Individual Photographers & Professionals, Urban Photography, New York City - History, Urban Studies - General & Miscellaneous, Documentary Photography & Photojournalism, Poverty, 19th Century Photography

The Battle with the Slum

Name: The Battle with the Slum
Author: Jacob A. Riis
ISBN: 9781420944563

by Jacob A. Riis

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Overview

Splendid sequel to author’s 1902 classic, How the Other Half Lives. Compelling real-life tales, accompanied by rare photographs and engravings, report on the status of living conditions among New York City’s poor and exploited, including successful efforts to demolish breeding grounds of crime, improve conditions in schools, tenements and on playgrounds; and the removal from power of Boss Tweed and the Tammany organization. Of vital interest to anyone concerned with urban renewal and the plight of the city’s poor at the turn of the century.

Synopsis

Jacob A. Riis (1849-1941), pioneer of social documentary photography and journalism, occupies a singular position in the history of social journalism. Jacob A. Riis spent his life bringing to light the societal effects of urban decay and poverty in 19th century America. Here is presented his 1901 book "The Battle with the Slum," an arresting account of New York City's blighted areas. His exploration of the squalor found in Lower East Side tenements was groundbreaking. In the 1880's, up to 335,000 people lived within one square mile, making it the most densely populated place on earth. 10 to 15 persons occupied one room, creating rampant disease, hunger, and crime. By writing such captivating reportage on the conditions, public attention eventually lead to political action. Written with a literary eloquence rarely seen in journalistic writing of the time, "The Battle with the Slum" turns a documentarian's eye upon the roots of poverty in America.

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Booknews

An unabridged republication of the work published by The Macmillan Company, New York and London, in 1902 (a new introduction and new footnotes are included). It constitutes a sequel to the social reformer's published in the late 1800s in which Riis drew national attention to the squalor of New York City's slums. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.