Falling from Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence [Paperback]

Katherine S. Newman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0520218426 | ISBN-13: 978-0520218420 | Edition: 1

Over the last three decades, millions of people have slipped through a loophole in the American dream and become downwardly mobile as a result of downsizing, plant closings, mergers, and divorce: the middle-aged computer executive laid off during an industry crisis, blue-collar workers phased out of the post-industrial economy, middle managers whose positions have been phased out, and once-affluent housewives stranded with children and a huge mortgage as the result of divorce. Anthropologist Katherine S. Newman interviewed a wide range of men, women, and children who experienced a precipitous fall from middle-class status, and her book documents their stories. For the 1999 edition, Newman has provided a new preface and updated the extensive data on job loss and downward mobility in the American middle class, documenting its persistence, even in times of prosperity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Searches beyond the statistics of economic decline, plant closings, layoffs, and unemployment to capture the drama of human suffering at the individual level. . . . Aimed at a general audience, this well-written study would be a good addition to courses in stratification, work, or the family." -- Bart Landry, Contemporary Sociology

About the Author

Katherine S. Newman is Ford Foundation Professor of Urban Studies, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the author of No Shame in My Game: The Working Poor in the Inner City (1999), Declining Fortunes: The Withering of the American Dream (1994), and Law and Economic Organization (1983).

Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (February 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520218426
• ISBN-13: 978-0520218420
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #921,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Katherine Newman is professor of sociology and James Knapp Dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. Author of ten books on middle-class economic instability, urban poverty, and the sociology of inequality, Newman has taught at the University of California-Berkeley, Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great topic but missing something, October 10, 2000

By 

L. Cunningham (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Falling from Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence (Paperback)

Newman starts with a great topic. Downward mobility is a subject that not only isn't discussed in our society, most people try not to even think about it. Newman gives some very moving accounts of downwardly mobile workers and their families; however, these accounts are very inconsistent. With some of the accounts, I felt like there was almost too much information; however, with other accounts I felt like we barely got a taste of what their personal experience with downward mobility involved.

Newman depicts 4 different groups of downwardly mobile people (middle managers, striking air tower contol workers, workers at a Singer Sewing Company factory and divorced midddle-class women). However, there's really enough information on each group to necessitate 4 individual books. This is great starting point to examine downward mobility, but the book ultimately leaves you wanting more.

7 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When I was downsized, after 27 yrs..she spoke to my soul, October 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Falling from Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence (Paperback)

When the diciples asked Jesus why he spoke in parables, Jesus said that it was because they did not perceive from the Spirit. Throughout the ordeal of knowing whether I'd ever get a decent job again, Katherine was the only one whose words spoke to my soul. She is very perceptive in her assessment of what income loss and job loss does to the individual.