wonderful mis of essays from writers showing so many different experiences in America. I really enjoyed reading this and know others will as well!

Great mix of essays, stories, and poems from a diverse array of voices. The collection exposes some of the invisibility of inequality in the US.

In this varied collection of short stories, essays, and poems, the overarching messages is loud, up front, and not merely uncomfortable to deal with, but almost painful at times, which is exactly as it should be. "Tales of Two Americas" does its job and then some to help illustrate that the US is not a place where one can merely tug on their bootstraps, put in some hard work and be just fine. The divides and the struggles to get by are all very much a large and unavoidable part of our reality whether we want to think about it or not.

It was interesting to see the varied stories in this collection. The only problem I had with the book was that it seems that it was directed to the same people who know and fight for these issues.

Freeman puts together various stories, some fiction and nonfiction that manage to illustrate a myriad of people living in America, past and present. This book was incredibly timely-- with essays as recent as early 2017. Overall, a great resource!

The variety of genres within this collection is partially what makes it so strong - having so many different voices telling all kinds of experiences is truly the only way a reader could become acquainted with the depth and breadth of the issue of inequality in America.

I only received the credits at the beginning of the book, so I cannot review the material contained within the text.

TALES OF TWO AMERICAS is edited by John Freeman and contains essays and poems from thirty-six contemporary writers such as Larry Watson, Julia Alvarez and many more. Each author has contributed to these "Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation." They often write of their youth and what they know, with Sandra Cisernos ("I changed my name from sand-druh sis-narrows to sohn-druh seez-neh-ros"), for example, contrasting Chicago neighborhoods, describing her childhood and her reasons for leaving. Timothy Egan asks "Was It Better Then?" when he attended University of Washington and worked part-time as a longshoreman in a past where he says "people without college degrees ... could live well, in the same neighborhoods as the swells." Exploring current politics, Richard Russo writes, "Losing your job makes you scared; losing your work makes you angry" and he notes the importance of seeing people, of valuing and respecting their work. Annie Dillard uses a two paragraph entry to describe a good day's work, calling to mind Emily Esfahani Smith writing recently in the New York Times: "a good life is a life of goodness — and that's something anyone can aspire to, no matter their dreams or circumstances." TALES OF TWO AMERICAS received a starred review from Booklist and deserves consideration for inclusion in our Senior writing classes since it offers students short introductions to quality writing by authors they may not have yet read.

Link to New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/04/opinion/middlemarch-college-fame.html