Neighbors - Life Stories of the Other Half

MP3 Audio CD. Jacob A. Riis was an influential journalist and social documentary photographer during the mid-19th century, and much of his life work consisted of exposing the deplorable poverty that the lower classes were experiencing, and attempting to help them in any way he could. After immigrating from Denmark to America at age 21, Riis saw the difficult living conditions that America?s poor were coping with. Many of his works, including the one before you, were dedicated to exposing the true story behind their struggles.

Neighbors ? Life Stories of the Other Half is a powerful and empathetic depiction of the real lives led by New York?s poorest and most unfortunate souls. Young couples, widows, individuals without a past or future, and people the likes of whom we may pass on the street without even realizing their struggles, have all imparted their life stories to Riis, who manages to recount them in a compelling manner for the readership of his time and the generations to follow.

There are stories of people who, like Riis himself, went to America in search of a better life, as well as stories about those who, having already been living in New York all their lives, were still unable to aim higher and improve their existence in any way.

Although the names included in the stories were not the real names of the protagonists, Riis offers us far more than just pure historical value through his accounts. In a time when human compassion seems to be in short supply, Riis? compelling approach, masterful style and powerful true tales of poverty shows us the importance of taking care of one-another and of even showing compassion to strangers we don?t know.

Anyone who has experienced poverty, lack and difficulty in any area of life will be able to resonate with these stories and perhaps even use them as inspiration for building a better world in the future.