Can I read You Owe Yourself a Drunk: An Ethnography of Urban Nomads on EtoBox?

You Owe Yourself a Drunk: An Ethnography of Urban Nomads by James P. Spradley is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is You Owe Yourself a Drunk: An Ethnography of Urban Nomads about?

This book is an account of the experiences of men who are repeatedly arrested for public drunkenness. It challenges the idea that these men are simply rejects from society, who cannot organize their behavior by cultural traditions. Using the recently discovered methods of formal ethnographic analysis, the author presents this urban sub-culture as it relates to law enforcement agencies. Spradley's carefully researched portrayal of skid row men in Seattle in the late sixties documents their treatment by jails and the legal system in a time before homelessness became a recognized problem. As a result of Spradley's elegant and impassioned writing, the book became a sharp challenge to politicians, policymakers, judges, and police. This now-classic landmark study in urban ethnography stands as a shining example of the direct application of distinctly anthropological concepts and methods to address real-world problems. But more important, it represents a poignant challenge to society about our capacity to endure and accept nonconformity and social diversity.

Who reads You Owe Yourself a Drunk: An Ethnography of Urban Nomads?

Author

James P. Spradley

Publisher

Little, Brown and Company

Published

1970

Language

EN

ISBN

9780316807593

Category

nonfiction

Subjects

Sociology, Social Science, Anthropology

Rating

3.88 / 5 (52 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14