Response #3: Someplace Like America

From reading the first couple pages of this book I can tell I’m going to like it.  I know I will take an interest in the “little people” who make up this great country we live in.  The writer of this book, Dale Maharidge, begins the book with an excerpt from Bruce Springsteen, a great American singer songwriter, who pays tribute to some of Maharidge’s other works and the reality he captures in his books.  The way he focuses on not only the Politicians and Businessmen in America but also the working class.

United States history has always been written about the game-changers, the people that everyone remembers, from Presidents and Generals to major reformists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and Rosa Parks.  The difference with this book is that it puts the spotlight on everyday people, and how they react to the changing economy and world around them.  The everyday struggles that people go through just to put food on the table, the tragedies among the less fortunate and even homeless. 

From the journeys that he takes with his photographer, Michael S. Williamson, Maharidge gains personal insight to what goes on among the people of America much like you and me, a sort of unwritten history.  He begins the book reflecting on one of his experiences living among homeless people in Santa Barbara, California.  Maharidge briefly tells us about traveling alongside the “tree people” of Santa Barbara which somewhat shows his determination to get these people’s stories out there and the length he went to document them.  He then proceeds to tell us about his view of America, from the iconic landscapes to the tough times, in his words “the places of lost dreams and hard-live lives” and how we can take a deeper look into America through the eyes of the people. 

Maharidge also collected a lot of research dating back to the 1930’s about the economic downfall and marks the similarities between the one we are going through now, how one man’s recession is another’s depression.  He commends the drive that American’s have to rise to each and every challenge rather it be single motherhood or the falling economy.

This book not only records a bit of American history (from 1980-2010) but captures it in a way that hasn’t been done before.  Following a specific group of people rather than the people who are high in ranks, such as the president, is a great way to create a sense of unity.  This book will go through a number of stories told by the American citizens themselves, the hardships, the struggle and the good times that we all go through.  I’m excited about this book because I think through these people that Maharidge selected to follow, it will reflect a bit of every American and give us someone we can relate to and sort of share the pain with.