Synopsis
"[A] commanding invitation to join the battle." -- The Boston Times
How the Other Half Lives is a riveting account of life in New York's Lower East Side tenements of the last century written by one of the Progressive Era's preeminent reformers. Drawn from the author's long career as a police reporter and photographer, the book captures the stark realities of life for the destitute and represents one man's campaign to reform society by challenging the social injustices of his times. First published in 1890, the book called attention to the poverty and immorality of New York's toughest neighborhoods, from the sweatshops to the crime-ridden alleys, and the plight of the marginalized people who lived and worked in the hellish enclaves of tenement slums.
About the Author:
Born in Ribe, Denmark, the third child of a family of fourteen, Jacob Riis showed promise as a crusader even in childhood. Nicknamed "the Delver" for his habit of mucking around in the sewer and waging war on rats, he once gave his Christmas money to a poor and disreputable family in his village. Riis, with only forty dollars in his pocket, left Denmark to make his mark in America. Jobless and hungry, he soon became the forefront of the urban reform movement.