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mollybonovskyanderson's review against another edition
5.0
Should be required reading in any economics class. Should be required reading of anyone trying to make a living in the U.S.
The way we think of wealth has to change. Tim Wise uses the simplest language, statistics, common sense and facts to illustrate this beautifully.
The way we think of wealth has to change. Tim Wise uses the simplest language, statistics, common sense and facts to illustrate this beautifully.
ameliaholcomb's review against another edition
3.0
Based on the most current news media available in 2015. I zipped through just because of that. I always love Wise's composition but was a little bored by the content (only because I was already familiar with most of the articles he referenced).
greeniezona's review against another edition
4.0
Despite having rather sternly told myself I was not allowed to check out any books because I already had too many checked out at home, I saw this one in the new non-fiction section and could not resist. Reading it swayed me more to Bernie than any articles actually about the candidates did. The system of inequality is just too unjust for tinkering to fix. It needs a sledgehammer.
Reading this book was highly emotional for me. In many sections, especially early on in the book, the ideas Wise was selling I was already convinced of, but the details and examples were so maddening that I had to skim over them to avoid flying into a rage. At the same time, there were so many stories, studies, argument that we so strongly worded that I had to quote them on goodreads, on Facebook, read them to my family. One section in particular pushed me over the edge, and I had to put the book down so that I could go buy my own personal copy that I could mark up and underline for future debates, so that I could safely return my library copy.
If yu want to learn about systematic inequality, read this book. If you want to know how our (white) racism has damned us, causing us to shred our own safety nets just to erode the (rather more wobbly) nets for people of color, read this book NOW.
Reading this book was highly emotional for me. In many sections, especially early on in the book, the ideas Wise was selling I was already convinced of, but the details and examples were so maddening that I had to skim over them to avoid flying into a rage. At the same time, there were so many stories, studies, argument that we so strongly worded that I had to quote them on goodreads, on Facebook, read them to my family. One section in particular pushed me over the edge, and I had to put the book down so that I could go buy my own personal copy that I could mark up and underline for future debates, so that I could safely return my library copy.
If yu want to learn about systematic inequality, read this book. If you want to know how our (white) racism has damned us, causing us to shred our own safety nets just to erode the (rather more wobbly) nets for people of color, read this book NOW.
tiedyedude's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like this would have worked better as a feature article in a magazine. I'm not a big nonfiction reader, but I'm trying to expand; unfortunately, while this started out as a compelling read, it quickly got bogged down with paragraphs of numbers and data that were relevant, but started to feel repetitive. I know the poor are treated horrendously, that's one of the reasons I picked up the book, I don't need 100 pages telling me I'm right. I'm glad I read what I got through, and Wise is an excellent writer, but I was not interested in finishing the book.
malloryjohnson's review against another edition
4.0
This book is focused on the culture of cruelty and shame the United States has around the poor and how our false narrative of meritocracy has exacerbated inequality. Wise has a great deal of empirical evidence to support his claims (which can be a bit much to sift through), but ultimately comes up with some pretty straightforward recommendations: that we shift the narrative away from blind meritocracy to acknowledge inequalities in our country and be willing to talk about the racial privilege and government support that allows us to be successful (such as great public schools that offered substantial opportunity for academic achievement down the line) and that we generate a culture of compassion in America that will allow us to come closer to creating equality of opportunity.
tiedyedude's review
3.0
I feel like this would have worked better as a feature article in a magazine. I'm not a big nonfiction reader, but I'm trying to expand; unfortunately, while this started out as a compelling read, it quickly got bogged down with paragraphs of numbers and data that were relevant, but started to feel repetitive. I know the poor are treated horrendously, that's one of the reasons I picked up the book, I don't need 100 pages telling me I'm right. I'm glad I read what I got through, and Wise is an excellent writer, but I was not interested in finishing the book.
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