"...They offer a definition of poverty that is multidimensional, dynamic, and based as much on the nonmaterial capabilities of inividuals as on their material resources."--Contemporary Sociology

"..the book provides very useful updates on recent developments in the literature including commentaries on the 'underclass' debate and the writings of Amartya Sen. These are particularly good and will be helpful not only to poverty researchers but to students looking for comprehensive summaries of the field."--Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

"Nolan and Whelan provide a thorough, well-rounded and focused analysis of what ought to be the first step in poverty policy: understanding the complexity of poverty."--Contemporary Sociology

"...the book provides an excellent portrait of poverty in Ireland. Further, it does much to address the issue of the "underclass" in the Irish context, demonstrating that the location and concentration of the poor population does not seem to have the same effects that some researchers claim it does in the context of the racially divided United States. Rather, they show that housing tenure has the most important interaction with income to determine social "marginalization". This finding alone should provide American scholars and policymakers with an important new direction of enquiry that has not yet been fully exploited."--American Journal of Sociology