Alex Kotlowitz
Paperback | Pages: 323 pages Rating: 4.28 | 12822 Users | 898 Reviews
List Books Toward There are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America
| Original Title: | There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America |
| ISBN: | 0385265565 (ISBN13: 9780385265560) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | United States of America |
| Literary Awards: | Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism (1992), Carl Sandburg Award, Society of Midland Authors Award for Nonfiction (1992) |
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For those wondering what happened to Pharoah and Lafayette, here's a quote from the author, taken from a 2011 Chicago Tribune article:In 1991, the same year the book was published, Henry Horner residents embarked on a legal battle that led to a federal consent decree to have the site redeveloped. The towering high-rises were eventually demolished and replaced with town houses, condominiums and public housing apartments. Public housing now in Chicago is "not perfect, but it's quite different from when we first started," Popkin said, citing the transformation at Horner, the CHA's commitment to resident services and the way that the agency is managed. But many things remain the same. The poor are still extremely segregated, Kotlowitz said. Deadly violence still defines impoverished communities where rampant shootings are committed by a new generation of so-called cliques. The characters of "There Are No Children Here" have met mixed fates. Several people the writer interviewed have been killed. And Kotlowitz said readers of the book constantly send him emails, asking how Lafeyette and Pharoah Walton are doing. "I think they really genuinely feel that they've gotten to know these two boys and they care about them and only want the best for them," he said. "You can tell by the emails that they are kind of rooting for them." The brothers, now 36 and 33, have dealt with their share of adversity. They have both served time in prison and continue to struggle with poverty. Pharoah Walton, depicted as the inquisitive younger brother, was paroled last year on a drug-related conviction, Department of Corrections records show. Over the years, though, he's joined Kotlowitz for speaking engagements and in 1993 was in the author's wedding. Lafeyette Walton lives on the South Side and works inside a laundry. He was paroled this year after being convicted on separate drug, drunken-driving and handgun charges. Depicted as the reserved older brother, Lafayette Walton said that he was conflicted about the success of the book during the 1990s. While he got to travel the country and earned a bit of a celebrity status, the family was still poor. His mother had a nervous breakdown, forcing him to take on the role of caretaker for his younger siblings. But Lafeyette Walton credits the experiences with Kotlowitz with giving him a broader view of the world, better able to cope with the stresses of the streets.
Point Epithetical Books There are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America
| Title | : | There are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America |
| Author | : | Alex Kotlowitz |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 323 pages |
| Published | : | January 5th 1992 by Anchor Books (first published February 1st 1991) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Sociology. History. Education. Social Issues. Poverty. Biography. Race |
Rating Epithetical Books There are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America
Ratings: 4.28 From 12822 Users | 898 ReviewsJudge Epithetical Books There are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America
I grew up in Chicago - Northwest side, Logan Square - and always thought my family was kind of poor. We wore hand-me-downs. We didn't go on vacations. I knew better than to ask for anything because the answer was always "No, we can't afford it", whether I was asking for money for a school trip - or lunch at the Woolworth counter. But we had a decent apartment in a safe, lower middle class neighborhood, adequate schools, and plenty to eat.The lifestyles and environment of people who lived inAn all around harrowing depiction of children robbed of their childhood that grow into disenfranchised adults robbed of life. Despite being quite aware of the income inequality, injustices, and general corruption that plague many America cities, this story was still enlightening. By focusing on the lives of two young boys instead of a housing complex or city as a whole, Kotlowitz illustrates how trauma, tribulations, and every day life for marginalized inner city children stacks up - very much
An non-fictional account of American poverty as experienced by two adolescent boys and their mother in a Chicago housing project during the late 1980s. The author was a young journalist who initially became acquainted with the family while doing a related story for the Wall Street Journal. He felt compelled to elaborate on what he saw by spending several days a week and many weekends just hanging out with the kids and their mom over a two year period, and then wrote this book about it. He
This reads like a sociology textbook, rather than a novel, which it is not. In all fairness, I lost interest halfway through the book. The climax that set the rest of the book apart hadn't shown up in those first 150 pages. Every day was conflict and climax. It is heartrending yet achingly difficult to not ask myself, as a middle class Caucasian, why did she continue to have children when the father was out of the picture? Why didn't she seek employment sooner?But, as I pointed out, the
The other America. What do I really know about life in the projects from my suburban life? Turns out nothing. Turns out it will make my stomach turn and weep for these children. While this book is decades old, and the projects that Kotlowitz profilesHenry Horner Homes in Chicago have since been razed, this is still a telling portrait of how some people are forced to live. While the subject matter was at times appalling and grotesque, the writing was so readable, I couldnt put the book down.
This is a wonderful book. In some ways, much has changed since Kotlowitz wrote this book: the Henry Horner Homes have been demolished in Chicago -- a relief considering the poor construction documented in the book, many cities are experiencing an urban renewal, and though Chicago is still plagued with violence, it's down significantly from the era this book documents (possibly due to the absence of lead). But at the same time, much has stayed the same. Poverty still limits far too many children
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