Falling from Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence

Falling from Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence
by Katherine S. Newman

Falling from Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence
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Book Summary Information

Author: Katherine S. Newman
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-02-26
ISBN: 0520218426
Number of pages: 342
Publisher: University of California Press

Book Reviews of Falling from Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence

Book Review: Great topic but missing something
Summary: 3 Stars

Newman starts with a great topic. Downward mobility is a subject that not only isn't discussed in our society, most people try not to even think about it. Newman gives some very moving accounts of downwardly mobile workers and their families; however, these accounts are very inconsistent. With some of the accounts, I felt like there was almost too much information; however, with other accounts I felt like we barely got a taste of what their personal experience with downward mobility involved.

Newman depicts 4 different groups of downwardly mobile people (middle managers, striking air tower contol workers, workers at a Singer Sewing Company factory and divorced midddle-class women). However, there's really enough information on each group to necessitate 4 individual books. This is great starting point to examine downward mobility, but the book ultimately leaves you wanting more.

Summary of Falling from Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence

Over the last three decades, millions of people have slipped through a loophole in the American dream and become downwardly mobile as a result of downsizing, plant closings, mergers, and divorce: the middle-aged computer executive laid off during an industry crisis, blue-collar workers phased out of the post-industrial economy, middle managers whose positions have been phased out, and once-affluent housewives stranded with children and a huge mortgage as the result of divorce. Anthropologist Katherine S. Newman interviewed a wide range of men, women, and children who experienced a precipitous fall from middle-class status, and her book documents their stories. For the 1999 edition, Newman has provided a new preface and updated the extensive data on job loss and downward mobility in the American middle class, documenting its persistence, even in times of prosperity.

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