"Sociologists Wright and Donley (both, Univ. Here the term is used in a more expansive sense, as synonymous with anyone who lives near, at, or over the edge of financial catastrophe. The phrase down and out, has been used to describe people who are destitute or penniless since the late nineteenth century. This book is primarily about the dark side of this portrait-the poor, near-poor, homeless, and dispossessed who live in the midst of this verdant landscape. They are modern members of Ellison's invisible men but they comprise a racial and social mixture unlike any other in the American landscape. Meanwhile the homeless are reduced to advocacy models that neither middle- nor working-class folks much worry about. The rest of the local population makes its peace with the system. The homeless arrive with their own hopes and illusions, which are soon shattered.
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