Customer Reviews

Root Shock: How Tearing Up City Neighborhoods Hurts America, and What We Can Do About It

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In Root Shock, Mindy Fullilove investigates the devastating and long lasting effects of urban renewal, mainly in the Lower Hill District. In my opinion, the book drags on in a dramatic and one-sided manner. Although the book does give various interesting statistics, it is hard to connect all the different perspectives. Despite the book's one-sidedness, Fullilove's message in strengthened by the personal accounts that she shares of those who have experienced "root shock" firsthand.

Although I can see what the author is trying to accomplish by writing this book, I just can't get past how blatantly bias, one-sided, and even bigoted it is at times. The author provides some valuable information, but it is not academic quality. Any reader with a critical eye will notice paragraph after paragraph of useless information, "facts" from people recalling childhood memories, and strange outlandish connections between urban renewal and a low quality of life. To her credit, she exposes the underbelly of this renewal process, but fails to recognize how what has happened is a result of being a "product" of a particular place in time. I am really looking for some valuable information that I could cite in an academic paper, but am finding nothing but strange leaps to conclusions (there are a few good facts though) and foggy sources. I would only recommend this book as easy reading...but don't treat it as gospel.

Root shock was an okay of a book. It was very one-side; Fullilove never considered the other point-of-view. She also attempted to capture the reader's attention by supplying the readers with full size pictures that took up an entire page; however, she failed to get our attention. The urban renewal process is interesting, but she took so much credit for supplying the information, when in reality, it was the interviews that supplied the information about the process of urban renewal. The book was okay, but it can be skipped.

This book can be used as a great introduction to the "urban renewal" process that helped devastate cities across the country. It is very clear and direct, with many first person accounts that transform the topic from history or sociology into a story about people, families and communities. I led a discussion group on this book, and recommend this to churches and other community organizations who desire their members to become more informed and especially more emotionally connected to city communities and their problems.

The book, "Root Shock," by Mindy Fullilove gives us great information about urban renewal and gentrification and how individuals are affected. She argues that root shock effects entire communities and that it results from urban renewal. Fullilove looks at the emotional destruction from community displacement and uses pathos (emotional appeal) for her argument. Although Fullilove does a great job of showing her readers the negative effects of community displacement, she is very one-sided. Her book does not have information about the positive effects of community displacement, but overall, I think she did a great job of explaining about community displacement and the effects it had on the individuals of the community.

This Book goes far to explaining why there seems to be a lack of a sense of community among too many of our young inner-city youths and young adults. We have destroyed a lot more than "Slums." We have divested millions of people through Eminent Domain of that spirit of togetherness that makes a grouping of people a disinct neighborhood, where self-pride, dignity, and group identity can thrive, and cause future generations to aspire to become like the great members of their society. "Urban Renewal," is a misnomer, a social monster, that must be stopped. I have written a similar Book: "In The Streets of Vinegar Hill, 2007." (Get it at Amazon.com.) I'm dealing with the same problems in Charlottesville, Virginia that Fullilove dealt with in Roanoke, Virginia. My hat is off to Fullilove. She is a great, inspirational writer and thinker. Her Book is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the multiplicity of problems facing poor people in comtemporary American society.

this is a great book. seriously, everyone should read this book. it's informative, smart, easy to read and incredibly interesting.

In the book Root Shock, Fullilove addresses the negative effects that community displacement can have on people affected by urban renewal. Fullilove is opposed to community displacement as describes root shock as "the traumatic stress reaction to the destruction of all or part of one's emotional ecosystem" (Fullilove 11). This book does a good job of presenting information that would arouse opposition of community displacent. The bad thing about this book is that it is very one-sided. Little information is given on the positive effects of urban renewal. "Root Shock" is a very informative and educational book about the often overlooked topic of urban renewal and gentrification. This book is easy to read and not overly scholarly. I would suggest that anyone interested in community displacement read this book.

The reason I like this book is because it is different from other books on urban planning and urban 'renewal'. If you have read more than 2 books on urban renewal, you notice they start to sound the same! So Fulliove, being a psychiatrist and not an urban planning professional, brings a different, fresh perspective to the issues.

That being said, I do question some of her assertions, which is why I don't rate the book with more stars. For one, referring to the 1967 Newark riots as 'insurrections'. It was a riot!

Also, she sidesteps the positive affects of urban renewal.

Lastly, I question whether it was urban renewal that lead to the downfall of the inner city communities, as Fullilove asserts, or the breakdown of the family. The issues are all intertwined, but I personally don't buy her arguments that urban renewarl was the main cause.