Dear biog-methods List Administrator:
This month Yale University Press is publishing Worlds Apart, by Cynthia
M. Duncan. This fascinating and important new book analyzes the
persistent problem of poverty in rural America. Ms. Duncan is a
subscriber to the biog-methods list and I hope you will find information
regarding her new book to be of interest to the other members of your
list.
Below you will find further information about the book that I hope you
can post to the biog-methods list. Anyone who wishes to purchase the
book can do so by visiting the following web page:
http://www.yale.edu/yup/books/duncanS99.html
If you are able to post the information, I would appreciate it if you
could contact me when you have done so.
Thank you very much,
Tim Shea
Yale University Press
203/432-7620
A Compelling Look at Poverty in Rural America
Why do some families stay mired in poverty generation after generation,
and why are some regions of the country chronically poor and depressed?
In the preface to her fascinating book WORLDS APART: Why Poverty
Persists in Rural America (Yale University Press; Pub. Date: June 3,
1999), author Cynthia M. Duncan poses this vital question. Duncan then
attempts to answer it through an intimate and often intense journey into
three remote rural areas in the United States where she records the
moving, honest and colorful stories of their residents.
WORLDS APART gives voice to the rural community's poor and struggling,
the rich and powerful and those in between as they candidly share their
hopes, dreams and difficulties. Duncan examines the nature of rural
poverty in two historically impoverished regions ñ the Appalachian coal
fields of "Blackwell" and the town of "Dahlia" in the Mississippi Delta
ñ and one prosperous but remote rural mill town in northern New England,
"Gray Mountain." The book includes a foreword by Robert Coles who
explains that in its pages the reader will find "a storytelling social
science that draws its strength from ordinary people whose lives are
brought
directly to the reader through remarks made, questions answered,
memories shared,
experiences told."
The compelling stories of poor men and women, and the shopkeepers,
politicians, coal barons, and plantation managers who control their
lives in Appalachia and the Delta illustrate how inequality erodes a
community's social fabric, destroying trust, feeding corrupt politics,
and undermining institutions crucial for helping poor families achieve
the American Dream. In stark contrast, the stories from a a northern
New England town dominated by a steadily employed blue-collar middle
class demonstrate that a rich civic culture characterized by trust, wide
participation, and community investment makes it possible for the poor
to escape poverty and for communities to come together to solve
problems.
Drawing on 350 in-depth interviews and ten decades of U.S. Census data,
WORLDS APART provides a powerful, readable analysis of the dynamics of
poverty, politics, and community change and illustrates the extent to
which many rural communities truly are, sadly, "worlds apart" from the
rest of America.
About the Author
Cynthia M. Duncan has written numerous articles and reports on the
subject of rural poverty. Among her many publications is the widely read
collection Rural Poverty in America. She has also been extensively
involved in community development projects throughout the U.S. Duncan
has worked at the Institute for the Study of Nonviolence and Amnesty
International in Palo Alto, California; served as research director at
the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development in Berea,
Kentucky; worked as a consultant to the Ford Foundation on rural poverty
and development; and served as associate director of the Aspen
Institute's Rural Economic Policy Program. She is currently associate
professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire.
Title: WORLDS APART: Why Poverty Persists in Rural America
Author: Cynthia M. Duncan, with a foreword by Robert Coles
Pub. Date: June 3, 1999 Pages: 256
ISBN: 0-300-07628-2 Price: $27.50
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