The New Faces of American Poverty: A Reference Guide to the Great Recession

The stated purpose of this set is to "explore the impact of the worst economic downturn the United States has seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s on the poor in the United States." Hanson and Essenburg, the former a staff attorney at a nonprofit organization in Minnesota, the latter a professor of economics at Bethel University in St. Paul, inform the reader that "We have included a wealth of information in nearly 60 essays and more than 150 graphs, charts, and tables, which provide background information on poverty and economics, along with detailed research on the relationship between the Great Recession and U. S. poverty." This encapsulates both the major strength and weakness of the volumes. While much hard work has gone into the production of these substantial works, the writing is often dense, filled with ill-defined terms and phrases, such as structured investment vehicles and asset backed commercial paper. Also, many of the statements, including "It appears that instead a 'new normal' of higher unemployment and poverty rates will be here for some time," are hardly revelatory. Lastly, an examination of the effects of the recession on the middle class would also be welcome.