Dividing paradise : rural inequality and the diminishing American dream Cover Image

Book

Dividing paradise : rural inequality and the diminishing American dream / Jennifer Sherman.

Summary:

In Dividing Paradise, Jennifer Sherman tells the story of Paradise Valley, Washington, a rural community where amenity-driven economic growth has resulted in a new social landscape of inequity and privilege, with deep fault lines between old-timers and newcomers. Based on in-depth interviews with individuals on both sides of the divide, this book explores the causes and repercussions of the polarization that has become commonplace across the United States. It exposes the mechanisms by which inequality flourishes and by which Americans have come to believe that disparity is acceptable and deserved. Sherman presents a powerful case study of the ever-growing tensions between those who can and those who cannot achieve their visions of the American Dream. -- From dust jacket.

Record details

ISBN: 9780520305137
ISBN: 0520305132
ISBN: 9780520305144
ISBN: 0520305140
Physical Description: xvi, 266 pages ; 23 cm
Publisher: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2021]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Prologue : discovering paradise -- Rural deindustrialization, decline, and rebirth -- Changing times in paradise -- Living the dream : newcomers making it work in paradise -- Trouble in paradise : old-timers' struggles to survive -- "Certain circles" : the deepening divide -- Paradise lost : making sense of community change and the elusive American Dream -- Conclusion : crossing the divide and reclaiming the dream -- Epilogue: The rural dream in the pandemic's wake -- Appendix A : methods, sample, and local demographic information -- Appendix B : the newcomer/old-timer distinction.