---
product_id: 41095604
title: "Ghetto: The Invention of a Place, the History of an Idea"
brand: "mitchell duneier"
price: "€ 33.36"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 5
url: https://www.desertcart.ie/products/41095604-ghetto-the-invention-of-a-place-the-history-of-idea
store_origin: IE
region: Ireland
---

# Ghetto: The Invention of a Place, the History of an Idea

**Brand:** mitchell duneier
**Price:** € 33.36
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- **What is this?** Ghetto: The Invention of a Place, the History of an Idea by mitchell duneier
- **How much does it cost?** € 33.36 with free shipping
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## Description

Ghetto: The Invention of a Place, the History of an Idea

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Important, significant, readable book
  

*by R***E on Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2016*

This is an absolutely wonderful book on the ghetto or perhaps I should say “ghettos,” plural, for the monograph makes it plain that the term has been used in a wide variety of ways with differing referents over the years. The book is very different from what Duneier has done exceedingly well before -- this book is like an intellectual history of a concept rather than an ethnographic investigation of a world. But qualitatively and thought-wise, it is on a par with his previous works. The last chapter is an utter tour de force, reminding us that we need to be specific and particular when we refer to some place as a ghetto (and what is limiting when using the concept as well), lest we undermine our own understanding of the place and the experience of those within it. Duneier brings things home in that regard with an elegant delineation of what is distinctive about the black ghetto in the U.S., and what it would take in detail to do something ameliorative about it. I agree with others about the high quality of the writing as well.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Jewish ghetto?  Who knew?
  

*by A***D on Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2016*

This book resonated with me on so many levels:  Black scholars defining/illuminating my childhood home (the ghetto); becoming aware that the ‘ghetto’ originated with the Jews centuries  ago; while the Jewish ghetto was more one of group solidarity - people thriving within their culture - the African American (AA) ghetto was/is more like a prison/encampment with pretty much no opportunity to get out (e.g. generational); more information on restrictive covenants (who knew) and how they were demonically planned to keep Black folks in very small dense communities with hardly any services (the results of which still impact our communities today);  how AA have not been thought of as humans (kinda knew but when you hear more  proof…whoo) since forever;  how the government, including colleges and powerful national outside organizations,  were complicit (knew this too but again more proof) in systematically and diabolically upholding the draconian policies and  unfair real estate planning practices.The author juxtaposes the Jewish ghetto where people ‘simultaneously suffered and flourished’ and were able to move far away from their ghetto and fellow Jews, with the AA ghetto and how they were unable to ‘break through restrictive covenants (in addition to red lining and the rest) to the borders of existing neighborhoods’; offering limited opportunities no matter how successful.  “ …  black settlement patterns were unnatural and based on white aspirations to racial purity. They did not resemble those of other ethnic and racial groups.”I especially appreciated how Duneier framed and enlightened ‘the ghetto’ term, as it relates to blacks, from mainly AA scholars’ perspectives.  As he himself stated: “It’s little recognized that the term embodies some of the most brilliant work in the history of the social sciences, much of which was contributed by black scholars such as those presented in these pages.”  As a social worker myself I smiled when I read about how the first scholar presented, Horace Clayton, actually did field-work (the right way) with over 200 interviewers (supervised by 20 graduate students) –in the Black neighborhood to learn about and get information on Black people!This book brilliantly elucidates these scholars’ views on the AA ghetto, based on research and the people who lived there as well as offering recommendations and opinions on the best way to better the ghetto or move people out of it.  Although, over the years, there have been many views and opinions on how to support/help the inhabitants of the ghetto there’s obviously not a quick fix and we need to keep that in perspective.  It took us centuries to get into this position it may take us that long to untangle it…. hope not though.Finally, really glad I was exposed to this author at a book reading in Baltimore at Sheppard Pratt Library.  This quote reflects American ghetto sentiments best: “Above and beyond racism, this ability of the American people to compartmentalize, to live with moral dissonance, is the crucial underlying foundation of the forgotten ghetto.”

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    The planet, as a country, that no one recognizes.
  

*by S***Y on Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2017*

This is a book that people should want to read, with the drive to want the latest smart phone.It's one thing to read pages and say, 'yes, I read that book'.What is critical in reading this book, is understanding what happenedthroughout the ages. What the pages are saying. And reading this way, one becomes more intuitive.It's a life-learning process, to become more informed, educated to a higher level,to grow one's intuition. That is what makes a person better, for themselves, then, for others.This book speaks loudly about what the intelligent person knows, the frailty of human nature.No matter the century, it's the human character that is the same. And that is the tragedy of humanity,that it repeatedly fails itself by the treatment of its own kind, the human kind.

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*Last updated: 2026-02-24*