Portelli’s carefully researched and crafted book shows that state-led evictions are not singular events and that they have profound and ongoing social and emotional impacts on those who are displaced. Yet at the same time he finds these same communities able to adapt and create new social bonds, offering a politics of hope at a time when state-led evictions are escalating in cities around the globe. This book is a must read on this topic and has all the makings of being a new classic in urban studies. Loretta Lees, Director, Initiative on Cities, Boston UniversityInitiative on Cities, Boston University

It is rare to read such a beautifully written book. The author is someone whose writing talent is indisputable; they can synthesize and bring together disparate sources and thoughts in a convincing narrative. Theodoros Rakopoulos, University of Oslo

This is a wonderful, compelling, thought-provoking, and profound book. It intertwines – poetically and analytically – careful attention to people’s lives, perspectives, and voices with rigor and determined argumentation. Naor Ben-Yehoyada, Columbia University

A brilliant case study of forcible displacement in Rome and what it means to the people displaced. When urban planners and ruthless property developers, backed by politicians of both left and right and by journalists, succeeded in clearing out Rome’s informal settlements of self-built homes, the inhabitants of those settlements experienced a traumatic loss of community, self-determination and freedom. Combining the oral testimonies of displaced inhabitants with a meticulous historical reconstruction, Stefano Portelli weaves together an eloquent account of displacement from the inside and its often disastrous human and social consequences. David Forgacs, New York University

As the opening of this book states (citing Simone Weil) uprootedness is by far the most dangerous malady to which human societies are exposed. This book is an urgent call for us to rethink actions and narratives around evictions, recognising their toxic, disruptive impact and their political consequences…the research site is Rome, but the book's findings are universal! Raquel Rolnik, University of São Paulo