I was kind of surprised by the rating on Goodreads for this one (3.75), which is better than average, but not by much. It’s a perfectly good book, but there’s a real misconception of what this book is, and what this book isn’t. I think part of the problem is that the title of the book, both the use of the term “White Trash” which never should have been used, and the “untold” part, which is not exactly true suggest something salacious and poppy, and […]
The Poor Have Always Been With Us
HALF CANNONBALL! I picked this audio book off the shelf at a library wine tasting because of it’s catchy Title. I mean, how can you see the glaring title, “White Trash,” and not be intrigued? And I haven’t listened to an audio book in a while, so it seemed like a good idea. And it was, mostly. White Trash chronologically unpacks the history of white poverty in America from the 1600s to 2012. Isenberg begins with the English penal colonies where the British government literally rounded […]
Good. Long, but good.
This is a very intense look into the really horrible ways that America has treated poor people — particularly white people — for centuries (and when I say “particularly white people”, I mean that’s the focus of the book — not that white people have been subjugated more than other races!). Like, starting with the colonies and running right up to last week. It’s a very, very long book, but if you like that sort of thing, it’s incredibly well done. I certainly learned a lot. […]
“When you turn an election into a three-ring circus, there’s always a chance that the dancing bear will win”
Thanks again to SisterCoyote for my White Trash gift exchange! “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” That Lyndon B Johnson quote, featured in White Trash, floated around the Internet in the weeks following Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton and it helped many people sum up their feelings about last year’s election. This logic is not unlike the […]