Check It Out

The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap 
By Matt Taibbi
New York: Spiegel and Grau, 2014.
New Book Shelf: HM671 .T35 2014

“United we stand; divided we fall.” If this is true, than the atrocities outlined by Matt Taibbi in The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap are possibly foreshadowing the demise of the United States. This book discusses the growing gap in income between the wealthy and the poor. Anecdotes about the wealthy committing crimes with impunity and the poor being stripped of their rights are balanced with statistics about class, poverty, and crime.

“There are also more black men in jail right now than there were in slavery at its peak.” In The Divide, we learn about the intersection of racism and classism, which Taibbi explores with respect to new immigrants in a chapter entitled Border Trouble. What makes this book interesting is the juxtaposition of elite crimes that go unpunished with the everyday person struggling to survive. Taibbi examines the injustice in the justice system from every level.

The Divide offers a startling look at how income plays a role in every aspect of our lives. The Wealth Gap is real, and the injustices that accompany it are horrifying.

Review by Lauren McFall, SWC Librarian