How the other half lives
by Jacob A. Riis, K. D. Weeks, Isabel Núñez · first published 1890
11mentions
4recommended by
8HN commenters
2008–2026first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
A photographic collection exposing social conditions and daily life in the slums of late 19th century New York City. The title of the book is a reference to a sentence by French writer and philosopher François Rabelais, who famously wrote in his Pantagruel : "one half of the world does not know how the other half lives" ("la moitié du monde ne sait pas comment l'autre vit").
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
…A dirty home or even a front step meant lower social status. Roberts wrote “Most people kept what they possessed clean in spite of squalor and ever-invading dirt. Some houses sparkled.” Or read Riis' How The Other Half Lives: http://archive.org/details/howotherhalfliv00riisgoog You can even find an unbiased view of Southern slavery (admittedly milder than Louis XIV's Caribbean version): http://books.google.com/books/about/A_south_side_view_of_sla...…
on “Science Fiction, big ideas, ideology: what is to be done?” ↗…immigration stat was from 1900, since I couldn't find one from 1900. You can ( and I have) read accounts from the time, and the difference in crime and levels of decay becomes even more apparent. Read How the Other Half Lives and then compare it to The Corner or Gang leader for a day. Either way, the point stands - these cities, with a high proportion of poor immigrants, did not have anything like the underclass problem that…
on “I was driven mad by the Chinese education system” ↗How The Other Half Lives [0] really is a worthwhile read, if you're at all interested in the history of NYC or of social reforms, or just want a reminder to be grateful for your own modern middle-class living conditions. The…
on “Photographer Jacob Riis showed “How the Other Half Lives” in 1890s NYC (2017)” ↗…stakeholder-capitalist company succeeding in an ultra competitive market, even while being publicly traded. I'm sure there are phenomenal books on Costco but the Acquired podcast's episode is a fantastic primer. * "How the Other Half Lives" by Jacob Riis is a snapshot of the precursor conditions that led to stakeholder capitalism. Basically industrialization threw huge numbers of people into conditions even more destitute than the perpetual…
on “iPhone Duo” ↗…poverty, like "The Corner" and "Gang Leader for a day". Then compare it to accounts from the early 1900's such as "The Slums of Baltimore, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia", "Land of the Dollar", and "How the other half lives." It will blow you away. Yes, the technology today is far better and knowledge of science far greater. We have penicillin and vaccinations. Fwer babies die at all income levels. But the gang violence,…
on “Why Vote? Freakonomics' take on voting” ↗…preference. This is a tenement, a warehouse for living people, in the worst 1900 Lower East Side sense, minus some of the fire and sanitation risk. Suitable for vermin, not scholars. See also Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives, 1890. A citizens’ movement resulted in the organization of a Board of Health and the adoption of the “Tenement-House Act” of 1867, the first step toward remedial legislation. ... The dark bedroom fell…
on “Interview with Charlie Munger on Controversial UCSB Dorm” ↗Intra-white racism was totally a thing in the USA. Jacob Riis ("How the Other Half Lives") is sometimes considered to have had progressive views on race, because he didn't consider black people to be strictly worse than white; but that probably just reflects his low opinion of Southern Europeans.…
on “3 Black Teenage Scientists Had a Breakthrough, Then Came the Trolls” ↗See also Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives, 1890. A citizens’ movement resulted in the organization of a Board of Health and the adoption of the “Tenement-House Act” of 1867, the first step toward remedial legislation. ... The dark bedroom fell…
on “Charles Munger's dorm” ↗…happened between 1965 and 1980 and has generally been a social disaster. 3b) In terms of material well being perhaps. In terms of culture, absolutely not. Read "Gang Lead for a Day" and then compare to "How the Other Half Lives". And violent crime certainly has not been falling in the inner cities: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=271919 4) Read Robert Putnams's Bowling Alone. Basically TV and video games have replaced…
on “I was driven mad by the Chinese education system” ↗…-expect- you to take a minimum number of paid days off, even sometimes in excess of giving you all the jurisdictional holidays off. I used to think that the module in high school where we learned about “How The Other Half Lives” was provided as historical context. As an adult I’ve learned that the US continues to be a case study in two halves. A shame, as it needn’t be the way it is. Edit: typo
on “15-20 more federal holidays” ↗The US desperately needs another version of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Other_Half_Lives to become virally popular. I went to school with kids who didn't have winter jackets. In Northern Maine. I studied with kids who didn't have any food to eat, almost ever. My mother taught kids that were…
on “Being poor vs. being broke” ↗