Below the Line: Living Poor in America [Paperback]

Janine Altongy (Author), Christiane Bird (Author, Editor), Eugene Richards (Author, Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 144 stunning black-and-white photographs (which won the 1987 International Center of Photography Journalism Award for "outstanding accomplishment in photographic reportage") and 14 first-person narratives, this disturbing book demonstrates the pervasiveness of poverty in America. The starkly eloquent text, edited by Bird, conveys the bravery and pathos of the subjects' lives in their own words. For example, readers learn that a Tennessee man has to pull his own teeth because he can't afford a dentist and that migrant workers who pick vegetables are often brutalized. Help for the poor didn't come until How the Other Half Lives (1901) shocked the public a few generations ago; one hopes that this book will have the same effect.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 218 pages
• Publisher: Consumers Union; 1st edition (August 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890430616
• ISBN-13: 978-0890430613
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,232,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Moving Work By Our Premier Documentary Photographer, March 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Below the Line: Living Poor in America (Paperback)

"~The review above tell you why the publication of this book was necessary: there are millions of people living in America who do not share in America's bounty. And there are apparently many Americans who would rather not confront this reality. works of photographic art, for they clearly are. But the photographs scream out at the viewer that what concerns Richards is the plight of those whose lives he records, rather than photographic technique.

1 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I thought this book was horrible., November 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Below the Line: Living Poor in America (Hardcover)

Everything about this book was bad. It really had nothing to do with "Living Poor in America." It only showed Mr. Richards viewpoints on how to improve our already great nation. Anyone who is looking for any information should turn the other way.