Extraordinary.” —Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker
“A remarkable feat of reporting…The level of detail in this book and Goffman's ability to understand her subjects' motivations are astonishing—and riveting.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Necessary… Goffman's lively prose—communicated in a striking voice rare for an academic—opens a window into a life where paranoia has become routine… She goes beyond her street-level focus to argue something more profound.” —Baltimore City Paper
“Alice Goffman's On the Run is the best treatment I know of the wretched underside of neo-liberal capitalist America. Despite the social misery and fragmented relations, she gives us a subtle analysis and poignant portrait of our fellow citizens who struggle to preserve their sanity and dignity.” —Cornel West
On the Run is, first and foremost, a remarkable feat of reporting…The level of detail in this book and Goffman's ability to understand her subjects' motivations are astonishing—and riveting…More than anything, Goffman helps us understand why residents of this neighborhood make the seemingly cockeyed choices they do, often for very rational reasons, often because they know well the repercussions of the alternative…You can't read this book without a growing sense of understanding as well as outrage.
The New York Times Book Review - Alex Kotlowitz
"An exceptional book. . . . Devastating."
New Yorker - Malcolm Gladwell
A remarkable feat of reporting.
"Alice Goffman's On the Run is the best treatment I know of the wretched underside of neo-liberal capitalist America. Despite the social misery and fragmented relations, she gives us a subtle analysis and poignant portrait of our fellow citizens who struggle to preserve their sanity and dignity."
"On the Run is riveting—a clear-headed and sobering account of the 'way it is' for too many of the nation's young black men who live in the killing fields called American cities. It reveals how the everyday lives of these men—their loved ones—are closely monitored and mined for evidence that is then used against them, exacerbating their alienation and fueling the prison-industrial complex. This brilliant book should be required reading for everyone, including President Obama, Congress, and public officials throughout the nation."
"By turns On the Run is heartbreaking and clear-eyed, sad and entangled. With rich ethnographic detail, Alice Goffman reveals the emotional arc of deceptively complex young lives that are criminalized daily in one Black neighborhood in Philadelphia. A triumphant achievement!"
"Powerful. . . . It's clear that Goffman didn’t just research this book; she lived it. . . . Goffman has a gift for bringing to life the troubles and anxieties of ordinary people. . . . Invaluable. . . . A dramatic record of how race is still a key predictor of whether or not some young Americans will have a chance at a 'pursuit of happiness.'"
Los Angeles Review of Books
This is a truly wonderful book that identifies the casualties of the war on drugs that extend beyond the prison walls. The punitive ghettoisation of the poor leaves few families untouched. The detail is incredible. The research is impeccable. Read it and weep."
"On the Run tells, in gripping, hard-won detail, what it’s like to be trapped on the wrong side of the law with no way out—the situation of so many young Black Americans today. A brilliant fieldworker and a smart analyst of what she saw and heard, Goffman has made a lasting contribution to our understanding of the administration of the law, urban life and race relations, in a book you will never forget reading."
"Extraordinary. . . . The best work of ethnography I have read in a very, very long time."
"An exceptional book. . . . Devastating."
New Yorker - Malcolm Gladwell
