Poverty Safari

What Hacker News says

1. arethuzaAug 2019
   Scotland is a tiny country but it never ceases to horrify me at the depth of the social and health divisions between different parts of the country, Scotland is often described as the "sick man of Europe" and Glasgow in particular has a remarkably bad life expectancy - the "Glasgow Effect":

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_effect

   I can strongly recommend Darren McGarvey's Poverty Safari a personal account of a deprived childhood on the outskirts of Glasgow.

   Edit: Something I find grimly fascinating is the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) and its interactive map visualisation:

   https://simd.scot

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2. jlangenauerAug 2019
   I’ll add my recommendation for “Poverty Safari”, it’s an eye-opening read.
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3. jlangenauerDec 2018
   Non-fiction:

   "Age of Anger" by Pankaj Mishra - Eye opening work about how resentment develops in societies, and becomes weaponised by politicians - wide ranging examples from Voltaire-era France, pre-independence India and modern day ISIS.

   "Poverty Safari" by Darren McGarvey - A stunning polemic and sort of memoir about modern-day poverty (particularly in the UK). Will change your mind, whether your politics leans to the left or the right

   "Anmerkungen zu Hitler" by Sebastian Haffner - Only about halfway through this, but it offers clear observations and insights as to how Hitler gained power in Germany. Published in English as "The Meaning of Hitler", but the translation is a bit sketchy and doesn't have Haffner's clear prose.

   Fiction:

   "Guapa" by Saleem Hadid - an amazing portait of LGBT life, and life in general in the Arab world after the Arab Spring.

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