The good: As a true crime book, Chain of Title is gripping. Even those without an interest in housing issues will find it engrossing. The bad: Dayen does not suggest any solutions, and a reader will put down the book doubting whether the problems it identifies can even be fixed. Read more…
The good: The Pruitt-Igoe Myth and Public Housing Myths are both excellent introductions to the basic problem with public housing in the United States: the funding model simply does not work. A reader/viewer of either will understand that public housing could work in the U.S. if it was given a Read more…
The good: Evicted is riveting; the stories of the people Desmond follows are as compelling to read as any novel. Throughout, Desmond reports shocking data on rental housing in the US in a way that is neither dry nor preachy. The bad: Much of the most important information is buried Read more…