Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America Audiobook

" I read this for a book club and am really glad that I did. "

" I appreciate the respect he demonstrates by not giving any easy answers "

" Very interesting and eye opening read. It offers a peak into the lives of poor urban families and how it impacts the children coming from the projects. My biggest critique is that Kozol only offers these stories, without giving suggestions for the solution to the problem of getting poor children through the system successfully. "

" Anecdotally interesting, but I found it hard to know how to apply this across the board for a greater impact. Of course, I suspect that's partially the point: no one solution will solve poverty, bad schools, etc. I did not care for each chapter essentially being a story of one person's life with little thought given to lessons learned. Overall, though, I think it's an important book. "

" Nothing really new here, just a series of case histories on children growing up in the South Bronx, one of the poorest places in the entire country, and the challenges they face in life and school. Some of them make it out, with help from adults who care; others do not. Once again, Kozol shows in simplest terms why blaming the poor for poverty helps no one, that how we treat the poor only compounds the problems, and that not everyone who winds up homeless is to blame (ie, displaced due to fire, etc)in a system that is deliberately set up to discourage people from ever seeking help. He's made me hate people who blame the poor for their issues, for they have no concept of the depth of the problems. And a pee test ain't gonna solve nothing but raising your taxes. "

" How could I dislike anything that Jonathan Kozol writes? He makes a personal connection and helps you to want the best for the children and families that he writes about. "

" Very enlightening. I wish I could do something meaningful to helps kids like this! "

" Very informative. However, "informative" does not make for a page-turning tone or storyline. No real acts with climaxes and resolutions, just events and some character development. "

" In his typical ethnographic style; I think I was looking for a deeper level of analysis and policy prescriptions. "

" Should be required reading for everyone, particularly people who think it's only "personal responsibility" that leads to success and not societal factors at all. "

" Difficult to read. Kozol paints vivid pictures of those that have been and continue to be marginalized. 25 years and almost nothing has changed for those who are born into poverty no matter what the folks from TFA would like use to believe. "

" Amazing. Kozol's look at race, poverty, choice, power, and family is moving and captivating. Highly recommend for education, social work, or policy students, or those that want to know what our teachers and social workers and millions of poor families face across the nation. "

" Everyone should read Jonathan Kozol's work. "

" Kozol gives updates on many of the families that were introduced in previous books. I enjoyed the book as much as one can enjoy a book of this nature. "

" It is a powerful, eye-opening book about children growing up in poverty in the Bronx and surrounding area and the people who intervene to save some of them from the mean streets. "

" Wonderful and tragic and hopeful...these are the stories of families Kozol has followed throughout his career. It is, above all, a call to action. "

" It is incredible to see how some kids have the resiliency to overcome so much adversity while others do not. What really makes the difference? "

" Not very far in, yet, but already it's great in the usual Kozol fashion. "