Friday, August 25, 2023
Homelessness is a Housing Problem
This book has a great title. It is such a good distillation of the book's message that I was tempted to just type, "Yep!" for my review and leave it at that. You see, there are many things that are blamed for the homelessness crisis in America. Mr. Colburn and Mr. Aldern have taken a look at each of them, crunched the numbers from available studies, and offered their findings. The puzzling thing is that the usual suspects in homelessness--addictions, mental health, rates of poverty--don't seem to cause an equal level of homelessness across the country. One by one, the authors whittle away the causes until they are left with the availability of affordable housing.
The book is definitely worth checking out if you're at all interested in homelessness. The book isn't so academic as to put you to sleep, but it does offer data to back up their opinions. As a worker in an emergency shelter, it gave me a better grasp of the overall system and some of what my guests and I are up against as we're trying to get them housed.
Labels: CheckItOut
Sunday, August 13, 2023
1812: The Rivers of War
I actually purchased this as waiting room material, as I had to kill time while out shopping. But it really is a book worth checking out. Mr. Flint spins a tale where Sam Houston does not suffer an incapacitating injury during the War of 1812 and is instead around to help bring together a groups of freedmen and Cherokee warriors to fight in the battle of New Orleans in 1814. The relationships built during the course of these events set the foundation for the planting of a Cherokee nation that avoids the Trail of Tears scenario that exists in our history. But for that bit we'll have to get the sequel.
The book didn't grab my interest at first--much like that era in American history. But the story slowly grew on me as the characters and plot developed. As one might expect, the story has a military bent, with a lot of battle scenes. Come to think of it, that's probably why it was a slow starter for me, as the story comes out fighting, so to speak.
Labels: CheckItOut
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