Book cover of Sunbelt Blues: The Failure of American Housing

Book description

An eye-opening investigation of America’s rural and suburban housing crisis, told through a searing portrait of precarious living in Disney World's backyard.

Today, a minimum-wage earner can afford a one-bedroom apartment in only 145 out of 3,143 counties in America. One of the very worst places in the United States…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Sunbelt Blues as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The author (Ross) spent years in the vicinity of Disney World, focusing on residents in the hidden encampments and run-down motels where Disney employees and other economic unfortunates live. I was captivated by his descriptions of strip malls, convenience stores, and abject poverty in close proximity to luxury hotels and Disney attractions—places where owning a home is an unattainable dream.

What this book does more than any other I’ve read is sound the alarm about the predatory nature of hedge funds and private equity firms buying up real estate throughout the United States. Housing affordability becomes even more distant as…

If you love Sunbelt Blues...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

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Deadly Revenge by Patricia Bradley,

Deputy Jenna Hart has only been working in her sleepy hometown of Pearl Springs for seven months when city officials begin to be targeted by a killer. Twenty years ago, the construction of a dam caused people to lose their land to eminent domain. That wound has not healed with…

Book cover of The Duty of Memory

The Duty of Memory by Vicki Olsen,

Separating the true stories from the myths, The Duty of Memory provides a deeper understanding of the diverse motivations that drove ordinary people to join an underground network of French Resistants despite terrible odds and horrifying consequences.

This book takes the reader inside the true story of men and women…

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