Christopher P. Dum

Exiled in America by Christopher Dum is a fascinating look at not simply the people left behind in America but those actively shunned and often destroyed by their very government.

This is similar to Desmond's Evicted but, unlike some comments I've seen, does not cover the same group of marginalized people in America since most of the narratives in Evicted are people who had a narrative that was disrupted. Most in Exiled never had the opportunity to even begin a life's narrative before they were shunted into the furthest extremes of the margins. They made plenty of mistakes and were not innocent bystanders in their troubles but were definitely assisted in their downward trajectory by misguided policies as well as being stigmatized, often far more than deserved. That said, the narrative nature of Desmond's book makes it a far smoother read while Dum certainly uses some sociological terminology and concepts that, while specialized, are not hard to grasp. But it does disrupt the flow of the book.

I found Dum's conclusion and suggestions for change to be both on target and a bit vague. I know, how can they be on target and vague, and I am not sure I can explain it very well. While reading them, I was nodding along in agreement for the most part. Some specific ideas were very good. Yet when I finished and thought about how one might implement the suggestions, I found myself unable to come up with a lot of ideas without making my own additions in order to focus the suggestions. That is not necessarily a bad thing but I think a little more specificity and fewer broad sweeping statements as suggestions would help to get more readers interested in doing something rather than just reading about it as a sort of soul-cleansing exercise.

I would recommend this to anyone interested in the plight of the poor, the marginalized and indeed of the country. If we can't, or won't, take care of all citizens then what kind of a people are we?

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)