Synopses & Reviews
Called a fascinating exploration of economic civil disobedience” by
Publishers Weekly, Lisa Dodsons stunning book
The Moral Underground features stories of middle-class managers and professionals who refuse to be complicit in an economy that puts a decent life beyond the reach of the working poor. Whether its a nurse choosing to treat an uninsured child, a supervisor padding a paycheck, or a restaurant manager sneaking food to a workers children, these unsung heroes reach across the economic fault line to restore a sense of justice to the working world.
This vivid account of working-class America is based on Dodsons eight years of research and conversations with hundreds of Americans about the need to create ethical alternatives to rules that ignore the humanity of working parents and put their children and risk.
Review
Lisa Dodson tracks a new civil disobedience [with]
fascinating
wrenching stories.”
—The Boston Globe
If only this book had been published in 2007.Then the hundreds of people interviewed by Lisa Dodson would have been able to pass along an important piece of advice: Whats good for business is not necessarily good for America.”
—Time
Important, encouraging reporting.”
—Kirkus
[A]n intriguing record of the economic crisis and how some are choosing to survive it.”
—Booklist
Highly recommended.”
—Choice
The documentary tradition at its very best.”
—Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Coles
Synopsis
Called a fascinating exploration of economic civil disobedience” by
PublishersWeekly, Lisa Dodsons stunning book The Moral Underground features stories of middle-class managers and professionals who refuse to be complicit in an economy that puts a decent life beyond the reach of the working poor. Whether its a nurse choosing to treat an uninsured child, a supervisor padding a paycheck, or a restaurant manager sneaking food to a workers children, these unsung heroes reach across the economic fault line to restore a sense of justice to the working world.
Selected as the Writer as Witness” text to be read and discussed by the
incoming Class of 2014 at American University, The Moral Underground is based on Dodsons eight years of research and conversations with hundreds of Americans about the need to create ethical alternatives to rules that ignore the humanity of working parents and put their children at risk. The Moral Underground has been called powerful” by The Weekly Sift,
the documentary tradition at its very best” by Pulitzer Prizewinner Robert Coles, and inspiring” and hard hitting” by Spirituality and Practice magazine, which wrote, Dodson does a remarkable job of conveying the sense of deep unfairness that pervades the feelings of these individuals who are paid less than they need to live.”
About the Author
Lisa Dodson worked as a union activist, an obstetrical nurse, and the director of the Division of Womens Health for the state of Massachusetts before becoming a professor of sociology at Boston College. The author of Dont Call Us Out of Name, she lives in Auburndale, Massachusetts.