The Road to Poverty
The Making of Wealth and Hardship in Appalachia

Intended for social scientists, historians, and readers interested in social change and social poverty, this book examines the roots of entrenched poverty in Appalachia. It is both a social history of the creation of chronic poverty (and wealth) in Clay County, KY and an explication of how economic markets, cultural strategies, and the state interact to shape local society. By linking a longitudinal study of a single place to broader understandings of the historical development of the capitalist world system, this book contributes to policy discussions of the underlying causes of persistent rural poverty and reasons for the chronic failure of governmental programs to alleviate such poverty. In doing this study the authors have assembled probably the longest running set of longitudinal data currently available on an American rural population as well as the most extensive body of data available for a persistently poor community in the United States.

Reviews & endorsements

"Billings and Blee support their often fascinating and at times incredible report with a wealth of archival and contemporary data, grounded in a theoretically comprehensive and thoughtful analysis. Their book is a real eye opener for anyone who has ever wondered why Appalachia is, and has long been, so poor. It is also a rare case study of mostly white poverty with not an inner city in sight." Herbert J. Gans, Columbia University

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Product details

• Date Published: January 2000
• format: Paperback
• isbn: 9780521655460
• length: 452 pages

• dimensions: 229 x 152 x 26 mm
• weight: 0.66kg
• contains: 23 b/w illus. 5 maps 29 tables
• availability: Available