Traveling Light

On the Road with America's Poor

By: Kath Weston

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Paperback | 1 September 2009

At a Glance

Paperback
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.6 x 14 x 1.8

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How far can you get on two tacos, one Dr. Pepper, and a little bit of conversation? What happens when you're broke and you need to get to a new job, an ailing parent, a powwow, college, or a funeral on the other side of the country? And after decades of globalization, what kind of America will you glimpse through the window on your way? For five years, Kath Weston rode the bus to find out.

"Traveling Light" is not just another book about people stuck in poverty. Rather, it's a book about how people "move" "through" poverty and their insights into the sweeping economic changes that affect us all. The result is a moving meditation on living poor in the world's wealthiest nation.

Industry Reviews

In the tradition of Studs Terkel . . . Years of motion are covered in visually descriptive language which wraps around perfectly chosen metaphors and shorthand images standing in for larger social phenomena.--Todd Mercer, ForeWord

[Weston's] eyes are sharp and her heart is in the right place. A gritty portrait of hard-pressed people moving through some of the least attractive real estate in America.--Kirkus Reviews

Brilliant, haunting, powerful, and ultimately inspiring . . . The nation needs to reckon with what Weston has uncovered.--Juliet Schor

Traveling Light stands as that rare thing, a work of witness. But it is also that rarest thing, a great read. In the tradition of adventuresome road books and anguished social commentary, Weston has created a testament to the abiding greatness of our national soul.--Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Devil's Highway

[An] accessible gem . . . This book is a piece of 21st-century Americana in motion, and its characters and cities will resonate and linger with readers.--Publishers Weekly

[Weston] is gifted in making real contact with the most unlikely people who are not unlikely to her.--Barbara Rich, Charlottesville Daily Progress

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Society & Culture Social Issues & Processes Poverty & Unemployment Sociology & Anthropology Sociology Social Groups Social Classes Anthropology Social & Cultural Anthropology, Ethnography

Prologue: Freedom in My Pocket	p. IX
It's a Poor Rat That's Got But One Hole: An Introduction to Living Poor in a Rich Country	p. XIII
When the Desert Fails to Bloom: Albuquerque to Missoula via Vegas
Pennies from Heaven	p. 3
Final Call for Socorro, Truth or Consequences, Hatch, Las Cruces . . .	p. 10
Everybody Out! Hands Up against the Bus!	p. 13
The Trucker's Lament	p. 21
Keep Your Eyes on the Burrito	p. 25
Those Fools up at the VA	p. 29
Who You Calling "Food Stamps"?	p. 33
Next Stop, Sin City	p. 34
Wait Training	p. 38
The Trash Bag Racer Rally and Other Extreme Sports	p. 41
Fight!	p. 44
You Don't Say	p. 48
Already Got a Job and a Lot of Good It Done Me	p. 52
The Singing Bus	p. 59
Leaving the City of Cranes: Boston to Milwaukee in Two Alimentary Acts
Awash in a Great Green Sea	p. 67
Master and Commander	p. 72
I Just Hate to Travel Like This	p. 81
Y'all Shouldn't Have Ate That Chicken	p. 87
Too-Tired Meets His Maker	p. 92
Ladies and Children First	p. 95
Anybody Asks You for the Time, You Don't Have It	p. 103
Sick as a Downsized Dog	p. 106
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?	p. 109
Going Coastal: Five Hundred Years of the Poverty Draft, New York to St. Augustine
Port Question Authority	p. 121
The Amazing Debt-Defying Disappearing Bus	p. 126
Todos Que Hermanos	p. 129
Little Box of Terrors	p. 135
Dr. King on the Waterfront	p. 140
Ready to Die but Never Will	p. 146
What Did You Do With My Aunt?	p. 147
The Castillo Economy	p. 151
The Fine Arts of Moving in Circles: El Monte to Bishop and Back
Riding Along with Princess Di	p. 159
All Snakes, No Ladders	p. 163
Swagger	p. 169
The Philosopher-King Does Sacramento	p. 175
To See What There Is to See	p. 180
Books Mobile and the Secret Stash	p. 185
This Place Is a Dump	p. 189
Ride in Beauty	p. 194
V. Living on Debts and Promises: Montgomery after the Boycott, New Orleans before the Storm
Mickey's Hot Little Cousin	p. 201
The Back Is Where It's At	p. 204
Take a Deep Breath	p. 214
Vietnam Thirty Plus	p. 220
Snap! Judgments	p. 224
Lovebug	p. 228
Another Get-Poor-Quick Scheme	p. 231
The Borrowed Time Club	p. 239
Acknowledgments	p. 245
Author's Note	p. 249
Notes	p. 251
Read On	p. 255
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Traveling Light

On the Road with America's Poor

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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