Families on the Fault Line: America's Working Class Speaks about the Family, the Economy, Race, and Ethnicity

by Lillian B. Rubin

Book Overview

Based on nearly 400 interviews with working-class men, women and children of different races and ethnic groups, this book looks at the social, cultural and economic changes of the last two decades, and explores their impact on family life. Lillian Rubin is the author of Worlds of Pain.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060167416
• ISBN13: 9780060167417
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful book. Very easy to read.

This is truly a great book. Packed full of information and knowledge, and its very easy to read. Can easily be read in one sitting. This book is more important now then ever.

Riviting Rubin

One aspect of Rubin's work that is disappointing is the deficiency of any plausible solutions to all of the problems she presents. While she does challenge the institutions that assist in keeping these invisible Americans at the bottom, she simply neglects to give any examples of institutions or policies that might benefit the lower classes, such as a childcare system that is safe, cost-efficient, does not deteriorate family values, and so forth. That becomes frustrating for readers who quickly tire of complaining about and pointing out problems without presenting any pathways to a solution.Nevertheless, Families on the Fault Line has a pretty broad audience, as shown through her word choice and sentence complexity. This book is a fast and interesting read for anyone interested in learning about the reality of being poor. Moreover, people in the middle and upper classes should read this book in order to get a better understanding of just how unglamorous being poor can be, and what a luxury it is to have job security, some extra money, be able to buy new clothes, afford a higher education for one's children. I highly recommend this book to anyone concerned about his or her future, because while the economy may look good now, a person cannot predict how it will be in another two decades.

Explains many contradictions about race and class issues

This is a very readable book which uses the results of a large number of case studies to disclose the fiction of our "classless" society. She liberally sprinkles the text with intriguing parts of conversations which descibe a far different picture than we thought we knew. The most interesting part of this book shows very clearly the reason why the very people on the fault line refuse to acknowledge their condition and in doing so make it difficult to face the political machine that favors the families in the $100K and up income level. The most frightening part of this book is the evidence of the political machine which practically invites racism and other divisive forces into the arena. It seems the political arena is the only place we can solve that divisiveness and we need this book to help us there.