Poverty in America : an encyclopedia /

This encyclopedia by R. Lawson (Bacone College) and B. Lawson (Univ. of Iowa) about poverty in the US intends to codify and clarify a large, troublesome problem growing in this country. It features a historical introduction, a chronology beginning in 1562, excerpts from primary documents, cross-references, sources at the end of the entries, a fairly good-sized bibliography, and an adequate index. The overall section devoted to encyclopedic entries is a bit skimpy, with considerable space within the 157 pages of text devoted to See also references and the sources. The entries are occasionally insensitive: the one for the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex attributes problems to the fact that many single and divorced mothers lived there; the general entry titled "Public Housing" ignores local public housing movements that resulted in complexes that were not "big box" or "generally dirty, unpleasant."For a work with similar information but a more progressive treatment, Geoffrey Gilbert's Rich and Poor in America: A Reference Handbook (CH, Jan'09, 46-2442) is comparable. For more extensive (and expensive) handling, one might try Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and Policy (CH, Jun'05, 42-5642) by Gwendolyn Mink and Alice O'Connor. For a broader view, readers should consult Sylvia Whitman's World Poverty (CH, Jan'09, 46-2458). Poverty in America does cover a wide variety of thinking about the poor (both "deserving" and "undeserving"), and would be a good starting point in particular for readers interested in the "further reading" suggestions in the resource listings. It will be useful as a supplement to other works in a collection. Summing Up: Optional. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates; general readers. J. Q. Vance Walla Walla Community College