logo

41 pages 1 hour read

Philippe Bourgois, Jeffrey Schonberg

Righteous Dopefiend

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2008

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Before You Read

Roundup icon

Super Short Summary

Righteous Dopefiend by Philippe Bourgois and Jeffrey Schonberg is a photo-ethnography detailing the lives of individuals experiencing homelessness and drug addiction in San Francisco's Edgewater Boulevard over 12 years, emphasizing the socio-economic impacts of neoliberal policies and globalization, and arguing for humanizing marginalized populations by highlighting structural issues over criminalization. Sensitive topics include drug addiction, homelessness, and systemic socio-economic challenges.

Reviews & Readership

Roundup icon

Review Roundup

Righteous Dopefiend by Philippe Bourgois and Jeffrey Schonberg is widely praised for its immersive ethnographic approach, capturing the lives of homeless heroin addicts in San Francisco. Reviewers commend its raw, empathetic portrayal and critical societal insights. Some critique it as emotionally heavy and question its generalizability. Overall, it's impactful and thought-provoking.

Who should read this

Who Should Read Righteous Dopefiend?

Readers of Righteous Dopefiend by Philippe Bourgois and Jeffrey Schonberg are likely to be intrigued by ethnographic studies and social anthropology. Comparable to fans of Evicted by Matthew Desmond and The Corner by David Simon and Edward Burns, these readers are drawn to deep, humanistic explorations of marginalized communities.

Book Details
Pages

392

Format

Book • Nonfiction

Setting

San Francisco, California • 2000s

Publication Year

2008

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

Continue your reading experience

Subscribe now to unlock the rest of this Study Guide plus our full library, which features expert-written summaries and analyses of 8,000+ additional titles.