Stranger to the System (Life Portraits of a New York City Homeless Community) [Paperback]

Jim Flynn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

Collection of 20 biographies of homeless people living on the streets of New York City. Contains 89 photographs and 16 drawings by homeless artists.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim Flynn is a relocated suburban kid born in Albany, New York 1977. He has taught in Manhattan public schools for the past four years and is currently a proud member of the special education department at High School for the Humanities. In November of 2001 a baseball bat-wielding landlord kicked him out of his room for rent in the Lower East Side, and he has since resided in Brooklyn.

Product Details

• Paperback: 305 pages
• Publisher: Curbside Press (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097415590X
• ISBN-13: 978-0974155906
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,971,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ!, October 19, 2003

By 

Sandra (NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stranger to the System (Life Portraits of a New York City Homeless Community) (Paperback)

This is a must read for everyone. Jim Flynn does an extraordinary job compiling the life stories of the homeless in New York City. This book will bring laughs as well as tears. You will feel as if you actually know the people personally, especially since all of the stories are in the first-person. This book allows the homeless to be heard as people, not as throw-aways of society. A powerful and important book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent social dissertation, February 3, 2006

By 

Nettlesbyu (Tacoma, Washington United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stranger to the System (Life Portraits of a New York City Homeless Community) (Paperback)

This study of homelessness brings you to the realization that being homeless is just a step away for any of us. It give you an insight into the lives of the homeless in NY; once you get to know them you realize that these are gifted and talented people who through a quirk of fate... This is a book you can't put down; you travel from story to story with a sense of urgency, the need to learn more about each source. You will laugh a little, you will cry a little and you will be transformed.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning book..., September 25, 2003

By 

Sera Corby (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stranger to the System (Life Portraits of a New York City Homeless Community) (Paperback)

I recently went to NY and bought this book from a street vendor. I didn't have any real expectations from the book, but when I started reading I could not put it down. This book seems to be a real, open and honest look into the lives of people that I would otherwise not have though twice about.
Thank to Jim Flyn and all the people that contributed to this book for bringing these enlightening stories into my life. I'm now about to order several copies of the book to give to friends and family.