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Doing the Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City 1st Edition

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Kathryn Edin (Author)
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Kathryn Edin (Author), Timothy J. Nelson (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 12 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0520274068
ISBN-10: 0520274067
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Frequently Bought Together

  • Doing the Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City
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  • Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood before Marriage, with a New Preface
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  • $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America
Total price: $71.53
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 294 pages
  • Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (June 1, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0520274067
  • ISBN-13: 978-0520274068
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsA deeper perspective on unmarried fatherhood
By jem on October 8, 2013
Format: Hardcover
The authors, Harvard professors in social policy, spent seven years living part time and interviewing unmarried fathers in the poorest sections of Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. Although it was impossible to develop a random sample of such fathers, their interviews reflect a cross section racially among white, black and Hispanic unmarried fathers. They probed these fathers' relationships -- or lack thereof -- with their own biological children as well as with children in the household from a girlfriend's previous relationships.

They found a surprising number of men who wanted and tried to be part of their children's lives although they were rarely able to provide for their support and had definitions of fatherhood that differed from traditional middle class standards. A number had been influenced to change destructive habits by having a child in their life. The authors suggest hope for policies involving these men more extensively in their children's lives, but to an untrained outsider the almost universal lack of education, a steady job, ability to maintain sobriety or avoid criminal activities make such goals noble but questionable. They would certainly need the assistance of role models which none of them have ever had.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThought Provoking
By Pete Abbate on August 9, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition
Enjoyed the various anecdotes told by inner-city fathers. Definitely forces you to re-think the idea that absent fathers are all villains, although many certainly are. The authors did a terrific job gathering the interviews by living in the neighborhoods where fathers are, and presented it well.

Wish they would have talked more about incarceration and how it contributes. It was mentioned but not explored in-depth. A good follow-up would look at incarceration in the "potential solutions" chapter.
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5.0 out of 5 starsCommitment Fatherhood: Urban Poverty, Men and Their Children
By missmickee/bookreview on August 23, 2015
Format: Hardcover
An insightful highly important book: "Doing The Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City" examines poor urban fatherhood in the areas of low income and impoverished neighborhoods of the Philadelphia, PA, and Camden, NJ areas. The book is expertly researched and written by sociologist Kathryn Edin and author Timothy J. Nelson, who lived in the neighborhoods studied. Edin is known for her expertise in poverty studies and the co-author of "Promises I Can Keep" (2005) which examines the plight of poor single motherhood in the neighborhoods mentioned above.

The one thing that particularly stands out is the high value and importance poor families place on their children and family life. Many of these out-of-wedlock births were unintended, unplanned and the use of contraception was questionable at best. Moving up the economic ladder and attending college and earning a higher standard of living wasn't always an option or consideration of these young impoverished parents. These father's were usually very happy when they found out their girlfriends were pregnant, and attempted to establish a stable relationship, caring for the mother and their child, at least while the child was smaller, the parents may or may not had planned to marry.
Edin pointed out that often fathers didn't have a father themselves, had limited resources, job and income prospects, and may have had problems with alcohol and substance, and/or lack the maturity to remain faithful. Sometimes there was the possibility of incarceration due to illegal and criminal activity. Other complex problems of these fathers may included multiple fertility- fathering children by different women.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsUnmarried Fathers Do Love Their Children
By K. Legg on August 20, 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This book opened my eyes to the problems and circumstances that unmarried fathers go through. I realized that I do not walk in their shoes in life and therefore should not be judging them unfairly as a father
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4.0 out of 5 starsGreat ethnography and provides a lot of material for discussing ...
By AMC on October 29, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Great ethnography and provides a lot of material for discussing the role of low wealth father in today's definition of family. Good read!
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5.0 out of 5 starsawesome book, great condition, quick shipment
By Brianna Mingledorff on July 28, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This book came in great condition, just like the description said it would. Also, it's a great read!
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