Aint No Makin It Aspirations and Attainment in a Low Income Neighborhood Third Edition
November 9th, 2009 by 
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Aint No Makin It Aspirations and Attainment in a Low Income Neighborhood Third Edition
This classic text addresses one of the most important issues in modern social theory and policy: how social inequality is reproduced from one generation to the next. With the original 1987 publication of Ain’t No Makin’ It Jay MacLeod brought us to the Clarendon Heights housing project where we met the “Brothers” and the “Hallway Hangers.” Their story of poverty, race, and defeatism moved readers and challenged ethnic stereotypes. MacLeod’s return eight years later, and the resulting 1995 revision, revealed little improvement in the lives of these men as they struggled in the labor market and crime-ridden underground economy.
The third edition of this classic ethnography of social reproduction brings the story of inequality and social mobility into today’s dialogue. Now fully updated with thirteen new interviews from the original Hallway Hangers and Brothers, as well as new theoretical analysis and comparison to the original conclusions, Ain’t No Makin’ It remains an admired and invaluable text.
Contents
Part One: The Hallway Hangers and the Brothers as Teenagers
1. Social Immobility in the Land of Opportunity
2. Social Reproduction in Theoretical Perspective
3. Teenagers in Clarendon Heights: The Hallway Hangers and the Brothers
4. The Influence of the Family
5. The World of Work: Aspirations of the Hangers and Brothers
6. School: Preparing for the Competition
7. Leveled Aspirations: Social Reproduction Takes Its Toll
8. Reproduction Theory Reconsidered
Part Two: Eight Years Later: Low Income, Low Outcome
9. The Hallway Hangers: Dealing in Despair
10. The Brothers: Dreams Deferred
11. Conclusion: Outclassed and Outcast(e)
Part Three: Ain’t No Makin’ It?
12. The Hallway Hangers: Fighting for a Foothold at Forty
13. The Brothers: Barely Making It
14. Making Sense of the Stories, by Katherine McClelland and David Karen
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Ain’t No Makin’ IT
Book came fast. And in good shape.
Warning: The F-Bomb is used over 100 times. So if you are sensitive to swearing, there is a lot of it.
5 Stars A Good Overview of Class Divisions in America
This book does a great job of investigating class structure in America by taking out the issue of race. The book explores urban poverty from both the White and Black perspective which allows students to engage the topic without adding the additional complexity of race. White urban poverty is not a topic that is often explored so this is an eyeopening book for many students.
1 Star Never received item
Never received item or a response to email when inquiring about the book. I submitted a claim against seller.
1 Star Awful,
The first 1/3 of this book was nauseating. I didn’t care a lick about this delinquents. The final 1/3 brought some interesting insights that are probably not what the author expected.
GMS
5 Stars An Accessible, Enlightening Page-Turner
When I was in college, I read several chapters of Ain’t No Makin It as assigned reading for a sociology class. Years later, I came back to the book because I had frequently thought of it and wanted to reread it. Not only is the study enlightening, the writing is clear, insightful and elegant. MacLeod makes highly intelligent arguments without using pretentious language. His sense of metaphor is lovely, always helpful, and never a stretch. Overall, it is a humble body of work from someone who has every right to toot his own horn.
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