White Trash : : the 400-Year Untold History of Class in America

Locations
Call Number: 305.509 Is, Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / General / Isenberg, Nancy
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.509 Is	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.509 Is	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.509 Is	4-week checkout	Due 05-23-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / General / Isenberg, Nancy	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / General / Isenberg, Nancy	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / General / Isenberg, Nancy	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / General / Isenberg, Nancy	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / History / United States / General / Isenberg, Nancy	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Part I: To Begin the World Anew -- Chapter One Taking Out the Trash: Waste People in the New World -- Chapter Two John Locke's Lubberland: The Settlements of Carolina and Georgia -- Chapter Three Benjamin Franklin's American Breed: The Demographics of Mediocrity -- Chapter Four Thomas Jefferson's Rubbish: A Curious Topography of Class -- Chapter Five Andrew Jackson's Cracker Country: The Squatter as Common Man -- Part II: Degeneration of the American Breed -- Chapter Six Pedigree and Poor White Trash: Bad Blood, Half-Breeds and Clay-Eaters -- Chapter Seven Cowards, Poltroons, and Mudsills: Civil War as Class Warfare -- Chapter Eight Thoroughbreds and Scalawags: Bloodlines and Bastard Stock in the Age of Eugenics -- Chapter Nine Forgotten Men and Poor Folk: Downward Mobility and the Great Depression -- Chapter Ten The Cult of the Country Boy: Elvis Presley, Andy Griffith, and LBJ's Great Society -- Part III: The White Trash Makeover -- Chapter Eleven Redneck Roots: Deliverance, Billy Beer, and Tammy Faye -- Chapter Twelve Outing Rednecks: Slumming, Slick Willie, and Sarah Palin.
"A history of the class system in America from the colonial era to the present illuminates the crucial legacy of the underprivileged white demographic, citing the pivotal contributions of lower-class white workers in wartime, social policy, and the rise of the Republican Party,"--NoveList.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Well-Researched, but Somewhat Turgid submitted by sdunav on June 17, 2017, 10:10am Interesting insights into poverty and the white lower classes in America since the 1600's, from British indentured servants to Honey Boo Boo. Sometimes reads a bit too much like a dissertation.

Interesting & informative read submitted by -alex- on June 29, 2017, 12:51pm This is a great resource if you need background info on the history of the political, economic and cultural forces shaping the history of race and class in America.

The author's style inhabits a strange middle ground between academic writing and the more narrative form used by most writers of popular non-fiction. I kept finding myself wondering where or when the author would reveal her thesis. She does finally get around to making an assertion though, in the final few pages of the book.

Despite the oddity of the author's approach, this title makes an excellent read.

Upward Mobility Strangled At Birth submitted by BookNerd on July 9, 2017, 12:22pm When children become chattel because their parent is in debt to someone, you have the legal process for creating a permanent class of serfs. This legal strategy is embedded in the American creation story and the author traces it by focusing on a "great man" from each period of US history and his contribution to the system.

A dissertation turned into a nonfiction offering, the editors did a passable job of converting academic prose into something readable. Great for research material, something of a slog for informational reading

White Trash submitted by a2sue on August 8, 2017, 8:14am White Trash was not exactly what I was expecting...

Probably a good book, but I'll never know submitted by LizBC on August 8, 2017, 8:09pm I wanted to like this, I really did. I love social history. But this book was so dull, I couldn't even get past the first chapter. I feel bad saying this. I felt like I was reading a textbook for a Sociology class. I'm sure it was full of wonderful information, but I just couldn't force myself to keep going, because it was so deadly dull. Maybe it got better further into the book - but I'll never know.

Good Overview submitted by kelmu on July 6, 2023, 2:46pm This book is an overview of how the US has viewed the white underclass since the start of the country, with each chapter covering a different period of time or significant viewpoint. As others say, it is extremely dry. If it really is an adapted dissertation, that would not surprise me at all.

That said, don't be intimidated by the page count -- at least 1/4 of it is references. I once saw someone say (negatively) that this book is only a starting point, and doesn't go in-depth. I agree somewhat, and I like that! I didn't need any background knowledge, and there's enough material clearly referenced that I feel I could dig deeper if I wanted to. It might only be a starting point, but I think it's a good one.