Hard Living on Clay Street: Portraits of Blue Collar Families

Rating:
Summary: Obviously Mount Rainier
Review: Al Gore might have grown up there had his father been a plumber who moved north for work. Not many St.Albans boys in that neighborhood though. As in none. Gotta wonder if Harrington and Gore don't hook up once in a while what with the wellheeled intellectual Nashville/DC connection. All in all not a bad intro to a forgotten people in a very interesting time and place. I was happy to have stumbled upon it.

Rating:
Summary: Best Book For "would be" Cultural Anthropologists Ever
Review: Howell utilizes a "hands on " approach to drive home the reality of a very large segment of our society by literally moving in with them and living the life - in spite of peril for one year. Through this approach, he gains the trust of two families, the Shacklefords and the Mosebys, and we are able to move into their homes, travel with them on their drunken runs, and thereby gain an insight from a perspective within that no "text" could ever offer us. I applaud this book and have used it yearly in classes since 1978 with raves from the students.

Rating:
Summary: Makes you appreciate all your blessings!
Review: This book should be mandatory reading for all high school students in the United States. Poverty is indeed a virtual reality in this book. You cannot help but gain an appreciation for all you have, however little it may be.