Pulitizer prize author David Shipler has done a great public service with this book. He shows what it means to be part of the working poor and how people get to there. He offers revealing stories and hopeful tableaus that will truly educate anyone who reads the book. I used to think that I had some idea of what it means for people to be poor and how they got there. This book disavowed me of that notion. Shipler carefully identifies the many ways the slide van begin. This book is a must read for anyone thinking about dropping out of high school or college, one of the many avenues to working poorhood. I've read excerpts of it to my students and they have been mesmerized by it. I am hopeful that they will remember the wise admonitions it contains. ( )

Is it a myth that anyone who is willing to work hard can achieve the American Dream? Is the playing field level and does everyone start out with the same opportunities or are the ones who “make good” an anomaly?

This is a very thought-provoking book and one that might change your perceptions about what it means to be poor in America. I recommend it! ( )

First, what this book is not: this is not a book about the very poorest of the poor, or about the poor outside of the U.S., or about all of the varieties and challenges of being poor, or about the evidence on policies to help the poor. It's a very limited book, and I know I, for one, will want to read more on this topic.

What it is, though, is a long series of true stories of people in the U.S. who have been working for a living and yet cannot make it into the middle class. These stories hint at a number of the components of the problem: transportation, child care, health, expensive financial instruments, opportunities for advancement in low-wage jobs, psychological trauma, immigration requirements. They hint at some of the things that help these people (knowledge of the systems, support structures such as family) as well as the things that impede them (addiction, credit, plain old "bad judgment").

Most importantly, though, these stories emphasize the intertwined elements of poverty in the United States, the entire system that cannot be unraveled with one snip. This is the level at which we must think if we want the United States to be a land of opportunity. Although the stories do not cover all of the relevant ground, I believe they make this point well, and provide food for thought along these lines.

Things that were not discussed enough, I believe, were the importance of race, gender, and disability; the restrictions placed on people who have committed crimes in the past; the disincentives for people to do traditionally "frugal" things such as sharing housing under Section 8 or cooking from scratch with the lack of time and facilities; matters of architecture and urban planning such as access to affordable groceries in inner cities; the poor on the family farm; the economics of medical care, especially such issues as preventive care and reproductive health. I know there are many others I noticed along the way as well.

All in all, recommended, easy to read, and hopefully only the first step on learning about these issues. ( )

I like how unbiased the book is-it doesn't veer into sanctifying its subjects, nor does it fully condemn them. You can visualize the homes and the jobs and the people easily. It's a really well done book thus far. It reminds me a lot of Random Family: Coming of Age in the Bronx, come to think of it. ( )

A well written journalistic take on the losers of the American Dream. The poor and the immigrants (an overlapping group) are people much talked about but hardly ever listened to. Shipler gives these unheards a voice and presents their broken lives. Often, a little leniency, a little cash and a little thought could avert major disasters. But nobody cares. Their employers seem much more interested in creating a surplus proletarian army; the bureaucracy is time-starved and stingy and banks and insurers increase shareholder values instead of providing community services. Shipler presents his subjects in a sympathetic and upbeat way. Ever the American optimist - quite a contrast to Zola's misérables.

Nowhere in the First World does poverty carry such a stigma of failure than in the US. Nowhere can you see so much poor people working at menial jobs: Shoe shiners, porters, shopping greeters, ... The lack of labour protection, decent minimal wages and mandatory health insurance has created a sub-proletariat without an escape hatch. In the 19th century, some rose from railsplitter to lawyer to president. In the 21st century, it is nearly impossible to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Twenty percent of Americans believe to be in the top one percent of income earners and a further twenty percent expect to reach that exclusive group in their lifetime. The poor could shatter the faulty math (a US global specialty) and are shunned aside. Poor public services, poor schools and little political interest. Local church and charity activities may alleviate the suffering, but only a rejuvenated New Deal could really make a difference. Unfortunately, the poor don't vote and do not count in the American (multi-)millionaire democracy.

Shipler enlightens his readers about the problems of the invisible and the unheard: Abuse and bad parenting, malnutrition, disease, bad schooling, the lack of a safety net and connections ... Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Solutions can only be systemic and require attention and care - not a forte of American bureaucracy. This brings me to the only negative point of this book: Shipler is a journalist not a social scientist. A framework would have helped to sort the anecdotes into categories and develop some hypotheses. The sweeping essay of the final chapter is only a first step in the right direction. A pointer to further reading is also missing. Overall, a good, important book that more Americans should read. ( )