Flophouse: Life on the Bowery

Turn away. Turn quickly away. My first instinct upon glancing at this title was consistent with Middle Class America's natural reaction to social despair. Cautiously intrigued, I reached to the top shelf in my suburban neighborhood's local library, and pulled down into my comfortable suburban world an enlightening pictorial in brief. With mixed horror and wonder, increasingly awed at these victims of circumstances, reading "Flophouse: Life on the Bowery" was a real look, a first look, into sunken faces and disheveled lives. Black and white photos say the thousand words their subjects never will. The human condition, bare, innate, is plainly presented without pretense or censoring. How very similar, how frighteningly normal, were the lives of these men before the loss of job, wife, or sanity deposited them here, teetering on the brink between life and death, heaven and hell, New York City's Bowery. Read this book, count your blessings and your spare dimes.

This strikingly beautiful book of photos of the destitute is filled with stories of talented, gifted, intelligent men who through poor fortune, poor choices, poor health, or all of the above, ended up in one of the few remaining Bowery flophouses.They could be us. The line between the secure and the destitute is nowhere made more clear than in this stunning, frightening, profound book. Every citizen of America should be required to read it.

I bought my 1st copy of this numbing book immediately after seeing Isay & Abramson interviewed on C-Span Booknotes. Since then, I've ordered 6 more copies for others. Mandatory reading! The forbidden journey through the fragile cubicles of the flop houses is an eerie dream where life's faceless are given faces, the nameless names, and the definitions of hope and hopelessness take on new dimensions. Isay & Abramson highlight the great talent and intellect of so many who have lost their way, reminding us that there, but for the Grace of God, go we. But with poignance and artistry they also show the consequenses of hope lost. Like Ghosts of Xmas Future, Isay & Abramson's work shouts at us not to let this life become an alternative for our fellow human beings. Brava!

I just bought a copy of this book last night after attending a reading with the authors and photographer, along with some of the men who are profiled in the book. This book is so touching and achingly beautiful. It reads like poetry. The words of the men themselves are printed alongside poignant photographs that seem to capture the sentiment of their words. I feel honored to have met some of these men in person and even more honored to have had the pleasure of asking them to autograph their individual pages. The title of my review here is what one of the men, Bruce, wrote to me last night. To be able to put a voice and a human face to those who have likely seen the best and the worst of life is a gift to all thinking and compassionate people. This book proves that every person has a story to tell and if the words don't quite express it, the photos do.

Flophouse gives America a rare glimpse into the underbelly of the American Dream. With photos and personal interviews of 50 residents of genuine Bowery flophouses this book reveals the raw grittiness and humanity of those at the bottom of American society. So often politicians and other such moral crusaders seek to demonize those on drugs and welfare. The real story why these men have fallen into the abyss is often more complicated than simple explantions provide. The story of these men asks each of us to re-examine our beliefs about the least among us. I should know-I live among them and am featured in the book with my bicycle. Many of you who read this are but a few paychecks away from similar circumstances. I encourage you to buy this book and keep it as a reminder to save every dollar you can in a 401K-lest you spend your last days in a Bowery Flophouse!