About the Author

Lisa Goff is a member of the Department of English and of the American Studies Program at the University of Virginia.

Reviews

Lisa Goff's Shantytown, USA is not your ordinary American Studies cuppa joe. But it’s one of those books you might pick up in a loose-change moment of curiosity and find yourself utterly unable to put down because it's so unexpected, so smart, so good.
*American Literary History*

In her broadly researched debut book, Goff traces the history of shanties in America, beginning with Thoreau’s famous cabin on Walden Pond.
*Kirkus Reviews*

Goff’s book excavates the long, untold history of American shantytowns from their emergence in the 1820s to the present day, providing a vivid look at an easily overlooked yet omnipresent and consequential American urban phenomenon. Her engaging work reveals much about the working poor, urban growth, and changing ideas about public space.
*William A. Gleason, author of Sites Unseen: Architecture, Race, and American Literature*

Lisa Goff guides us energetically and engagingly through the shanties and shantytowns of the United States. These ubiquitous, ever-present settlements have rarely attracted more than a passing glance and quick condemnation from outsiders. Goff’s prodigious detective work and empathy restore a significant corner of the American landscape to our view and our understanding.
*Dell Upton, Professor of Art History, University of California, Los Angeles*