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Summary: A Truly Amazing Book
Review: I found this book to be profound and moving. The voices of the people of Mott Haven jumped out from the pages and told stories I could never imagine to be true. The harsh realities of this ghetto life are very disturbing, and Kozol gets the reader to feel the truth in the stories. I loved this book and I know it will stay with me for a long time.
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Summary: Innocence in the eyes of poverty
Review: Amazing Grace takes a hard, honest look at the country's most poverty-stricken city: South Bronx. He goes one-on-one with a variety of people, encountering head on the hard life of poverty and racism. Kozol brings out a problem that society works hard to ignore. If you enjoy reading about issues you rarely find discussed in the media, I recommend this book. The realizations in this book hit me hard. My heart went out to the poor, innocent souls of the children. They were unbelievably sweet. Kozol brings to life the light-hearted mind's of these children. It brings hope into your heart, because the people are so optimistic. This book will open your eyes to the hard world of racism and poverty.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Humanistic Approach
Review: After working with kids from the Bronx I instantly became interested in that community. This book illustrates the struggles of those who are often forgotten - how they struggle to live and find hope in their daily lives.
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Summary: required reading for politians
Review: I've just finished reading this book, I was touched and horrified. As a social worker I had some idea of the living conditions of poor America. I find now,however, that I really had no idea. I probably still don't. Jonathan Kozol's ability to present this book(with material that is often hard to read) in a way that is engaging and very readable is truly remarkable. His unbiased as well as biased observations and quotes from the children and other community members make it tolerable to read this horrific subject matter. I honestly believe all politians should be required to read this book. Perhaps then they would focus some time and money on issues that really matter.
Rating:
Summary: A touching book... that makes you think.....
Review: The portrait of the lives of children in the South Bronx that Koziol paints is definately one designed to touch people... and to force them to think about what goes on in their world.... On its own, it is a great book; because of it's nature (dealing in large measure with the religion of children/ their perceptions of the sublime while living in squalor in the midst of plenty... and that at times it necessarily functions as a polemic) it's probably never going to get as wide of an audience as it should reach....This is a book that should be read because it illustrates a lot of things that are STILL going on in NYC in a time when it seems that 'we' all are living in the midst of plenty. This is the kind of book that raises a ton of questions but doesn't really point to the answers because those answers are tough in coming.... If you haven't read this book, please do-- especially if you buy the fact that welfare reform, etc. are always a good thing. Especially if you live someplace where you don't have to deal with 'poor' people. Maybe it'll make you think....
Rating:
Summary: Think America is the greatest nation?
Review: In Amazing Grace Kozol tells the stories of American children and in the process challenges us to rethink our impressions of our "great" nation. Sometimes I wanted to put the book down and think, "surely not here. This is happening somewhere else." Not so. Kozol shows us that this nation of incredible prosperity also houses people who live in conditions of third-world poverty. I appreciate how he (as he also does in other books) involves himself in the lives of the children and allows them to tell their own stories. By doing this, we hear the voices of the next generation of adult Americans speak. And we better listen to them.
Rating: 
Summary: Read this book with an open mind and it is time well spent
Review: This book was an emotional walk in the dark. It opens eyes to the reality that our safety blanket of prosperity hides. After reading this book, it is impossible for a person not to humanize the poor that are often treated without such respect. However, it did get redundant. More importantly, without an open mind, this book does little for a complete understanding of the situation. It is easy to become emotionally appalled. The author did just that and in return created text so bias that a moderate truth can only be assumed.
Rating:
Summary: Everyone should read this book
Review: When I checked this book out from the library, I had no idea it would change me in so many ways. Before reading this book, I was oblivious to the conditions people in this country- the most powerful nation in the world- live in. I also had no idea the degree which people are still discriminated against. I knew racism and poverty existed, but I didn't know how bad it is. This book broke my heart, and made me cry. It also made me even more determined to make a difference. It is one of the few books I have read that has made me rethink my philosophy of life and how the world is. This book made me outraged and passionate; it made me realize that things -must- change, and that I can change them. Donating food to local homeless shelters, or buying toys for the Toys for Tots program may not be saving the world, but I honestly believe that if each person thought that what they did mattered, we could change the world. If everyone would be willing to give a little... to try to make life better for someone else, and to do this without expecting something in return, we could change the world.
Rating:
Summary: a heart opening book
Review: I'm a student at Dover High School and just half way into thisbook my chest hurt and I felt as if I knew these kids. As if theywere talking to me, describing thier lives. Its very deep andtelling. I usually never cry, but I could not help myself. There was one paragraph in the first chapter that had described a young girl that had died from an overdose, and was left in the apartment, until her uncle (I beleive) found her. Her description was my exact description. A red headed puertorrican with freckles, that looked Irish, and she was only a year younger than I was. It made me think about how someone so similar to me physically can be so different from me emotionally just because of where she lived. That had an impact on me and how I look at things. The whole book had an impact. I had a lot more respect for my mother who grew up in the South Bronx. I never took the time to understand her, but this book made me.
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Summary: It was shocking to see what goes on 30 min away from my home
Review: Living in a middle class neighborhood half an hour from the Bronx, I did not know or realize what goes on in my back yard. Kozol exposes the corruption of our legal system towards the poor community. His book is an eye-opener.
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