
The Injustice of Place
Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America
- 352 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
The Injustice of Place
Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America
About this book
A sweeping and surprising new understanding of extreme poverty in America from the authors of the acclaimed $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America.
“This book forces you to see American poverty in a whole new light.” (Matthew Desmond, author of Poverty, by America and Evicted)
Three of the nation’s top scholars – known for tackling key mysteries about poverty in America – turn their attention from the country’s poorest people to its poorest places. Based on a fresh, data-driven approach, they discover that America’s most disadvantaged communities are not the big cities that get the most notice. Instead, nearly all are rural. Little if any attention has been paid to these places or to the people who make their lives there.
This revelation set in motion a five-year journey across Appalachia, the Cotton and Tobacco Belts of the Deep South, and South Texas. Immersing themselves in these communities, poring over centuries of local history, attending parades and festivals, the authors trace the legacies of the deepest poverty in America—including inequalities shaping people’s health, livelihoods, and upward social mobility for families. Wrung dry by powerful forces and corrupt government officials, the “internal colonies” in these regions were exploited for their resources and then left to collapse.
The unfolding revelation in The Injustice of Place is not about what sets these places apart, but about what they have in common—a history of raw, intensive resource extraction and human exploitation. This history and its reverberations demand a reckoning and a commitment to wage a new War on Poverty, with the unrelenting focus on our nation’s places of deepest need.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1. America’s Internal Colonies
- 2. Separate, Unequal
- 3. Nothing to Do Here but Drugs
- 4. A Tradition of Violence
- 5. Little Kingdoms
- 6. The Invisible Hand
- 7. Revolt and Retribution
- 8. The Sins of Our Fathers
- 9. Healing America’s Internal Colonies
- Acknowledgments
- Appendix A: The History and Theory of Internal Colonies
- Appendix B: The Index of Deep Disadvantage
- Notes
- Index
- Photo Section
- About the Authors
- Also by Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer
- Copyright
- About the Publisher