No Shame in My Game: The Working Poor in the Inner City Paperback – 25 April 2000

An interesting read. Worth the time if you want to know more about how everyday people make a living and the conditions they go through.

Good condition. Enlightening information.

If you know nothing of urban poverty except that it doesn't look appealing while driving past at 65 miles per hour on the interstate, or it looks dangerous in movies - then this book and When Work Disappears by William Julius Wilson are the two books you should pick up.Through years of interviews and following entry level workers at "Burger Barns" around the boroughs of New York, plus hands on experience working those jobs, the author and her assistants have put together an even-handed, if a bit pie in the sky, account of how the urban poor actually live (and work).Those anecdotes of people not wanting to work, living off welfare, milking the state- well, yes, they are true, sometimes. But so too are the people who wake at 5 am, take 2 buses to school, leave school to go to work, then head home for an hour of homework and five hours of sleep. The former get the attention in the mainstream media and politics - it is easy to demonize that type. The author gives the attention to the latter.The book is a bit pie in the sky - it does not hold most of these people responsible for their poor choices. Yes, having children as a teen is a choice. One can abstain from sex, use birth control, practice oral - all those things that most of us did to avoid children in high school (by choice or not). I feel that she should hold some of her examples to account for their behavior and the results it brings, but can forgive the optimism.In all, this book presents an unseen picture of the struggles and tribulations these people go through working unforgiving, unrespected jobs, in an attempt to better themselves. I certainly have a different idea of the working poor as a result.

Good book

Ever want to know what it's like growing up in another world while being in the same country as someone else? Katherine Newman opens the door to a world many people only pass through on their day-to-day trudge--never stopping to ask themselves "What about the person on the other side?"While there are definitely moments during which Newman tends to patronize her audience, the message is loud and clear and sounds throughout the book. If we are not able to look at our own society and see the struggle many of our fellow citizens go through then how can we ever advance together? There is no doubt that this book servers as an important piece in understanding diversity in our classrooms as well as our workplace--but the book also serves as a good example of understanding the other side and learning to not only appreciate, but incorporate them.4 Different Stars out of 5.