Raised in Captivity: Why Does America Fail Its Children? - Tapa dura

Reseña del editor

In Raised in Captivity: Why Does America Fail Its Children!, cultural critic Lucia Hodgson examines the contradictory and even harmful responses Americans give when faced with the issues that most dramatically affect children's lives. Hodgson illustrates her points with references to several cases that became media hotbeds: the Baby Jessica case, the Menendez brothers, Susan Smith's murder of her children, Polly Klaas's kidnapping and murder. Hodgson's approach, however, is to strip away the hype surrounding these cases to reveal American's self-deception about children's realities, and to show that the more we focus on individual cases of deviation, the more we overlook the systemic causes of the problem.Hodgson's examination of the media coverage and the public response to these high-profile cases illuminates some of her most critical questions. Why is it that in the United States adult privilege consistently takes precedent over the best interests of children? Why hasn't the contemporary combination of adult concern for children and knowledge about their issues resulted in policies that better serve children's needs? What are American adults trying to avoid when they insist, despite evidence to the contrary, that American children are well provided for?This provocative, seminal book will have a profound effect on the still-developing arena of children's issues and should be read by every American adult.