The Working Poor: Invisible in America | 
 enlarge | Author: David K. Shipler
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Rating:  76 reviews
Sales Rank: 2491
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0375708219
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.5690973
EAN: 9780375708213
ASIN: 0375708219
Publication Date: January 4, 2005
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Amazon.com Review
The Working Poor examines the "forgotten America" where "millions live in the shadow of prosperity, in the twilight between poverty and well-being." These are citizens for whom the American Dream is out of reach despite their willingness to work hard. Struggling to simply survive, they live so close to the edge of poverty that a minor obstacle, such as a car breakdown or a temporary illness, can lead to a downward financial spiral that can prove impossible to reverse. David Shipler interviewed many such working people for this book and his profiles offer an intimate look at what it is like to be trapped in a cycle of dead-end jobs without benefits or opportunities for advancement. He shows how some negotiate a broken welfare system that is designed to help yet often does not, while others proudly refuse any sort of government assistance, even to their detriment. Still others have no idea that help is available at all. "As a culture, the United States is not quite sure about the causes of poverty, and is therefore uncertain about the solutions," he writes. Though he details many ways in which current assistance programs could be more effective and rational, he does not believe that government alone, nor any other single variable, can solve the problem. Instead, a combination of things are required, beginning with the political will needed to create a relief system "that recognizes both the society's obligation through government and business, and the individual's obligation through labor and family." He does propose some specific steps in the right direction such as altering the current wage structure, creating more vocational programs (in both the public and private sectors), developing a fairer way to distribute school funding, and implementing basic national health care. Prepare to have any preconceived notions about those living in poverty in America challenged by this affecting book. --Shawn Carkonen
Product Description
“Nobody who works hard should be poor in America,” writes Pulitzer Prize winner David Shipler. Clear-headed, rigorous, and compassionate, he journeys deeply into the lives of individual store clerks and factory workers, farm laborers and sweat-shop seamstresses, illegal immigrants in menial jobs and Americans saddled with immense student loans and paltry wages. They are known as the working poor.
They perform labor essential to America’s comfort. They are white and black, Latino and Asian--men and women in small towns and city slums trapped near the poverty line, where the margins are so tight that even minor setbacks can cause devastating chain reactions. Shipler shows how liberals and conservatives are both partly right–that practically every life story contains failure by both the society and the individual. Braced by hard fact and personal testimony, he unravels the forces that confine people in the quagmire of low wages. And unlike most works on poverty, this book also offers compelling portraits of employers struggling against razor-thin profits and competition from abroad. With pointed recommendations for change that challenge Republicans and Democrats alike, The Working Poor stands to make a difference.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 71 more reviews...
Putting a Face with a Statistic December 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In The Working Poor: Invisible in America, Shipler (2004) delivers candid insights from a vulnerable population underrepresented in the mainstream media. He illustrates how necessity overrides any type of luxury in the lower socioeconomic rungs. Basic survival outweighs physical or mental health, among other important requisites, and the predicament of poverty consumes those afflicted. Thus, an intricate cycle is perpetuated that results in more questions than ideas for solving. Shipler conveys a myriad of perspectives without subjecting ideological or political agendas onto the reader. No pointing of fingers occurs, but rather a walk through individual case examples layered with direct quotes that start sounding more and more alike regardless of race or geographic location. He encourages everyone to meander outside their creature comfort zones and consider current societal realities.
Successful programs for the poor are described related to parenting and work training; however, overarching details of welfare's pitfalls detracts from the hopeful interventions. Members of the middle-class are represented as both willing and unwilling participants in the daily lives of those living in poverty. Some of the interactions with employers, supervisors, teachers, and social workers prove to be meaningful and others deleterious. Living with a sense of community and belonging where human kindness is exhibited grants some the necessary boost to survive. Overall, the book manifests harsh truths while reaffirming humanity. Awareness is the fundamental principle provided by Shipler. Essential implications for policy makers and corporate America abound.
Four stars out of five are awarded for the impartial, vivid depiction of poverty. An organized summary of workable programs along with outcomes data and first-hand accounts could help better serve poverty and fuel reform initiatives. The battle against poverty does not
enjoy simple solutions as Shipler recognizes and although awareness is indispensable, clarifying societal roles with specific expectations is paramount. Humanizing poverty, turning a statistic into a face, is the invaluable contribution Shipler accomplished with The Working Poor: Invisible in America. If a readiness to embrace actuality exists, then this is the read for you. And maybe, as it has achieved for this reader, a desire for resolve will invoke action.
 Thanksgiving Day, 2008 November 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
On this Thanksgiving Day, I reflected on the fact that I am part of an interdependent society, and that the work and circumstances of many people made my own life possible. "Working Poor" by David Shipler illustrates how things people take for granted, from plastic bags to clothes to carpets come to us through the hard work of low-wage workers. Shipler does not engage in sociological analysis, but gives case studies of individuals, who have to struggle to make ends meet, work long hours, and through circumstances both within and beyond their control, are left out of opportunities (i.e., college education) that are available to others. It seems to me that in our country, we need to find a balance between personal and social responsibility, and lately we have lost sense of the latter. I highly recommend this book so that we can at least have a conversation about how to better strike that balance and give more Americans better opportunities and a better quality of life.
 Goes too much into the boring details October 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In this book you should not expect to find any outlines of how unjust the economical system in America is, nor any suggestions what should be done about it. There is only numerous short stories about the lives of the working poor. Expect to read how certain individuals spent $10 on this, and $4 on that, and how they couldn't pay their medical bills, etc... I think the author goes too much into the boring details.
A Valuable and Affecting Learning Experience August 26, 2008
The poor are very visible in our society. What's far less visible is "The Working Poor", people who have jobs, but who face consistent problems of lower health,low income,no benefits,little education and training, single parenthood,and so on. Pulitzer Prize winning author David Shipler has done a marvelous research job giving flesh to problems many of us may think we have some handle on. After reading his outstanding book, I found that I hardly had a clue. Dozens of interviews have produced a truly heartrending, and sometimes hopeful tableau, of what it means to live on the edge.
This is an important book. I read segments of it to my college students --the parts that emphasize how easy it is to fall into the crevasses of the working poor by either not obtaining a college degree or by not getting training in a field with demand. I recommend this book highly to anyone and as a must read for anyone thinking about dropping out of school or a training program.
 What happened? June 18, 2008
0 out of 13 found this review helpful
I never received the book, so I don't know how I can review it. Do you have any logical suggestions?
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