$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America
Kathryn Edin and H. Luke Shaefer · first published 2015 · ISBN 9780544303188
Two sociologists documented families living on less than two dollars per person per day, a number most Americans don't know exists. The book shows what survival looks like when there is literally no margin for error: side gigs, under-the-table work, help from relatives, hunger.
On our lists
The Best Books About Poverty and Inequality
This book defines the bottom of the American economy. Edin and Shaefer are rigorous researchers who counted carefully and reported what they found. It's a hard read, but it answers a question most people never ask.