Customer Reviews

Jim Goldberg, Raised by Wolves

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Goldberg documented street kids of San Francisco and Hollywood over the course of ten years. His work reflects the effort and emotion of that period. Unlike previous attempts to document homeless youth, Goldberg never sensationalized or objectified the kids he worked with. The text maintains individual voices, never judging, never interpreting, simply transmitting narratives that mainstream society would otherwise never hear. His photography radiates relationships of trust: he allows kids to illustrate their issues and amplify their voices, sharing their stories, artwork, and writings, without ever speaking for them. Such justice is rarely provided to an oppressed population. "Raised by Wolves" incites the reader's tears, anguish, and outrage - but also joy, that someone was able to successfully provide a platform for such truths to be heard. Goldberg more than did his part in attempting to educate America. The greater issue is, will we listen?

This isn't your ordinary coffee table book. Jim Goldberg delves into the lives of homeless kids living on the street, cataloging and following two kids through his collage of pictures and stories. Although it's hard to resist just leafing through it's pages, the real message and story is in reading the book from cover to cover. Jim Goldberg ties the pictures together with stories, giving you a real sense of what these kids go through, what their motivations are, what their daily lives are like.

I volunteer helping out homeless kids in Seattle, and from what I've seen this book does a good job of accurately protraying these children, including why they're on the street. He's unbiased and uncensored in his view, I think echo's review reflecting this (one of the kids followed in the book) only stands as a testament of this.

This is an eye-opening book full of amazing photographs that will leave you FEELING what these kids and adults are and have gone through living on the streets of San Francisco. Not too often are you experiencing so many emotions as you will when you flip page through page through this book. I can't say much more but it is worth the money...you will experience something that many of us are fortunate to have not experienced.

Accurate and thourough- Jim Goldberg told our stories truthfully, and lets you draw your own conclusions. - echo