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Jonathan Kozol
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Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools MP3 CD – MP3 Audio, March 19, 2010

by Jonathan Kozol (Author), Mark Winston (Reader)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 841 ratings
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For two years, beginning in 1988, Jonathan Kozol visited schools in neighborhoods across the country, from Illinois to Washington D.C., and from New York to San Antonio. He spoke with teachers, principals, superintendents, and, most important, children. What he found was devastating. Not only were schools for rich and poor blatantly unequal, the gulf between the two extremes was widening—and it has widened since. The urban schools he visited were overcrowded and understaffed, and lacked the basic elements of learning—including books and, all too often, classrooms for the students.

In Savage Inequalities, Kozol delivers a searing examination of the extremes of wealth and poverty and calls into question the reality of equal opportunity in our nation’s schools.

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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Brilliance Audio
  3. Publication date
    March 19, 2010
  4. Dimensions
    5.25 x 0.5 x 6.75 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    144184161X
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1441841612
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Brilliance Audio; Unabridged edition (March 19, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 144184161X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1441841612
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.5 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 841 ratings

About the author

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Jonathan Kozol

Jonathan Kozol

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Jonathan Kozol has been awarded the National Book Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Award. His book Savage Inequalities was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and became a national bestseller.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
841 global ratings
Really good book!
5 Stars
Really good book!
I really enjoyed this book. Purchased this for schools for my Bachelor program in education. It's very informative and interesting. I highly recommend it
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Top reviews from the United States

Tori Adkins
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must read.
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2021
Verified Purchase
Savage Inequalities is probably one of the most riveting books about the haves versus the have nots. It is direct in its first hand accounts of students such as those in East St Louis who have been red lined right to the bread lines. Corporations have squeezed that area to the point that they cannot even afford toilet paper for their restrooms.filled with anger, frustration and indignation,and hopelessness, the book outlines chapter by chapter, each horrific situation one right after another form New York city to sunny California and even in the heartland of America where these types of situations are usually swept under the rug using the “Midwestern nice” narrative and agenda. It highlights how our school district fails our students but also exposes the sinister underbelly of the extremes and disparities between wealthy districts and poverty- stricken districts. Hearing a girl in the book say that teenage pregnancy is the only way out of the system is both maddening and utterly tragic. Reading that students in Chicago’s poorest schools, if they are able to even graduate, are not prepared for the rigor of the college or university setting is absolutely astounding. Jonathan Kozol encapsulates the struggles of these students, the hopelessness that they feel and society’s inability or apathy regarding doing something about it.
This is a must read, but be prepared to feel extremely guilty about the inadequacies that are starkly narrated within each story. Be prepared to see how large districts allocate money inappropriately or inequitably. Be prepared to read about schools in New York with less than half the funding of other schools in their district, a student body of 1300 where only 900 should be housed and 5th grade class sizes of 35 or more students. The real tragedy is that the losers in this scenario are not only the teachers and communities, but more importantly, the students. How do we look these students in their innocent little eyes and say that we are providing an equitable education? It is not a wonderful book. It is a tragedy that is eloquently written to absolutely expose so many of the things wrong with education in America. It was written in 1991, and sadly, not much has changed in the past 30 years. Unfortunately, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Every time school finance reform has come to the table, it is repackaged to look pretty but not address the pink elephant in the room. So students in high poverty areas still go without the basics of a fundamental education. And we are wondering why reading levels are 2 and 3 grades below their given grade? We wonder why so many schools have drop out rates starting in 6th and 7th grade. Kudos to Jonathan Kozol for having the courage to pull the ugly truth out from under the proverbial rug. His last chapters talk about how the problems come about and ways we could strive for equity. This is a must read.
6 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Really good book!
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2024
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 I really enjoyed this book. Purchased this for schools for my Bachelor program in education. It's very informative and interesting. I highly recommend it
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Really good book!
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. Purchased this for schools for my Bachelor program in education. It's very informative and interesting. I highly recommend it
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Heidi Ganshert
5.0 out of 5 stars An essential read, especially for educators
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2022
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Although written in 1991 this book has numerous parallels to our current education system, with the future of the American education system in the balance. The accounts witnessed firsthand by Kozul in East St. Louis, New York, and Chicago is not only deplorable but almost inconceivable. The fact that children are going to schools without heat, food, and books, to name only a few issues needs to be brought to the forefront of conversations surrounding education. In reading this book it is evident that most of the children in these environments are unable to escape their circumstances and without an education fare an even less chance of beating the system. Kozul brings to light the most despicable aspect of the entire situation, the unwillingness of those with money, power, and influence to do anything to change the conditions of so many American schools. Even though we are living in a world much different from when Kozul wrote this book, America still has school systems that are operating under the same conditions that are thought-provokingly explained.
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Jeffrey Rossini
4.0 out of 5 stars University Review of Savage inequalities
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2010
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Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools, by Jonathan Kozol's is not a pleasure read. While reading this book I found myself at times depressed, angered, and frustrated by its content. The question of why racial segregation still exists today in many of American's schools is boldly and compelling asked by Kozol. The evidence provided in the this book may be from over twenty years ago, but unfortunately the statistics of 1988 are as accurate today, 2010 as it was then, and in some cases things have become worse. Repeatedly Kozol presents us with an example of a school where minorities are forced to attend schools of unimaginable conditions, schools so dilapidated that they have literally been condemned. This book though written a few years ago strikes at the heart of today's controversies in America's school system. Is our system fair? According to Jonathon Kozol it's not even close! The schools described by him in different cities across America are heartbreaking in their bleaknness and terrifying in their hopelessness. Kozol paints a portrait of the new American landscape where people with wealth distance themselves from the problem and insulate their children from poverty. How do we get our schools more equal? Can money save them? Can more federal government control save our school system? This is a great book for people who care about our education system. It does a great job of asking a lot of important questions and backing up these questions with strong evidence, discussing both sides of the major opinions of these questions. The major criticism I have for this book is its lack of solutions for the multitude of problems it brings are focus too. After reading the book I was left with a feeling of hopelessness which the book offered no relief for. This criticism should not deter anyone who cares about this country, its children, and the inequalities of our society from reading this book. Though it never offers a clear answer to the questions it asks it does lead us to the source of what's causing these problems. The flawed way by which this country funds its public schools is at the center of the book, and lies somewhere close to the solution. I couldn't imagine taking part in a discussion of American schools without having been exposed to this book. This book was a real eye-opener, exposing the wretched conditions of inner-city schools in America. I think it should be required reading for every person in this country, because it is an issue that receives little if any attention. I would never have known how bad the system is for some cities without reading this book.
6 people found this helpful
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Ariss R
5.0 out of 5 stars History Continues to Repeat Itself!
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2021
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This book describes in detail the extreme environments that many American children had to live in a few decades ago. For America to be such a wealthy country, it’s a disgrace that some students have to wish for basic needs and great teachers just to have a decent educational experience. The sad truth is that there are several cities in America in 2021 that still mirror these conditions. Not much has changed….When is the help coming???
2 people found this helpful
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