"Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare; today, most poor renting families are spending more than half of their income on housing, and eviction has become ordinary. Desmond takes us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eight families on the edge: all are spending almost everything they have on rent, and all have fallen behind. Desmond transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem."