A pioneering work from a visionary anthropologist, The Children of Sanchez is hailed around the world as a watershed achievement in the study of poverty--a uniquely intimate investigation, as poignant today as when it was first published.

It is the epic story of the Sanchez family, told entirely by its members--Jesus, the 50-year-old patriarch, and his four adult children--as their lives unfold in the Mexico City slum they call home. Weaving together their extraordinary personal narratives, Oscar Lewis creates a sympathetic but ultimately tragic portrait that is at once...