Tales of Young Urban Squatters Plus How to Squat

by Claire Burch

Now that there are more homeless people in the US than at anytime since the Great Depression, writer and filmmaker Burch looks at the lives and hopes of a group of young people who have left their homes all over the country to come to Berkeley, California. She also reprints an anonymous pamphlet on how to put abandoned buildings to use. There is no scholarly paraphernalia. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

180 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

Reviews

[Heidi Bakk-Hansen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is basically an oral history of a bunch of street kids in Berkeley around 2000. Because of their ages and the prevalence of untreated mental illnesses and addictions, their stories are somewhat incoherent and convey little of interest to those who are really interested in the concept of squats and squatting. The last section, the author reprinted one of those anarchist DIY pamphlets you can find at autonomous type cafes on squatting, which is sort of interesting, but probably way out of date as far as current methods. There's got to be a better book out there on this subject.

[Amy Kinard · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book pissed me off. I will edit this to elaborate shortly, but yeah, don't bother. Unless you are a squatter or support this crap, the book will only make you angry.