interesting that Riis observed that efforts of remediation in dwelling lighting and sanitation was greeted with resistance not only from the profiteers of the squalor, but of the inhabitants themselves. It is also interesting that the initial efforts to correct the most basic health and sanitation issues took over five years of effort. The author?s description of the inhabitants of the situation as ?cave dwellers? to route the dark, cellar dwelling of circumstances is further evidence of his thesis that behavioral patterning can influence or twist the outlook and expectations of any cultural situation. As previously mentioned, the author does not relinquish his ?cultural categorization? of peoples in the deplorable conditions of the time, he reinforces the challenge of change for the better in examples such as in the chapter The Sweaters of Jewtown where a friend of Riis notes the cost-efficient manufacturing scenario (p. 101) and it is noted that at that time, the ?gregarious? aspect of that culture was not inclined to ?herding? the masses into a farming circumstance outside the present situation. In this same light, the idea of trade schools for manual training could not be something of reality as the implied scenario would be one of ?who support them while they are training?? The theme of ?no way out? in the financial and behavioral circumstance is displayed in the circumstance if there is not an outside intervention. Integration of Themes in Adult Education The broad picture presented by How the Other Half Lives displays a circumstance that can evolve...
How the Other Half Livesby Anonymous
Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings
October 17, 2006: How the Other Half Lives by Jacob A. Riis (1997). As I read this book I became appalled at how the poor were forced to live. As I continued to read it became apparent that the poor just did not know any other way of life and those improvements that were forced upon them failed unless they were taught how to live in improved conditions. I have visited New York City a couple of times, and find it a lively city to visit but not my cup of tea for living. I did not understand how the poor lived until I read this book. Each lived from day to day, etching out a life that somehow was better than the one they left behind when they came to America. The children seem to suffer the most. For most, they have nothing to compare to and it is a matter of the strongest who shall survive. Without time in the day to educate themselves, adult or child, to somehow better their way of life because the overwhelming hunger lurked at their door. As I read this book I became appalled at how the poor were forced to live in New York City when we have clearly read about Benjamin Franklin that life was not that way for everyone. As I continued to read it became apparent that the poor in New York City just did not know any other way of life or want any other way of life. The improvements that were forced upon them failed unless they were taught how to live in improved conditions, educated. As I finished this book I realized that without having this piece of ugliness in our history we may not be were we are today, people began to see that being educated does not always mean a formal education. Education can mean that you need to learn ?how to live? or defend yourself. We have Health Departments that set standards that hold to our values in the way we live today. I think anyone interested in Americas History should read this book. I also think that all our youth should be required to read this book, to understand how an education is so important to the way we live today. An education will keep us from returning to the filth of the poorest of the poor.
Loading...