Jacob August Riis was een Amerikaanse journalist wiens werk zich richtte op de armen in New York City. Zijn geschriften, gevormd door zijn vroege lectuur van Dickens en J.F. Cooper in Denemarken, vertonen vertelkunsten die door Engelstalige schrijvers zijn aangescherpt. Riiss benadering werd gekenmerkt door een scherp oog voor sociaal onrecht en een verhalende stijl die de harde realiteit van gemarginaliseerde gemeenschappen belichtte. Met zijn journalistiek wilde hij empathie opwekken en maatschappelijke verandering teweegbrengen door de levens van de vaak over het hoofd geziene te onthullen.
Focusing on the struggle against urban poverty in New York, this significant work provides a detailed account of the efforts to combat slum conditions over a decade. It highlights social issues and welfare challenges, making it a vital resource in social sciences. The modern edition has been carefully reformatted and redesigned for clarity, ensuring its accessibility to contemporary readers. This preservation effort aims to keep its important message alive for future generations.
Focusing on accessibility, this book is a reproduction of a historical work presented in large print, catering specifically to individuals with impaired vision. Published by Megali, a house dedicated to making historical texts more readable, it emphasizes the importance of inclusivity in literature.
This historical work is presented in large print by Megali, a publishing house dedicated to making literature accessible for individuals with impaired vision. The reproduction aims to preserve the original content while enhancing readability, ensuring that more readers can enjoy and engage with classic texts.
Set on a cold Christmas Eve, the narrative paints a vivid picture of the East Side, where the harsh winter conditions reflect the struggles of the men hurrying home with empty dinner-pails. The atmosphere is heavy with darkness, and the flickering light from the delicatessen and saloon contrasts sharply with the bleakness of their surroundings. This scene captures the resilience of the characters as they navigate the challenges of their environment, evoking a sense of urgency and hardship amidst the holiday season.
The clock in the West Side Boys' Lodging house ticked slowly on Christmas Eve, as if six turkeys were not sizzling in the basement for the next day’s feast, and two dozen boys were not trying to guess the types of pies to accompany them. Outside, shopkeepers hurried home, shouting Merry Christmas! to one another while the drays rolled over the snow-covered pavement. Inside, the rhythmic click of checkers matched the clock's ticking, with only the boys’ excited exclamations and a little fellow scratching on a slate to figure out the time until dinner breaking the room's quiet. The superintendent dozed at his desk, oblivious to the anticipation in the air. This work is a reproduction of an important historical text, digitally reconstructed to preserve its original format while repairing imperfections. Forgotten Books aims to maintain the integrity of classic literature, ensuring that readers can access these rare works, even if some imperfections remain intentionally to reflect the state of historical editions.
Studies Among the Tenements of New York
Riis is considered one of the first representatives of undercover investigative journalism. For example, he worked in a meat factory under a different name. Riis' fame is based on his book publications How the Other Half Lives, a powerful documentation of life in the New York slums. His works helped improve housing conditions in New York tenements, as well as school reforms. In connection with his social documentary reportages, he developed a friendly relationship with Theodore Roosevelt, who was New York's police commissioner back in 1895.
Children of the Tenements is a collection of stories and tales about orphans and poor children living in the slums of New York City. It provides an interesting insight into city life at the turn of the century and shows how the spirit of Christmas can make an impact even on the most unfortunate ones.
Exploring the multifaceted relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and Jacob Riis, this book delves into Roosevelt's character as both a friend and a statesman. Riis emphasizes the importance of understanding Roosevelt's humanity to fully appreciate his political achievements. Through personal anecdotes and insights, the narrative reveals how friendship shaped Roosevelt's approach to leadership and governance. This unique perspective offers readers a deeper understanding of one of America's most dynamic presidents.
The book reflects on perseverance and the cumulative effects of effort, illustrated through the metaphor of a stonecutter's relentless work. Jacob Riis emphasizes the importance of consistent determination, suggesting that success often comes not from a single effort but from the accumulation of many attempts. Through personal anecdotes and observations, the narrative explores themes of resilience, the immigrant experience, and the transformative power of hard work in shaping one's destiny in America.
Studies Among the Tenements of New York - The Fully Illustrated Edition
The belief that every man's experience ought to be worth something to the community from which he drew it, no matter what that experience may be, so long as it was gleaned along the line of some decent, honest work, made me begin this book. With the result before him, the reader can judge for himself now whether or not I was right. Right or wrong, the many and exacting duties of a newspaper man's life would hardly have allowed me to bring it to an end but for frequent friendly lifts given me by willing hands. To the President of the Board of Health, Mr. Charles G. Wilson, and to Chief Inspector Byrnes of the Police Force I am indebted for much kindness. The patient friendship of Dr. Roger S. Tracy, the Registrar of Vital Statistics, has done for me what I never could have done for myself; for I know nothing of tables, statistics and percentages, while there is nothing about them that he does not know. Most of all, I owe in this, as in all things else, to the womanly sympathy and the loving companionship of my dear wife, ever my chief helper, my wisest counsellor, and my gentlest critic. J. A. R.
