How The Other Half Lives
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About this ebook
During the 1890s many people in upper- and middle-class society were unaware of the dangerous conditions in the slums among poor immigrants. Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant who himself could not originally find much work, hoped to expose the squalor of the 19th-century Lower East Side of Manhattan. After a successful career as a police reporter, he decided to publish a photojournal documenting these conditions using graphic descriptions, sketches, photographs, and statistics.
Riis blamed the apathy of the monied class for the condition of the New York slums, and assumed that as people were made more aware of these conditions they would be motivated to help eradicate them.
Jacob A. Riis
Jacob August Riis (May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914) was a Danish-American social reformer, "muckraking" journalist and social documentary photographer. He contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform in America at the turn of the twentieth century. He is known for using his photographic and journalistic talents to help the impoverished in New York City; those impoverished New Yorkers were the subject of most of his prolific writings and photography. He endorsed the implementation of "model tenements" in New York with the help of humanitarian Lawrence Veiller. Additionally, as one of the most famous proponents of the newly practicable casual photography, he is considered one of the fathers of photography due to his very early adoption of flash. While living in New York, Riis experienced poverty and became a police reporter writing about the quality of life in the slums. He attempted to alleviate the bad living conditions of poor people by exposing their living conditions to the middle and upper classes.
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Reviews for How The Other Half Lives
107 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5For a book about social reform that is 122 years old it was quite interesting. It was conflicting in the author's portrayal of the poor and wanting change yet he was still very judgmental and racist against immigrants. He was an immigrant. A good historical read for some eye-opening about how things have changed and yet not really changed in 122 years.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Liberals and those who profess to be humanitarians need to read this book. Riis, a reporter for a New York newspaper, investigated the tenements and the society that calls them home. This book is the result. It shows unquestionably that government involvement is not benign, that when taking on the problem of inadequate housing by building newer facilities, only multiplies the problem by attracting the same clientele as had existed. In other words, tenements don't cause poverty, tenements are occupied by those who, for various reasons, refuse to improve their condition. The Germans were able to raise themselves out of the tenements, so too the Jews and Italians. Their culture demands improvement of one's social status. There are others who exist by living off the government's largess. Interestingly, when the tenements were torn down and the government was not involved, the crime rate decreased dramatically. Tell your emasculated, professional humanitarian friends that they should read this book!
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The most racist book I've read. Entirely condescending and patronizing. The raw data is interesting, the description of the living conditions mind blowing, but the criticisms leveled at other cultures are painful to read. It made me think of an old National Lampoon guide to ethnicities from the 1970s or 80s, except that it was serious. Sante, in the introduction, claims that Riis is not so bad as other writers of the time and that may be, but it was jarring, nonetheless.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Exceptional early look at immigrants and their condition.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Riis' book is an in depth look into poverty in the U.S. in early twentieth century America, and the photographs and statistics strike a heavy impact. The organization makes it simple to look to a particular type of poverty or demographic, so for research purposes, this is a great resource that adds another level to what we generally know of U.S. history from this time period. At the same time, reading the book straight through is fairly dry, and becomes somewhat repetitive at times. For the full effect, unless you're simply reading for fact and history and not really looking to engage with the material, I'd suggest reading chapter by chapter with breaks. On a separate note, while this edition is ideal because of the photographs, there are far too many typos to make it an ideal edition text-wise. If careful editing is one of your pet peeves (as it is mine), you might consider reading a different text, and just perusing this one for the documentary photography alone.Still, if you're interested in the subject, this is a worthwhile resource.