Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond follows poor renters and wealthy landlords in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, illustrating how eviction perpetuates poverty and inequality. The book details the harsh realities faced by diverse tenants, highlighting systemic failures and proposing solutions for housing stability and justice. Topics of domestic violence, substance abuse, and racial discrimination are addressed.

Matthew Desmond’s Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City is lauded for its compelling narrative and detailed ethnographic research on urban poverty and housing instability. Readers praise its empathetic portrayal of tenants and landlords but note the book’s heavy emotional weight and occasional lack of actionable solutions. Recommended for its impactful insight, despite minor criticisms.

Readers interested in Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond are often those who appreciate in-depth social analysis and are concerned with urban poverty issues. Fans of Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed or Alex Kotlowitz’s There Are No Children Here will find this work equally compelling.

Informative / Unnerving / Melancholic / Challenging / Emotional

- Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2017, highlighting its significant impact in the field of social sciences.
- The author, Matthew Desmond, is a sociologist at Princeton University and founded the Eviction Lab, the first nationwide database of evictions in America.
- Desmond's research was partially funded by the prestigious MacArthur "Genius" Grant, which he received in 2015, allowing him to expand his work on housing and eviction.

**Sherrena Tarver**  
A young, black former elementary school teacher turned landlord who has built a real estate empire primarily in Milwaukee's North Side, where she rents to impoverished tenants.

**Tobin Charney**  
An older white landlord sought for maintaining a poorly kept trailer park, he repeatedly shifts maintenance responsibilities onto his tenants by manipulating trailer ownership.

**Arleen Belle**  
A single black mother struggling to provide a stable home for her two sons, constantly battling poverty and personal hardships.

**Crystal Mayberry**  
A young tenant with a troubled past and various mental health issues, she attempts to help others but often undermines herself due to personal struggles.

**Lamar Richards**  
A Vietnam War veteran living in Sherrena's duplex, struggling with disability and the aftermath of addiction, while trying to keep up with rent through maintenance work.

**The Hinkstons**  
A large family living in a small duplex owned by Tarver, led by matriarch Doreen, as they face extreme poverty while trying to keep the family together.

**Larraine Warren**  
A white trailer park resident facing eviction, highlighting family breakdown and failures in community support systems, who eventually finds herself without stable housing.

**Pam Reinke**  
A mother of four daughters dealing with housing discrimination and personal turmoil in her relationship as she seeks stability for her family.

**Scott Bunker**  
A former nurse whose back injury led to drug addiction until he finds recovery and improved living circumstances, offering a rare hopeful outcome.

Matthew Desmond

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Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Summary and Study Guide

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Part 1: “Rent”

Prologue-Chapter 4

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Prologue-Chapter 4

Chapters 5-8

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Chapters 5-8

Part 2: “Out”

Chapters 9-12

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Chapters 13-16

Part 3: “After”

Chapters 17-20 

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Chapters 17-20 

Chapter 21-About This Project

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Chapter 21-About This Project

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Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

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