Pulitzer Prize General Non Fiction Winner

Evicted

by Matthew Desmond

Summary

An ethnographic study of eight families in Milwaukee navigating the hidden machinery of eviction, from trailer parks to rooming houses in the urban core. Desmond embedded himself in their neighborhoods for more than a year and paired the resulting narratives with original quantitative research on housing instability. He argues that eviction is not merely a symptom of poverty but one of its most powerful engines, reshaping debates about housing policy in the United States.

Historical Context & Significance

Desmond lived in a trailer park and a rooming house to gather data; his book proved that eviction is a cause, not just a result, of poverty.