From Cradle to Grave: The Human Face of Poverty in America

by Jonathan Freedman

Journalist Freedman looks at the lives of some people in America beset by poverty and shows how they've managed to get by with some help from various innovative, responsive programs programs that could, and should be replicated throughout the nation. No references. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

245 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1993

Reviews

[CTEP]

Freedman approaches the idea of poverty in a very interesting way--from the point of view of a developmentalist. He highlights the stages of life (infancy, childhood, teenage, young adult, midlife and elderly) and how the stages of life interconnect with each other. On one hand he talks about poverty starting in childhood, or even infancy, and preventing development, and lending itself to another cycle of poverty in the next generation. On the other hand, he talks about how people who are relatively stable can be thrown into poverty at any stage of life through loss of job, health crises, divorce, accidental pregnancy, etc. Freedman advocates a system that supports not only people who are in these crisis situations, but also provides continuing support for those in chronic poverty.

Freedman's book is quite dated; it was published in 1993, before the Bush years. It would be interesting to see know what Freedman thinks of the different social programs put in place during the Bush administration. I am sure there are more recent articles about that online.

Freedman's book would be good for anyone to read because it is all about providing a "railing" to people "falling down the steps" of our economy, of development and of the "American dream" I think CTEP is a kind of railing, providing resources and skill training to help people pull themselves up a step.

[Kayla Giordano · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written during the 90's so many statistics are outdated, however, the consequences of poverty are still very much current. Freedman does a great job of describing how poverty effects every aspect of the human lifespan from conception/pre-natal to the aging and dying. By providing depictions of the lives of the poor, you really come to understand the day to day struggles of living below the poverty line. He also does an excellent job of demonstrating that is not "rugged individualism" that will lift people from poverty, but a community comprised of both private and public organizations working towards the common good. While times have changes since 1995, the lessons Freedman brings to the table in this book are still applicable today.

[Stacy]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/3588745