Poverty, by America
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond is one of 2026's most credible books, appearing on 1 of the year's most respected lists, including McKinsey & Company, for a Consensus Score of 15 out of 100.
Appears on these lists
Our take
AI-draftedDesmond trades the years of embedded reporting that made Evicted so persuasive for a shorter, angrier argument: that poverty persists because comfortable Americans benefit from it and choose not to look away. Critics have split hard on whether that indictment holds up — several noted its moral force lands even where its causal claims strain.
In the press
“Its moral force is a gut punch.”
The New Yorker“Verve and fervor are poor substitutes for sound arguments backed by carefully interpreted data.”
Cato Institute / Regulation
How the Consensus Score is calculated
Our Consensus Score is our own transparent editorial metric — not a user rating. It weighs each list by the credibility of its source, how recent the listing is, and any award status. Here is the full breakdown.
| Source | Authority | Recency | Award | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKinsey & Company | 0.80 | 0.85 | 1.00× | 0.68 |
| Weighted sum → Score | 0.68 → 15 | |||
Similar consensus books
Because they appear on some of the same lists.
Frequently asked
What lists is Poverty, by America on?
Poverty, by America appears on 1 list in our 2026 corpus, including McKinsey & Company.
What is its Consensus Score?
Poverty, by America has a Consensus Score of 15 out of 100, our transparent editorial measure of how many credible lists agree on it.