Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The Fortress of Solitude: A Novel

by Jonathan Lethem

The Fortress of Solitude is the story of Dylan Ebdus growing up white and motherless in downtown Brooklyn in the 1970s. It’s a neighborhood where the entertainments include muggings along with games of stoopball. In that world, Dylan has one friend, a black teenager, also motherless, named Mingus Rude. As Lethem follows the knitting and unraveling of their friendship, he creates an overwhelmingly rich and... (more)

Them

by Nathan McCall

The author of the bestselling memoir Makes Me Wanna Holler presents a profound debut novel -- in the tradition of Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities and Zadie Smith's White Teeth -- that captures the dynamics of class and race in today's urban integrated communities. Nathan McCall's novel, Them , tells a compelling story set in a downtown Atlanta neighborhood known for its main street, Auburn Avenue, which... (more)

Homo Economics: Capitalism, Community, and Lesbian and Gay Life

Homo Economics: Capitalism, Community, and Lesbian and Gay Life

by Amy Gluckman

Homo Economics is the first honest account of the tense relationship between gay people and the economy. This groundbreaking collection brings together a variety of voices from the worlds of journalism, activism, academia, the arts, and public policy to address issues including the recent economic history of the gay community, the community's response to its changing economic circumstances, and the risks inherent... (more)

Seen It All and Done the Rest: A Novel

by Pearl Cleage

For Josephine Evans, home was on the stages of the world where she spent thirty years establishing herself as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Josephine was the toast of Europe, and her fabulous apartment in Amsterdam’s theater district was a popular gathering place for an international community of artists, actors, and expatriates who considered themselves true citizens of the world. Josephine lived... (more)

Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets

Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets

by Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh

First introduced in Freakonomics , here is the full story of Sudhir Venkatesh, the sociology grad student who infiltrated one of Chicago's most notorious gangs The story of the young sociologist who studied a Chicago crack-dealing gang from the inside captured the world's attention when it was first described in Freakonomics . Gang Leader for a Day is the fascinating full story of how Sudhir Venkatesh... (more)

Condo Living Omaha: How to Buy into the New Lifestyle

Condo Living Omaha: How to Buy into the New Lifestyle

by Steve Torneten

Catch the spirit of condo living, from Omaha's high-energy Downtown lofts to the high-rise Midtown renaissance, to a quaint South Omaha townhome condominium or a charming villa nestled among the trees and trails in the country. The smart buyer is putting smart money into the condominium market and loving every minute of the new American lifestyle. - Find out how to earn a hefty return on your investment while... (more)

Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood

Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood

by Michael Cunningham, Craig Marberry

The creative team behind the smash hit Crowns:Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats returns with a glorious tour of the spirit of Harlem—a collection of fifty stunning black-and-white photographs and unforgettable interviews that capture the heart and soul of one of the most famous and vibrant neighborhoods in the world. Harlem, long known as the epicenter of black cultural life in America, is undergoing a... (more)

Growing Smarter: Achieving Livable Communities, Environmental Justice, and Regional Equity (Urban and Industrial Environments)

Growing Smarter: Achieving Livable Communities, Environmental Justice, and Regional Equity (Urban and Industrial Environments)

Finalist, 2008 Book of the Year, Association for Humanist Sociology The smart growth movement aims to combat urban and suburban sprawl by promoting livable communities based on pedestrian scale, diverse populations, and mixed land use. But, as this book documents, smart growth has largely failed to address issues of social equity and environmental justice. Smart growth sometimes results in gentrification and... (more)

Hoochie Mama (Mad Dog Rodriguez Trilogy)

Hoochie Mama (Mad Dog Rodriguez Trilogy)

by Erika Lopez

In this knuckle-cracking finale to the Trilogy of Tomatoes, Erika Lopez refuses to wipe her nose, curtsey, and exit gracefully. Hoochie Mama: The Other White Meat is another eclectic novel that belongs somewhere between the coffee table and the bathroom, but this time we're a little older, yellowing like freezer-burned chicken, and dabbing on just a touch of rouge before hobbling down to the street corner to... (more)

The Golden Road: Notes on My Gentrification

The Golden Road: Notes on My Gentrification

by Caille Millner

An extraordinary young writer's search for authenticity among the various communities of identity-black, Latino, techno-utopian, Ivy League, activist-competing for her allegiance, each with its distinct allures and perils. California saved Caille Millner's parents, or at least saved them from lives of poverty and oppression as black Americans growing up in racially benighted backwaters. It provided them with... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: gentrification