This small book with limited writing and an abundance of horrific pictures is a must read for anyone who is interested in social history, grinding poverty and child mortality in NY at the turn of the century, understanding that the modern term ' 3rd world country ' is easily applied here.

The pictures show homeless, ragged and shoeless children sleeping on the streets, young orphans renting out some dirty squalid room someplace with no adults involved, the 16 hour work days including children who worked often as many hours in horrible and dangerous conditions as the adults and all the filthy, dangereous and awful places they 'lived' and often died.
Many lived in coal cellars, under City dumps, on the streets, etc.

It is a wonder any of them survived and that the suicide rate wasn't higher than what it was.

Harrowing. ( )