La Vida: A Puerto Rican Family in the Culture of Poverty—San Juan and New York
Oscar Lewis
"La Vida: A Puerto Rican Family in the Culture of Poverty" is a 1966 book by Oscar Lewis that explores the lives of a Puerto Rican family in San Juan and New York City through a series of in-depth interviews and observations. The book, part of a series on Puerto Rican slum families, offers a detailed look into the experiences of a mother and her grown children within the context of poverty. Lewis's work is notable for its focus on the individuals' perspectives and the transmission of cultural traits associated with poverty from one generation to the next.
Award History
2 wins · 2 total
| Award | Year | Result | Category / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Book Award for NonfictionMajor | 1967 | Co-winner | Secondary source |
| Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards: Nonfiction | 1967 | Co-winner | Official source |
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies
This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.
01 Central figures
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
02 Central places
- San Juan90%
- New York City85%
03 Suggested argument
The book argues that the Puerto Rican family’s experience of poverty in San Juan and New York City involves the intergenerational transmission of cultural traits associated with poverty.
Model confidence 62%
04 Reading orientation
35 / 100 academicSerious trade
An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.
Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 72%.