How the Other Half Lives

Jacob Riis, a pioneer in the fields of photography and journalism, helped expose the disparity in living conditions between the upper and middle classes and the working class living in slums. This book is representative of the “muckracking” movement, which was characterized by investigative journalists pushing for social reforms by exposing the prevalent effects of poverty and corruption. How the Other Half Lives demonstrates Riis’ desire to improve tenement housing in the hopes of alleviating the overcrowded and unsafe living spaces resulting from the rapid growth of New York City. This book is also well known for Riis’ integration of photographs to visually document and vividly communicate the squalid living conditions that he described. 

A version of this text has been digitized and is available through the Internet Archive.

Lehigh University Catalog Record: https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/Record/10549019