Poorly Understood
What America Gets Wrong About Poverty
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Poorly Understood
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Laural Merlington
About this listen
Few topics have as many myths, stereotypes, and misperceptions surrounding them as that of poverty in America. The poor have been badly misunderstood since the beginnings of the country, with the rhetoric only ratcheting up in recent times. Our current era of fake news, alternative facts, and media partisanship has led to a breeding ground for all types of myths and misinformation to gain traction and legitimacy.
Poorly Understood is the first book to systematically address and confront many of the most widespread myths pertaining to poverty. Mark Robert Rank, Lawrence M. Eppard, and Heather E. Bullock powerfully demonstrate that the realities of poverty are much different than the myths. The idealized image of American society is one of abundant opportunities, with hard work being rewarded by economic prosperity. But what if this picture is wrong? What if the reasons for poverty are largely beyond the control of individuals? These are much more disturbing realities to consider because they call into question the very core of America's identity.
Armed with the latest research, Poorly Understood not only challenges the myths of poverty and inequality, but it explains why these myths continue to exist, providing an innovative blueprint for how the nation can move forward to effectively alleviate American poverty.
©2021 Oxford University Press (P)2022 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
Broke in America
- Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty
- By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, Bomani Jones - foreword
- Narrated by: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, JD Jackson
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Nearly 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line - about $26,200 for a family of four. Low-income families and individuals are everywhere, from cities to rural communities. While poverty is commonly seen as a personal failure, or a deficiency of character or knowledge, it's actually the result of bad policy. Public policy has purposefully erected barriers that deny access to basic needs, creating a society where people can easily become trapped - not because we lack the resources to lift them out, but because we are actively choosing not to.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
very left leaning
- By Bert Sloan on 09-06-22
By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, and others
-
The Poverty Paradox
- Understanding Economic Hardship Amid American Prosperity
- By: Mark Robert Rank
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
The paradox of poverty amidst plenty has plagued the United States throughout the twenty-first century—why should the wealthiest country in the world also have the highest rates of poverty among the industrialized nations? Based on his decades-long research and scholarship, one of the nation's leading authorities provides the answer. In The Poverty Paradox, Mark Robert Rank develops his unique perspective for understanding this puzzle.
By: Mark Robert Rank
-
Poverty, by America
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 856
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 755
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 754
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A testimonial based on facts and witness
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-27-23
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Evicted
- Poverty and Profit in the American City
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,987
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5,312
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,295
In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Former Property Manager
- By Charla on 05-18-16
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Black AF History
- The Un-Whitewashed Story of America
- By: Michael Harriot
- Narrated by: Michael Harriot
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,068
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 988
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 988
America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie. In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
LOVE It!
- By KMB on 09-29-23
By: Michael Harriot
-
The Sum of Us
- What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
- By: Heather McGhee
- Narrated by: Heather McGhee
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,731
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,278
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,249
Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a root problem: racism in our politics and policymaking. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good book but Recording tech is poor. Glitches
- By Jeannepup on 02-25-21
By: Heather McGhee
-
Broke in America
- Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty
- By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, Bomani Jones - foreword
- Narrated by: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, JD Jackson
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Nearly 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line - about $26,200 for a family of four. Low-income families and individuals are everywhere, from cities to rural communities. While poverty is commonly seen as a personal failure, or a deficiency of character or knowledge, it's actually the result of bad policy. Public policy has purposefully erected barriers that deny access to basic needs, creating a society where people can easily become trapped - not because we lack the resources to lift them out, but because we are actively choosing not to.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
very left leaning
- By Bert Sloan on 09-06-22
By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, and others
-
The Poverty Paradox
- Understanding Economic Hardship Amid American Prosperity
- By: Mark Robert Rank
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
The paradox of poverty amidst plenty has plagued the United States throughout the twenty-first century—why should the wealthiest country in the world also have the highest rates of poverty among the industrialized nations? Based on his decades-long research and scholarship, one of the nation's leading authorities provides the answer. In The Poverty Paradox, Mark Robert Rank develops his unique perspective for understanding this puzzle.
By: Mark Robert Rank
-
Poverty, by America
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 856
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 755
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 754
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A testimonial based on facts and witness
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-27-23
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Evicted
- Poverty and Profit in the American City
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,987
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5,312
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,295
In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Former Property Manager
- By Charla on 05-18-16
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Black AF History
- The Un-Whitewashed Story of America
- By: Michael Harriot
- Narrated by: Michael Harriot
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,068
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 988
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 988
America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie. In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
LOVE It!
- By KMB on 09-29-23
By: Michael Harriot
-
The Sum of Us
- What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
- By: Heather McGhee
- Narrated by: Heather McGhee
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,731
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,278
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,249
Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a root problem: racism in our politics and policymaking. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good book but Recording tech is poor. Glitches
- By Jeannepup on 02-25-21
By: Heather McGhee
-
The Warmth of Other Suns
- The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
- By: Isabel Wilkerson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 22 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 13,854
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12,251
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 12,193
From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superior non-fiction
- By Lila on 05-20-11
By: Isabel Wilkerson
-
Social Justice Fallacies
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Brad Sanders
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 512
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 453
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 452
The quest for social justice is a powerful crusade of our time, with an appeal to many different people, for many different reasons. But those who use the same words do not always present the same meanings. Clarifying those meanings is the first step toward finding out what we agree on and disagree on. From there, it is largely a question of what the facts are. Social Justice Fallacies reveals how many things that are thought to be true simply cannot stand up to documented facts, which are often the opposite of what is widely believed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Timely book by 93 year old Thomas Sowell
- By Wayne on 09-27-23
By: Thomas Sowell
-
Homegrown
- Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism
- By: Jeffrey Toobin
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Toobin
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 225
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 197
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 197
Timothy McVeigh wanted to start a movement. Speaking to his lawyers days after the Oklahoma City bombing, the Gulf War veteran expressed no regrets: killing 168 people was his patriotic duty. New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin traces the dramatic history and profound legacy of Timothy McVeigh, who once declared, “I believe there is an army out there, ready to rise up, even though I never found it.” But that doesn’t mean his army wasn’t there. With news-breaking reportage, Toobin details how McVeigh’s principles and tactics have flourished in the decades since his death in 2001.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not a great book I’m sorry to say
- By H. Winslow on 05-10-23
By: Jeffrey Toobin
-
Doppelganger
- A Trip into the Mirror World
- By: Naomi Klein
- Narrated by: Naomi Klein
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 739
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 679
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 678
What if you woke up one morning and found you’d acquired another self—a double who was almost you and yet not you at all? What if that double shared many of your preoccupations but, in a twisted, upside-down way, furthered the very causes you’d devoted your life to fighting against? Not long ago, the celebrated activist and public intellectual Naomi Klein had just such an experience—she was confronted with a doppelganger whose views she found abhorrent but whose name and public persona were sufficiently similar to her own that many people got confused about who was who.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Elite Psychobabble
- By A Reviewer on 09-30-23
By: Naomi Klein
-
American Psychosis
- A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy
- By: David Corn
- Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
- Length: 17 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 616
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 539
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 531
A fast-paced, rollicking, behind-the-scenes account of how the GOP since the 1950s has encouraged and exploited extremism, bigotry, and paranoia to gain power, American Psychosis offers listeners a brisk, can-you-believe-it journey through the netherworld of far-right irrationality and the Republican Party’s interactions with the darkest forces in America.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Important history poorly read
- By A. Hawley on 09-16-22
By: David Corn
-
Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism
- By: Anne Case, Angus Deaton
- Narrated by: Kate Harper
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 185
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
Life expectancy in the United States has recently fallen for three years in a row - a reversal not seen since 1918 or in any other wealthy nation in modern times. In the past two decades, deaths of despair from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism have risen dramatically, and now claim hundreds of thousands of American lives each year - and they're still rising. Case and Deaton, known for first sounding the alarm about deaths of despair, explain the overwhelming surge in these deaths and shed light on the social and economic forces that are making life harder for the working class.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
So many words, so little insight
- By Trebla on 03-22-20
By: Anne Case, and others
-
Regulating the Poor
- The Functions of Public Welfare
- By: Cloward Fox Piven
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6
Piven and Cloward have updated their classic work on the history and function of welfare to cover the American welfare state's massive erosion during the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton years. The authors present a boldly comprehensive, brilliant new theory to explain the comparative underdevelopment of the US welfare state among advanced industrial nations. Their conceptual framework promises to shape the debate within current and future administrations as they attempt to rethink the welfare system and its role in American society.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Regulating the Poor
- By Anonymous User on 07-12-21
-
The Color of Law
- A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
- By: Richard Rothstein
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,653
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,963
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,943
In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein explodes the myth that America's cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation - that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, he incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregation - the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments - that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Better suited to print than audio
- By ProfGolf on 02-04-18
-
Stamped from the Beginning
- The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
- By: Ibram X. Kendi
- Narrated by: Christopher Dontrell Piper
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,097
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,581
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,549
Some Americans cling desperately to the myth that we are living in a post-racial society, that the election of the first Black president spelled the doom of racism. In fact, racist thought is alive and well in America - more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues in Stamped from the Beginning, if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fabulous book, poor reader
- By EBMason on 11-15-17
By: Ibram X. Kendi
-
Laziness Does Not Exist
- By: Devon Price PhD
- Narrated by: Em Grosland
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 704
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 597
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 591
From social psychologist Dr. Devon Price, a conversational, stirring call to “a better, more human way to live” (Cal Newport, New York Times best-selling author) that examines the “laziness lie” - which falsely tells us we are not working or learning hard enough.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of the Most Important Books I've Ever Read
- By Meredith Ellis on 01-16-21
By: Devon Price PhD
-
American Whitelash
- A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress
- By: Wesley Lowery
- Narrated by: Wesley Lowery
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 66
In American Whitelash, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and best-selling author Wesley Lowery charts the return of this blood-stained trend, showing how the forces of white power retaliated against Obama’s victory—and both profited from, and helped to propel, the rise of Donald Trump. Interweaving deep historical analysis with gripping firsthand reporting on both victims and perpetrators of violence, Lowery uncovers how this vicious cycle is carrying us into ever more perilous territory, how the federal government has failed to intervene, and how we still might find a route of escape.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I hate that our country is this way
- By Cullen on 07-22-23
By: Wesley Lowery
-
Recoding America
- Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better
- By: Jennifer Pahlka
- Narrated by: Jennifer Pahlka
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 153
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 132
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 132
A bold call to reexamine how our government operates—and sometimes fails to—from President Obama’s former deputy chief technology officer and the founder of Code for America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very good, minimally partisan.
- By Samuel Mebane on 11-25-23
By: Jennifer Pahlka
Related to this topic
-
Losing Ground
- American Social Policy, 1950 - 1980
- By: Charles Murray
- Narrated by: Robert Morris
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 311
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 275
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 272
Beginning in the 1950s, America entered a period of unprecedented social reform. This remarkable book demonstrates how the social programs of the 1960s and ’70s had the unintended and perverse effect of slowing and even reversing earlier progress in reducing poverty, crime, ignorance, and discrimination. Using widely understood and accepted data, it conclusively demonstrates that the amalgam of reforms from 1965 to 1970 actually made matters worse.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A great book ruined by a terrible recording
- By Michael on 04-05-13
By: Charles Murray
-
Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism
- By: Arthur C. Brooks
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
In his controversial study of America's giving habits, Arthur C. Brooks shatters stereotypes about charity in America - including the myth that the political Left is more compassionate than the Right. Brooks, a preeminent public policy expert, spent years researching giving trends in America, and even he was surprised by what he found. In Who Really Cares, he identifies the forces behind American charity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Let's talk truth!
- By Jeff on 09-02-12
By: Arthur C. Brooks
-
The Spirit Level
- Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger
- By: Richard Wilkinson, Kate Pickett
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 139
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 105
Renowned researchers Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett offer groundbreaking analysis showing that greater economic equality-not greater wealth-is the mark of the most successful societies, and offer new ways to achieve it.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An Important Book
- By Stephen Schoenberg on 12-19-11
By: Richard Wilkinson, and others
-
Ghetto
- The Invention of a Place, the History of an Idea
- By: Mitchell Duneier
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 125
On March 29, 1516, the city council of Venice issued a decree forcing Jews to live in il geto - a closed quarter named for the copper foundry that once occupied the area. The term stuck. In this sweeping and original interpretation, Mitchell Duneier traces the idea of the ghetto from its beginnings in the 16th century and its revival by the Nazis to the present. As Duneier shows, we cannot understand the entanglements of race, poverty, and place in America today without recalling the history of the ghetto in Europe, as well as later efforts to understand the problems of the American city.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Impressive
- By Jean on 12-10-16
By: Mitchell Duneier
-
The Way We Never Were
- American Families and the Nostalgia Trap
- By: Stephanie Coontz
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
Leave It to Beaver was not a documentary, a man's home has never been his castle, the "male breadwinner marriage" is the least traditional family in history, and rape and sexual assault were far higher in the 1970s than they are today. In The Way We Never Were, acclaimed historian Stephanie Coontz examines two centuries of the American family, sweeping away misconceptions about the past that cloud current debates about domestic life. The 1950s do not present a workable model of how to conduct our personal lives today, Coontz argues.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
fantastic report on the dangers of nostalgia
- By Richard Stine on 06-29-21
By: Stephanie Coontz
-
The Economics of Inequality
- By: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 178
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 145
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 143
Succinct, accessible, and authoritative, Thomas Piketty’s The Economics of Inequality is the ideal place to start for those who want to understand the fundamental issues at the heart of one the most pressing concerns in contemporary economics and politics. This work now appears in English for the first time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Survey of the Economics of Inequality
- By Darwin8u on 12-19-16
By: Thomas Piketty, and others
-
Losing Ground
- American Social Policy, 1950 - 1980
- By: Charles Murray
- Narrated by: Robert Morris
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 311
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 275
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 272
Beginning in the 1950s, America entered a period of unprecedented social reform. This remarkable book demonstrates how the social programs of the 1960s and ’70s had the unintended and perverse effect of slowing and even reversing earlier progress in reducing poverty, crime, ignorance, and discrimination. Using widely understood and accepted data, it conclusively demonstrates that the amalgam of reforms from 1965 to 1970 actually made matters worse.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A great book ruined by a terrible recording
- By Michael on 04-05-13
By: Charles Murray
-
Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism
- By: Arthur C. Brooks
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
In his controversial study of America's giving habits, Arthur C. Brooks shatters stereotypes about charity in America - including the myth that the political Left is more compassionate than the Right. Brooks, a preeminent public policy expert, spent years researching giving trends in America, and even he was surprised by what he found. In Who Really Cares, he identifies the forces behind American charity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Let's talk truth!
- By Jeff on 09-02-12
By: Arthur C. Brooks
-
The Spirit Level
- Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger
- By: Richard Wilkinson, Kate Pickett
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 139
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 105
Renowned researchers Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett offer groundbreaking analysis showing that greater economic equality-not greater wealth-is the mark of the most successful societies, and offer new ways to achieve it.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An Important Book
- By Stephen Schoenberg on 12-19-11
By: Richard Wilkinson, and others
-
Ghetto
- The Invention of a Place, the History of an Idea
- By: Mitchell Duneier
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 125
On March 29, 1516, the city council of Venice issued a decree forcing Jews to live in il geto - a closed quarter named for the copper foundry that once occupied the area. The term stuck. In this sweeping and original interpretation, Mitchell Duneier traces the idea of the ghetto from its beginnings in the 16th century and its revival by the Nazis to the present. As Duneier shows, we cannot understand the entanglements of race, poverty, and place in America today without recalling the history of the ghetto in Europe, as well as later efforts to understand the problems of the American city.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Impressive
- By Jean on 12-10-16
By: Mitchell Duneier
-
The Way We Never Were
- American Families and the Nostalgia Trap
- By: Stephanie Coontz
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
Leave It to Beaver was not a documentary, a man's home has never been his castle, the "male breadwinner marriage" is the least traditional family in history, and rape and sexual assault were far higher in the 1970s than they are today. In The Way We Never Were, acclaimed historian Stephanie Coontz examines two centuries of the American family, sweeping away misconceptions about the past that cloud current debates about domestic life. The 1950s do not present a workable model of how to conduct our personal lives today, Coontz argues.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
fantastic report on the dangers of nostalgia
- By Richard Stine on 06-29-21
By: Stephanie Coontz
-
The Economics of Inequality
- By: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 178
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 145
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 143
Succinct, accessible, and authoritative, Thomas Piketty’s The Economics of Inequality is the ideal place to start for those who want to understand the fundamental issues at the heart of one the most pressing concerns in contemporary economics and politics. This work now appears in English for the first time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Survey of the Economics of Inequality
- By Darwin8u on 12-19-16
By: Thomas Piketty, and others
-
Kids These Days
- Human Capital and the Making of Millennials
- By: Malcolm Harris
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 248
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 202
Everyone knows "what's wrong with millennials". Glenn Beck says we've been ruined by "participation trophies". Simon Sinek says we have low self-esteem. An Australian millionaire says millennials could all afford homes if we'd just give up avocado toast. Thanks, millionaire. This millennial is here to prove them all wrong.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A devastating dream of revolution
- By Kevin Tierney Jr on 11-23-17
By: Malcolm Harris
-
Discrimination and Disparities
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,048
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,520
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,495
Discrimination and Disparities challenges believers in such one-factor explanations of economic outcome differences as discrimination, exploitation, or genetics. It is listenable enough for people with no prior knowledge of economics. Yet the empirical evidence with which it backs up its analysis spans the globe and challenges beliefs across the ideological spectrum.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Hard Pill To Swallow - I’m better for it
- By Charles on 01-14-19
By: Thomas Sowell
-
Coming Apart
- The State of White America, 1960–2010
- By: Charles Murray
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 772
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 631
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 626
In Coming Apart, Charles Murray explores the formation of American classes that are different in kind from anything we have ever known, focusing on whites as a way of driving home the fact that the trends he describes do not break along lines of race or ethnicity.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliant & Flawed
- By Douglas C. Bates on 05-15-12
By: Charles Murray
-
The Great Escape
- Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality
- By: Angus Deaton
- Narrated by: Matthew Brenher
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 251
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 206
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 206
The world is a better place than it used to be. People are healthier, wealthier, and live longer. Yet the escapes from destitution by so many has left gaping inequalities between people and nations. In The Great Escape, Angus Deaton - one of the foremost experts on economic development and on poverty - tells the remarkable story of how, beginning 250 years ago, some parts of the world experienced sustained progress, opening up gaps and setting the stage for today's disproportionately unequal world.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
not worth listening
- By Kyung on 04-26-20
By: Angus Deaton
-
A Generation of Sociopaths
- How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America
- By: Bruce Cannon Gibney
- Narrated by: Wayne Pyle
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 758
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 658
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 657
What happens when a society is run by people who are antisocial? Welcome to baby boomer America. In A Generation of Sociopaths, Bruce Cannon Gibney shows how America was hijacked by the boomers, a generation whose reckless self-indulgence degraded the foundations of American prosperity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Honest introspection required
- By Niki on 03-31-17
-
Equal Is Unfair
- America's Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality
- By: Don Watkins, Yaron Brook
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 620
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 566
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 567
We've all heard that the American Dream is vanishing, and that the cause is rising income inequality. The rich are getting richer by rigging the system in their favor, leaving the rest of us to struggle just to keep our heads above water. To save the American Dream, we're told that we need to fight inequality through tax hikes, wealth redistribution schemes, and a far higher minimum wage.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
While I agree with most of this book,...
- By Wayne on 12-30-16
By: Don Watkins, and others
-
The Complacent Class
- The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream
- By: Tyler Cowen
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 299
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 254
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 253
Since Alexis de Tocqueville, restlessness has been accepted as a signature American trait. Our willingness to move, take risks, and adapt to change have produced a dynamic economy and a tradition of innovation from Ben Franklin to Steve Jobs. The problem, according to legendary blogger, economist, and best-selling author Tyler Cowen, is that Americans today have broken from this tradition - we're working harder than ever to avoid change.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
MUST READ
- By RJW on 05-06-17
By: Tyler Cowen
-
Creating Freedom
- The Lottery of Birth, the Illusion of Consent, and the Fight for Our Future
- By: Raoul Martinez
- Narrated by: Steve West
- Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 35
A manifesto for deep and radical change, Creating Freedom explores the limits placed on freedom by human nature and society. It explodes myths, calling for a profound transformation in the way we think about democracy, equality, and our own identities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The BEST book, I've listened to in a long time
- By G. Newton on 04-16-17
By: Raoul Martinez
-
The Conscience of a Liberal
- By: Paul Krugman
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 518
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 252
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 252
America emerged from Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal with strong democratic values and broadly shared prosperity. But for the past 30 years, American politics has been dominated by a conservative movement determined to undermine the New Deal's achievements. Now, the tide may be turning, and in The Conscience of a Liberal Paul Krugman, the world's most widely read economist and one of its most influential political commentators, charts the way to reform.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Book!!!
- By carl801 on 12-04-07
By: Paul Krugman
-
The Son Also Rises
- Surnames and the History of Social Mobility
- By: Gregory Clark
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 34
How much of our fate is tied to the status of our parents and grandparents? How much does this influence our children? More than we wish to believe. While it has been argued that rigid class structures have eroded in favor of greater social equality, The Son Also Rises proves that movement on the social ladder has changed little over eight centuries.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Such a poorly reasoned work
- By Garbanzo on 08-10-18
By: Gregory Clark
-
Higher Education in America
- By: Derek Bok
- Narrated by: Steven Cooper
- Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 41
Higher Education in America is a landmark work - a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of the current condition of our colleges and universities from former Harvard president Derek Bok, one of the nation's most-respected education experts. Sweepingly ambitious in scope, this is a deeply informed and balanced assessment of the many strengths as well as the weaknesses of American higher education today.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Long but not deep
- By ProfGolf on 05-13-16
By: Derek Bok
-
American Dreams
- Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone
- By: Marco Rubio
- Narrated by: Ricardo Suri
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
Marco Rubio's parents came to the United States in 1956. The country they found was truly a land of opportunity, where hardworking people with grade school educations could afford a home, a car, and college for their kids. A country where maids and bartenders could raise doctors, lawyers, small-business owners, and maybe even a US senator. That was the American Dream - our country's central promise to its people.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Comprehensive and compelling path for renewal.
- By gary on 06-03-15
By: Marco Rubio
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
$2.00 a Day
- Living on Almost Nothing in America
- By: Kathryn Edin, H. Luke Shaefer
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 690
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 591
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 591
There are, in the United States, a significant and growing number of families who live on less than $2.00 per person, per day. That figure, the World Bank measure of poverty, is hard to imagine in this country - most of us spend more than that before we get to work or school in the morning.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
I'm a conservative and this isn't bad
- By Richard L on 07-04-16
By: Kathryn Edin, and others
-
Poverty, by America
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 856
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 755
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 754
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A testimonial based on facts and witness
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-27-23
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Broke in America
- Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty
- By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, Bomani Jones - foreword
- Narrated by: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, JD Jackson
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Nearly 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line - about $26,200 for a family of four. Low-income families and individuals are everywhere, from cities to rural communities. While poverty is commonly seen as a personal failure, or a deficiency of character or knowledge, it's actually the result of bad policy. Public policy has purposefully erected barriers that deny access to basic needs, creating a society where people can easily become trapped - not because we lack the resources to lift them out, but because we are actively choosing not to.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
very left leaning
- By Bert Sloan on 09-06-22
By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, and others
-
The Random Factor
- How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us
- By: Mark Robert Rank
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
It’s comforting to think that we can be successful because we work hard, climb ladders, and get what we deserve, but each of us has been profoundly touched by randomness. Chance is shown to play a crucial role in shaping outcomes across history, throughout the natural world, and in our everyday lives. In The Random Factor, Mark Robert Rank draws from a wealth of evidence, including interviews and research, to explain how luck and chance play out and reveals how we can use these lessons to guide our personal lives and public policies.
By: Mark Robert Rank
-
Homelessness Is a Housing Problem
- How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns
- By: Gregg Colburn, Clayton Page Aldern
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
In Homelessness Is a Housing Problem, Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern seek to explain the substantial regional variation in rates of homelessness in cities across the United States. In a departure from many analytical approaches, Colburn and Aldern shift their focus from the individual experiencing homelessness to the metropolitan area. Using accessible statistical analysis, they test a range of conventional beliefs about what drives the prevalence of homelessness in a given city and find that none explain the regional variation observed across the country.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
NO PDF! NO CHARTS!
- By P. Dean on 06-02-23
By: Gregg Colburn, and others
-
Evicted
- Poverty and Profit in the American City
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,987
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5,312
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,295
In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Former Property Manager
- By Charla on 05-18-16
By: Matthew Desmond
-
$2.00 a Day
- Living on Almost Nothing in America
- By: Kathryn Edin, H. Luke Shaefer
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 690
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 591
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 591
There are, in the United States, a significant and growing number of families who live on less than $2.00 per person, per day. That figure, the World Bank measure of poverty, is hard to imagine in this country - most of us spend more than that before we get to work or school in the morning.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
I'm a conservative and this isn't bad
- By Richard L on 07-04-16
By: Kathryn Edin, and others
-
Poverty, by America
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 856
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 755
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 754
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A testimonial based on facts and witness
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-27-23
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Broke in America
- Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty
- By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, Bomani Jones - foreword
- Narrated by: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, JD Jackson
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Nearly 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line - about $26,200 for a family of four. Low-income families and individuals are everywhere, from cities to rural communities. While poverty is commonly seen as a personal failure, or a deficiency of character or knowledge, it's actually the result of bad policy. Public policy has purposefully erected barriers that deny access to basic needs, creating a society where people can easily become trapped - not because we lack the resources to lift them out, but because we are actively choosing not to.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
very left leaning
- By Bert Sloan on 09-06-22
By: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, and others
-
The Random Factor
- How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us
- By: Mark Robert Rank
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
It’s comforting to think that we can be successful because we work hard, climb ladders, and get what we deserve, but each of us has been profoundly touched by randomness. Chance is shown to play a crucial role in shaping outcomes across history, throughout the natural world, and in our everyday lives. In The Random Factor, Mark Robert Rank draws from a wealth of evidence, including interviews and research, to explain how luck and chance play out and reveals how we can use these lessons to guide our personal lives and public policies.
By: Mark Robert Rank
-
Homelessness Is a Housing Problem
- How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns
- By: Gregg Colburn, Clayton Page Aldern
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
In Homelessness Is a Housing Problem, Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern seek to explain the substantial regional variation in rates of homelessness in cities across the United States. In a departure from many analytical approaches, Colburn and Aldern shift their focus from the individual experiencing homelessness to the metropolitan area. Using accessible statistical analysis, they test a range of conventional beliefs about what drives the prevalence of homelessness in a given city and find that none explain the regional variation observed across the country.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
NO PDF! NO CHARTS!
- By P. Dean on 06-02-23
By: Gregg Colburn, and others
-
Evicted
- Poverty and Profit in the American City
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,987
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5,312
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,295
In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Former Property Manager
- By Charla on 05-18-16
By: Matthew Desmond
What listeners say about Poorly Understood
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Madi
- 11-14-23
Had to read it for class
I mean overall it was very interesting in the lighting but I don’t know. I feel like a lot of it was just kind of common sense. I don’t know I don’t recommend it. It wasn’t very fun.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful