Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

WINNER OF THE ROBERT F. KENNEDY BOOK AWARD . "A searing trip into the heart of homelessness" (Chicago Sun-Times) that jolted the American conscience "Jonathan's struggle is noble. What he says must be heard. His outcry must shake our nation out of its guilty indifference."-Elie Wiesel Jonathan Kozol is one of America's most forceful and eloquent observers of the intersection of race, poverty, and education. His books, from the National Book Award-winningDeath at an Early Ageto the critically acclaimedShame of the Nation, are touchstones of the national conscience. First published in 1988 and based on the months the author spent among America's homeless,Rachel and Her Childrenis an unforgettable record of the desperate voices of men, women, and especially children caught up in a nightmarish situation that tears at the hearts of readers. With record numbers of homeless children and adults flooding the nation's shelters,Rachel and Her Childrenoffers a look at homelessness that resonates even louder today.

Reviews

Kozol, todays most eloquent spokesman for Americas disenfranchised, won a National Book Award for Death at an Early Age, and this new work is every bit as powerful. Reading it is a revelationA searing trip into the heart of homelessness. Chicago Sun-Times

A searing indictment of a society that has largely chosen to look the other way...One would need a heart of stone not to be moved. New York Times

Jonathans struggle is noble. What he says must be heard. His outcry must shake our nation out of its guilty indifference. Elie Wiesel

Among the many virtues of Jonathan Kozols strong and often beautiful books is that we cannot forget for even an instant that the poor are our own kind and live but a moment away. The Nation

I havent experienced the same kind of shock over a book since the first time I read John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath. Chicago Tribune

At a time when Americans are struggling to see through the political, racial, and economic walls that separate them, Jonathan Kozol comes along with a window. Like an Old Testament patriarch, he rages at what he calls the greed and theological evil of our time. USA Today

Extraordinarily affectingA very important book. To read and remember the stories in this book, to take them to heart, is to be called as a witness. The Boston Globe

A book that should be read by every middle class (and any class) Americanpulls us, willingly or not, straight into the heart of what it means to be a homeless family in America.San Francisco Chronicle

Bitterly eloquent. Newsweek

Compelling, moving, eloquentAn extended tour of Hell. Los Angeles Times

Gripping desperate stories of more than a dozen families and their childrenKozol bears witness to their suffering and to the inhumanity of the system created to help them. The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

Author Bio

Jonathan Kozol is the National Book Award-winning author of Death at an Early Age, Savage Inequalities, Amazing Grace, and The Shame of the Nation. He has been working with children in inner-city schools for more than 40 years.