This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1890 edition. Excerpt: ...willing to accept the shadow for the substance where that is the best he can get. The claw-hammer coat and white tie of a waiter in a first-class summer hotel, with the chance of taking his ease in six months of winter, are to him the next best thing to mingling with the white quality he serves, on ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1890 edition. Excerpt: ...willing to accept the shadow for the substance where that is the best he can get. The claw-hammer coat and white tie of a waiter in a first-class summer hotel, with the chance of taking his ease in six months of winter, are to him the next best thing to mingling with the white quality he serves, on equal terms. His festive gatherings, pre-eminently his cake-walks, at which a sugared and frosted cake is the proud prize of the couple with the most aristocratic step and carriage, are comic mixtures of elaborate ceremonial and the joyous abandon of the natural man. With all his ludicrous incongruities, his sensuality and his lack of moral accountability, his superstition and other faults that are the effect of temperament and of centuries of slavery, he lias his eminently good points. He is loyal to the backbone, proud of being an American and of his new-found citizenship. He is at least as easily moulded for good as for evil. His churches are crowded to the doors on Sunday nights when the colored colony turns out to worship. His people own church property in this city upon which they have paid half a million dollars out of the depth of their poverty, with comparatively little assistance from their white brethren. He is both willing and anxious to learn, and his intellectual status is distinctly improving. If his emotions are not very deeply rooted, they are at least sincere while they last, and until the tempter gets the upper hand again. Of all the temptations that beset him, the one that troubles him and the police most is his passion for gambling. The game of policy is a kind of unlawful penny lottery specially adapted to his means, but patronized extensively by poor white players as wTell. It is the meanest of swindles, but reaps for its...
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Add this copy of How the Other Half Lives to cart. $15.95, very good condition, Sold by Rainy Day Paperback rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bethel, CT, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by General books.
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Seller's Description:
VERY GOOD+ Optically scanned reprint of Riis' 1890 book-text only, no illustrations. As new except for crease on front cover corner. "In How The Other Half Lives New Yorkers read with horror that three-quarters of the residents of their city were housed in tenements and that in those tenements rents were substantially higher than in better sections of the city. In his book Riis gave a full and detailed picture of what life in those slums was like, how the slums were created, how and why they remained as they were, who was forced to live there, and offered suggestions for easing the lot of the poor." 74 pages, 7.5x9.75x.25. 0.9.
This famous book is, essentially, a book of photographs of how the poorest of the poor lived in New York's lower east side 100 years ago. My father grew up there back then, and I ordered two copies, one for my brother.
The books did not have a single photograph. It looks like someone may have photocopied the text, reprinted it so small as to be almost unreadable, and left out the one thing that made this book so famous, which was all the photographs.
I didn't keep the mailer the books came in, so I can't return them to the bookseller who sold me these frauds.
lesable
May 6, 2010
Gift
This was book requested for a gift. Happy with fast delivery to organization wishing donation.
RichardESchiff
May 7, 2009
Illuminating
Riis was the father of American Photo Journalism. Having spent time as a New York photojournalist, I realize the tremendous role he played in opening up that field.
He did more to help improve conditions for the nation's immigrants than many others who worked solely for that purpose.
I reccomend it heartily for any social historian.
Selina
Sep 27, 2007
An eye opener
This book is photo journalism at its best. I had to read this book in college and it really changed my perception in life.
This was written along time ago so some of the text can be considered offensive. There is a lot of use of negative sterotypes in this book. There is an especially poor opinion of the Irish in this book.
This book is really about the photographs of the poor living in tenements in New York City. Until this book was published most people in soceity were not aware of the living conditions of the poor. These haunted photographs brought about a massive public awareness. The plight of the tenements could no longer be ignored.
The photographs are haunting. The miserable conditions New York's poor lived in is heart breaking. The photographs are clear and high quality dispite their age. This is a great book for photographers, history buffs, and people who enjoy an interesting subject matter.
