Worlds Apart

Poverty and Politics in Rural America

Duncan Cynthia M.

First published in 1999, Worlds Apart examined the nature of poverty through the stories of real people in three remote rural areas of the United States: New England, Appalachia, and the Mississippi Delta. In this new edition, Duncan returns to her original research and, interviewing some of the same people as well as some new key informants, provides powerful new insights into the dynamics of poverty, politics and community change.

About the Author

Cynthia M. Duncan is founding director of the Carsey Institute for Families and Communities at the University of New Hampshire and research director at AGree, an initiative bringing together diverse interests to transform food and agricultural policy in the United States. Widely recognized for her research on rural poverty and changing rural communities, Duncan was a sociologist at the University of New Hampshire for eleven years before becoming director of the Ford Foundation's Community and Resource Development Unit in 2000. In addition to "Worlds Apart", Duncan is the author of "Rural Poverty in America", as well as numerous book chapters and refereed articles.

Reviews

"Duncan, through in-depth investigation and interviews, concludes that only a strong civic culture, a sense among citizens of community and the need to serve that community, can truly address poverty... Duncan has created a remarkable study of the persistent patterns of poverty and power" – Kirkus Reviews

The descriptions of rural poverty in 'Worlds Apart' are interesting and read almost like a novel" – Choice

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