The United States is among the most affluent nations in the world and has its largest economy; nevertheless, it has more poverty than most countries with similar standards of living. Growing income inequality and the Great Recession have made the problem worse. In this thoroughly revised edition of Poverty in America, Iceland takes a new look at this issue by examining why poverty remains pervasive, what it means to be poor in America today, which groups are most likely to be poor, the root causes of poverty, and the effects of policy on poverty. This new edition also includes completely updated data and extended discussions of poverty in the context of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements as well as new chapters on the Great Recession and global poverty. In doing so this book provides the most recent information available on patterns and trends in poverty and engages in an open and accessible manner in current critical debates.

John Iceland is Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology, Penn State University. He is the author of Where We Live Now: Immigration and Race in the United States.

“The book would serve well as a text for undergraduate courses on poverty...Recommended.”—R.S. Rycroft, Choice: Current Reviews For Academic Libraries

“John Iceland combines statistical data, theoretical arguments, and historical information in a book that is highly readable. An excellent overview of the dimensions and sources of American poverty.”—William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor, Harvard University

"[Poverty in America] is comprehensive, easily accessible, up-to-date, and has a vast reference section for those who want even more detail. It could serve as a textbook for upper level undergraduate or graduate courses, or as a reference book for instructors trying to construct undergraduate lectures. It is an intelligent, balanced, and carefully researched handbook."—Social Forces

"Poverty, one of the most heavily researched issues in our society, is, ironically also one of the most politicized. In an effort to cut through the thicket of data, studies, rhetoric, and myths, John Iceland has produced a concise book that helps us analyze current thinking."—Contemporary Sociology