Synopses & Reviews
What is daily life like for an elderly person whose income barely covers basic needs? How is life constrained if that person is living within the same marginal enclave to which she first migrated decades ago? How does the implementation of national policies and programs affect the daily life of those growing old in Spanish Harlem?
In Growing Old in El Barrio, Judith Freidenberg addresses these questions by examining the life-course and daily experiences of the elderly residents of El Barrio. She interweaves the economy of immigrant neighborhoods with the personal experiences of Latinos aging in Harlem--such as Doña Emiliana, who lived in Spanish Harlem from her migration in 1948 to her death in 1995. Freidenberg further links policy issues to social issues critical to the daily lives of this population.
Combining extensive fieldwork interviews with historical and demographic population data, Growing Old in El Barrio paints an ethnographic picture of aging in Spanish Harlem and illustrates the emergence of New York as a city divided by ethnicity and class.
Review
"The most important book to date on the life of urban Hispanic elderly, it provides a vivid understanding of life today in New York City's El Barrio. Freidenberg is especially successful in having the voices of her informants not only lay out the social construction of immigrant experience but using these materials to analyze the important policy implications of her work."-Jay Sokolovsky,University of South Florida
Review
"An important contribution to the history and ethnography of El Barrio. Particularly valuable is the way in which Freidenberg humanizes her subjects who, as elderly and Latino, are often totally ignored or reduced to a mere statistic."-Arlene Davila,Syracuse University
Review
"A compassionate and knowledgeable writer, Judith Freidenberg chronicles the amazing perseverance and resilience of the population of older women and men who live in El Barrio, while describing the internal diversity and social issues that cut across larger populations. Growing Old in El Barrio is an illuminating and important book."-Robert N. Butler M.D,President and CEO, International Longevity Center
Review
"Makes a strong case for qualitative ethnography in developing policy. Freidenberg provides an excellent balance between quantitative and qualitative research, enriching both with a project that deepens our understanding of the problems of aging migrants. Its exceptional clarity recommends it for both students and policy makers."-June Nash,City University of New York
Review
"The most important book to date on the life of urban Hispanic elderly, it provides a vivid understanding of life today in New York City's El Barrio. Freidenberg is especially successful in having the voices of her informants not only lay out the social construction of immigrant experience but using these materials to analyze the important policy implications of her work."
"An important contribution to the history and ethnography of El Barrio. Particularly valuable is the way in which Freidenberg humanizes her subjects who, as elderly and Latino, are often totally ignored or reduced to a mere statistic."
"A compassionate and knowledgeable writer, Judith Freidenberg chronicles the amazing perseverance and resilience of the population of older women and men who live in El Barrio, while describing the internal diversity and social issues that cut across larger populations. Growing Old in El Barrio is an illuminating and important book."
"Makes a strong case for qualitative ethnography in developing policy. Freidenberg provides an excellent balance between quantitative and qualitative research, enriching both with a project that deepens our understanding of the problems of aging migrants. Its exceptional clarity recommends it for both students and policy makers."
"The author believes that her role is to let informants construct their own definitions and cultural understandings rather than using standardized measure of poverty or relying alone on "objective" socioeconomic indicators."
Review
"The author believes that her role is to let informants construct their own definitions and cultural understandings rather than using standardized measure of poverty or relying alone on "objective" socioeconomic indicators."-Centro Journal,
Review
“The books line up on my shelf like bright Bodhisattvas ready to take tough questions or keep quiet company. They stake out a vast territory, with works from two millennia in multiple genres: aphorism, lyric, epic, theater, and romance.”
-Willis G. Regier,The Chronicle Review
Review
“No effort has been spared to make these little volumes as attractive as possible to readers: the paper is of high quality, the typesetting immaculate. The founders of the series are John and Jennifer Clay, and Sanskritists can only thank them for an initiative intended to make the classics of an ancient Indian language accessible to a modern international audience.”
-The Times Higher Education Supplement,
Review
“The Clay Sanskrit Library represents one of the most admirable publishing projects now afoot. . . . Anyone who loves the look and feel and heft of books will delight in these elegant little volumes.”
-New Criterion,
Review
“Published in the geek-chic format.”
-BookForum,
Review
“Very few collections of Sanskrit deep enough for research are housed anywhere in North America. Now, twenty-five hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, the ambitious Clay Sanskrit Library may remedy this state of affairs.”
-Tricycle,
Synopsis
The Great Hall relates some of the most seminal events of the epic, culminating in the famous game of dice between the Pándavas and the Káuravas. The Pándavas, happily settled in Indra·prastha, enjoy one glorious success after another. Yudhi·shthira, after erecting the most magnificent hall on earth, decides to perform the Royal Consecration Sacrifice, which will raise his status to that of the world's greatest sovereign. His brothers travel far and wide and conquer all known kingdoms. Yet just when the Pándavas are beginning to seem invincible, Yudhi·shthira mysteriously gambles everything away in a fateful game of dice to his cousin Duryódhana.
Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation
For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org
About the Author
A native of Argentina, JUDITH FREIDENBERG is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Maryland.