Jacob Riis was one of the very few men who photographed the slums of New York at the turn of the twentieth century; when as many as 300;000 people per square mile were crowded into the tenements of New York's Lower East Side. The filth and degradation made the area a hell for the immigrants forced to live there. Riis was one of those immigrants; and; after years of abject poverty; when he became a police reporter for the New York Tribune; he exposed the shameful conditions of life with which he was all too familiar. Today; he is best remembered as a compassionate and effective reformer and as a pioneer photo-journalist.In How the Other Half Lives; New Yorkers read with horror that three-quarters of the residents of their city were housed in tenements and that in those tenements rents were substantially higher than in better sections of the city. In his book Riis gave a full and detailed picture of what life in those slums was like; how the slums were created; how and why they remained as they were; who was forced to live there; and offered suggestions for easing the lot of the poor. Riis originally documented all his studies with photographs. However; since the half-tone technique of photo reproduction had not been perfected; the original edition included mainly reductions in sketch-form of Riis' photographs. These could not begin to capture what Riis' sensitive camera caught on film. The anguish and the apathy; the toughness and the humiliation of the anonymous faces is all but obliterated in the sketches. This Dover edition includes fully 100 photographs; many famous; and many less familiar; from the Riis collection of the City Museum; and their inclusion here creates a closer conformity to Riis' intentions than did the original edition.
#1036572 in Books John Wiley Sons 1999-10-26Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.67 x 1.48 x 7.68l; .0 #File Name: 0471297143470 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. i love it....By CAROLYNE CHAMBERLAINa welcomed addition to my library....i love history and this is a jewel of black history....in the big apple city...13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. A Great History BookBy A CustomerThe Black New Yorkers is the single-most complete history of African Americans in the United States that I have ever read! I was amazed to find the contributions of Africans extend so far back in New York's history. Indeed; I was not aware there were any blacks in New York prior to the 20th century Harlem Renaissance. There are literally hundreds of little known but important facts about black New Yorkers in this book. From the first black New Yorker; Jan Rodriguez; to the 2.3 million blacks who live in New York City today; this book has set a new standard for scholarship in American history.11 of 31 people found the following review helpful. Not comprehensive enoughBy Susan McIntoshUnless the authors are planning to do a book on Brooklyn New Yorkers; I am disappointed not to see text on my grandfather; George E. Wibecan; who was a noted activist and politician in Brooklyn from the turn of the century until his death in 1946. Materials and photographs are available at the Schomberg Library. I wanted to purchase this book for my family members. But when I realized that George Wibecan was omitted; I quickly changed my mind about its value to black families from outside Manhattan.
