Tranquility on the Razor's Edge

In this exciting, thought-provoking new book, author Eric Weissman draws on personal experience, firsthand empirical research, and social theory to probe the causes and consequences of homelessness.

Hundreds of thousands of North Americans are homeless according to government statistics; hundreds of thousands, even millions more are only precariously housed, one paycheck away from life on the streets. Homelessness is one of the most significant social problems facing society today. Yet there remains enormous misunderstanding about the real causes of this social scourge.

Weissman examines emerging solutions to homelessness such as Oregon's Dignity Village, an effort to create a self-governing community for the previously homeless, and assesses their strengths and weaknesses. He draws on his own experiences with addiction and homelessness in analyzing the social factors and personal traumas that drive people to the streets. And he considers the future of homelessness in a globalized world in which work and life are ever more precarious.