Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders: Homeless in San Francisco

In this compassionate, academic study of homeless men in San Francisco, assistant professor of sociology Gowan recollects and analyzes her years spent in and around the community. Invoking the terms "system-talk," "sin-talk," and "sick-talk" to differentiate the primary lenses through which society views the homeless, Gowan argues that the attempt to address or prevent homelessness becomes difficult when these viewpoints assume contrasting causes, and therefore solutions. While her language and scope remain decidedly academic and heavily theoretical, the individual profiles are intimate and skillfully presented. Throughout the book, gems of dialogue reveal both the impossible world of life on the streets and the vulnerable hearts of the men who inhabit them. After losing his apartment to fire and then falling ill with pneumonia while on the streets, Willie signs on for a "rehabilitation" program, remarking that, "it seems like the main reason they made these places more of a daytime thing… is to get us out of sight." Gowan's own photographs of these men are refreshing for the dignity they capture and portray. (July)