Jacked up and unjust: Pacific Islander teens confront violent legacies

violent relationships, devastating addictions, and sudden unemployment. Instability can seem like the only constant as families move from place to place. While major traumatic events are recalled in vivid detail, the author’s descriptions of physical surroundings and the minutiae of lives in transition are just as compelling: a sign on the bulletproof partition of a Nashville motel lobby that reads, ‘Anyone evicted will have their things thrown away’; a multiple-hour trip across Fairfax commuter traffic to sell a $140 watch for $60 to pay for another night in a motel; a family struggling to keep their bodies and possessions clean and maintain dignity while living in their car in Portland. Much of the historical narrative focuses on how beliefs about the poor have shaped their treatment. Consistently, from the colonial era to the present day, taxpayers have been concerned about their money supporting the ‘idle’, now mostly anonymous, poor. While most of the professionals interviewed about the latest such subsidy – rapid-rehousing programs – find it promising (and results have been encouraging in Fairfax, Portland, and Trenton among other cities), the programs are often difficult to implement because they are perceived as rewarding poor decision-making. Schweid argues that, in fact, more generous housing programs have been shown to be the least expensive and the most effective option over the long term, and that progress can ensue only when we get past the ideological decision-making that has persisted around this issue. While interviews with families and descriptions of their surroundings drive the narrative, Invisible Nation is also an excellent introduction to the topic of American social welfare history. Readers who are well-versed in this topic may find themselves hurrying through explanations of familiar events and trends, though the author rounds these out with interesting details from some primary and older secondary sources. Invisible Nation exemplifies the relevance of history to social science research and policymaking and would be most useful in social welfare history courses aimed at students of social work, policy, and other practical disciplines.