The Tenants of East Harlem [Paperback]

Russell Leigh Sharman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0520247477 | ISBN-13: 978-0520247475 | Edition: 1

Rich with the textures and rhythms of street life, The Tenants of East Harlem is an absorbing and unconventional biography of a neighborhood told through the life stories of seven residents whose experiences there span nearly a century. Modeled on the ethnic distinctions that divide the community, the book portrays the old guard of East Harlem: Pete, one of the last Italian holdouts; José, a Puerto Rican; and Lucille, an African American. Side by side with these representatives of a century of ethnic succession are the newcomers: Maria, an undocumented Mexican; Mohamed, a West African entrepreneur; Si Zhi, a Chinese immigrant and landlord; and, finally, the author himself, a reluctant beneficiary of urban renewal. Russell Leigh Sharman deftly weaves these oral histories together with fine-grained ethnographic observations and urban history to examine the ways that immigration, housing, ethnic change, gentrification, race, class, and gender have affected the neighborhood over time. Providing unique access to the nuances of inner-city life, The Tenants of East Harlem shows how roots sink so quickly in a community that has always hosted the transient, how new immigrants are challenging the claims of the old, and how that cycle is threatened as never before by the specter of gentrification.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Russell Sharman masterfully weaves together life history, oral history, and fine-grained observation to depict the range and variation of a historic neighborhood. This book makes a major contribution to an ethnographic mosaic of life in East Harlem." - Mitch Duneier, author of Book Sidewalk and Slim's Table "An excellent contribution to the history of East Harlem, history of ethnic immigration and social inequality in the United States, and finally to understanding the phenomenon of the ethnically and class segregated U.S. inner city." - Philippe Bourgois, author of In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio "The Tenants of East Harlem is an excellent and absorbing book on the way immigration and ethnic change have affected East Harlem and its residents. Through engaging, and often extremely moving, life stories of several residents of the community, Russell Sharman provides a window into the processes of change in this well-known New York City neighborhood." - Nancy Foner, author of From Ellis Island to JFK: New York's Two Great Waves of Immigration"

From the Inside Flap

"An excellent contribution to the history of East Harlem, history of ethnic immigration and social inequality in the United States, and finally to understanding the phenomenon of the ethnically and class segregated U.S. inner city."--Philippe Bourgois, author of In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio

"The Tenants of East Harlem is an excellent and absorbing book on the way immigration and ethnic change have affected East Harlem and its residents. Through engaging, and often extremely moving, life stories of several residents of the community, Russell Sharman provides a window into the processes of change in this well-known New York City neighborhood."--Nancy Foner, author of From Ellis Island to JFK: New York's Two Great Waves of Immigration

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (August 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520247477
• ISBN-13: 978-0520247475
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cheryl Harris Sharman is a writer and researcher whose ethnographic and investigative writing on social inequalities ' health, housing, homelessness, poverty, race/ethnicity, gender, and labor ' has been published in the US, UK, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Her work has appeared in publications such as Scientific American Online, the Lancet, The Pan- American Health Organization (PAHO) magazine, Perspectives in Health, the Miami Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, Central America's the Tico Times, policy briefs, anthologies, and textbooks. She has also worked as an editor, senior interviewer for a federally-funded research study, nonprofit president and treasurer, temp, receptionist, bookstore manager, babysitter/housecleaner, aerobics instructor, and waitress.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast shipping, good price, March 4, 2011

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This review is from: The Tenants of East Harlem (Paperback)

I got the book for a class, and it arrived quickly and it was cheaper on amazon than anywhere else.

The book itself is good if you want to learn more about what east harlem was and is becoming.