Review by Choice Review
Dardick describes and compares groups of New York City's homeless people in four settings, each of which is the improvised physical and social construction of dwellings in places designed for other purposes. The four are a shantytown with its makeshift squalor; the innards and outside of a huge bus terminal, with its almost ceaseless movement and congestion; a large warehouse-like public shelter, plagued by constant tension and threats of violence; and a small church-run private shelter, which is tightly routinized, saves souls, and inhibits privacy. In each setting, relationships among the homeless are critical both to securing material resources needed for survival and to creating an environment as safe and secure as possible. The respective settings foster characteristic types of social relationships. Thus, the shantytown is the one place where heterosexual marriages and relationships can and do flourish. The public shelter breeds gangs and same-sex "marriages," reminiscent of what one often finds in prisons. The private shelter suits those who are comfortable in a pious and reform-oriented atmosphere. This well-written comparative study is an excellent urban ethnography that contributes significantly to understanding the social and personal lives of the homeless. All levels. E. Wellin; University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
