Enabling Acts: The Hidden Story of How the Americans with Disabilities Act Gave the Largest US Minority Its Rights by Lennard J. Davis

Enabling Acts: The Hidden Story of How the Americans with Disabilities Act Gave the Largest US Minority Its Rights Reviews

• 
  Ellie

  Enabling Acts is a fascinating, in-depth examination of the history of the Americans with Disabilities Act was created and passed in 1990. Since I have taught this legislation to my students, I thought I was familiar with it but this book revealed much information about which I was unaware.
  
  There are wonderful portraits of the various (and many) people involved in passing this legislation. I was both heartened by the cross-party lines support (disability affects people of all political affiliations-it is estimated that 1 out of 5 Americans will be disabled at some point in the lives) and saddened by the idea that this would most likely not be possible today.
  
  I was aware of the ways in which the disability rights movement mirrors the Civil Rights Movement but it was interesting to see the many ways in which it differs. Getting people who are physically limited or controlled by caregivers or living in institutions to participate in mass gatherings is a real challenge. The internet is a huge facilitator in this movement allowing people who otherwise would have no voice the opportunity to speak out.
  
  Of course, the Republicans (who were in office at the time of the bill’s passage) took credit for the bill but this seems to be a small price to pay for this important step in the civil rights of all Americans.
  
  The book ends with an examination of how the legislation has affected the lives of people with disabilities who continue to face discrimination in employment and housing. It is both moving and infuriating to see how the legislation both helps yet continues to be limited in its ability to move people with disabilities completely into mainstream life. It saddened and enraged me to see how the courts have not supported the intent of the bill and how far people with disabilities still have to go to attain equal access to jobs, housing, even independent housing and public transportation.
  
  However, the book is inspiring in its picture of how progress can be made in the advancement of all people, including our most vulnerable.
  
  My major criticism of the book is that although there are times it reads smoothly there are other times when the dryness of the writing made it difficult to continue.
  
  I appreciate the opportunity to read this book provided by LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. The book was both interesting and enlightening. It is an appropriate testament to this legislation at the time of its 25th anniversary, both to Acts’ achievements and limitations.
  
• 
  Morris

  "Enabling Acts" is thorough history of the ADA from it's conception to its passage. Many don't realize how much was changed for those with physical and cognitive disabilities with the passage of the act, nor do they realize just how difficult it was to get passed. This book is well-researched and includes many facts. It can be a difficult read and meander some at times, so I would not recommend it for those looking for a light or easy read.
  
  This unbiased review is based on a book was won through the Goodreads First Reads program.
• 
  Kristi Richardson

  “The ADA is an excellent example of a bipartisanship no longer extant but made possible when a Republican President, George H. W. Bush, worked together with a Democratic House and Senate.”
  
  
  I received this book as part of the Goodreads First Reads program for an honest review.
  
  One in Five of every American is disabled, so I would venture to say that unless you are a hermit, you or someone you love is disabled. It is so easy to forget what life was like for the disabled in this country before the Americans with Disabilities Act gave people their freedom. When you look at a city bus and see the ramp, take the time to realize before the ADA people in wheelchairs had to stay home. It was difficult to get jobs or go to school with everyone else. The entire story of how this act was conceived and finally passed is in “Enabling Acts” by Lennard J. Davis a man whose parents were deaf.
  
  I enjoyed reading this book because I like to see how government works when it works, and how to make it work. I also am disabled with arthritis, my husband has epilepsy, a son is autistic and a daughter suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. I don’t get SSDI and don’t expect to but it is helpful for my son and hopefully my daughter will be able to get assistance soon. I think the most important thing to come out of the ADA was the integration of the disabled into normal life. It is less costly in the long run to accommodate and allow people to contribute to this country.
  
  This is a fascinating story of the ins and outs of selling an idea and encouraging people on both sides to work together and come up with a plan that works. Sometimes this book worked like a thriller to me, as I wasn’t sure how they could do it with so much opposition from businesses and the transportation industries.
  
  There are many heartwarming stories like Senator Tom Harkin from Iowa whose older brother was deaf. In the early days, there were outside programs that would train deaf people for certain jobs and Frank was forced to become a baker. He hated the job and one day a man came in and bought his bread and asked him if he liked his job. He shook his head and this man, who happened to own a factory, asked him if he would like to come and work for him, the end of the story is that Frank did great in his factory job, because he wasn’t bothered by the noise. Soon the man hired more deaf workers. It is a great story and one of the reasons the bill was able to pass was the fact that so many people know someone with a handicap and know that they are no different from anyone else.
  
  The last chapter in this book shows me that the work is not complete. Too many businesses, state, and federal government are doing their best to undo the hard work that the ADA requires.
  
  Lennard J. Davis wrote a great book about the Americans with Disabilities Act and how it passed and became the law of the land. Anyone who loves politics will enjoy this book, anyone who is disabled or knows someone who is disabled will like this book, and if you enjoy a thriller and mystery that happens to be true, you will enjoy this book.
  
• 
  Nancy Kennedy

  This book is an exhaustive treatment of how the Americans with Disabilities Act came to be proposed and passed in 1990. On the whole, there was far more detail than interested me, a person with no political leanings. But the author often focuses on the personalities involved, and that's when the narrative really engaged me. (It's why I like reading The Wall Street Journal... the focus is always on the people rather than say, the convertible subordinated debentures.)
  
  The author delves into the families and friends of the main players to show how knowing people with disabilities and the obstacles they face powered the effort to pass this piece of civil rights legislation. I especially liked the last part of the book where the author shows how the legislation has impacted the lives of people who have been discriminated against because of their disabilities. It's really incredible what businesses and organizations try to get away with.
  
  The day the bill was signed into law is another focus of the author's book. For those who like partisan politics, it will be fascinating to read how President Bush staged the event to make it look like a Republican triumph... by discriminating against people who worked hard for the cause but just happened to be of the wrong party!
  
  The one thing that hindered my enjoyment of the book was the confusing grammar. The narrative ping pongs back and forth between different tenses, past and present, simple perfect (will do something) and future perfect (will have done something). It's jarring for a reader; it makes for a nonlinear narrative that forces the reader to work hard for comprehension. I recently read another book from Beacon Press (Shots on the Bridge: Police Violence and Cover-Up in the Wake of Katrina) with the same confusing construction. I guess grammar is a fluid concept for this publisher.
• 
  Bruce Cline

  This is an amazingly detailed, well researched account of the legislative story(ies) behind the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The author makes the point early on that while some amount of publicity was gained by disability activists during widely publicized demonstrations, the vast majority of the credit for passing the ADA lies with dozens of people who labored mostly behind the scenes drafting legislation, building political alliances, shepherding legislation through numerous committees, bringing together advocates within and without the White House and Congress, and otherwise did the hard work of pushing legislation that many feared due to the potential for catastrophic costs to businesses. This is a great story.
• 
  Carissa

  Interesting history into how the ADA was established and how many admins it went through before it really developed. It kept changing and new things were added over the years until it finally became a natural part of society and provided disabled citizens with more opportunities to live more independently. I am thankful for this bill, and while I think more can be added to it, the ADA has spared me a lot over the years.
• 
  BB Laurens

  While dry, "Enabling Acts" by Lennard J. Davis had some insightful information about what it took to get the ADA passed, even mentioning some personal struggles that were happening behind the scenes.
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  "I said, 'Which of you here can define "undue hardship"?' There was silence. I said, 'John?' He had the answer. So Wodatch remained since no one else, apparently, could go through the legislative process and knew in detail what the act meant."
• 
  Matt Dean

  Excellent
  
  Many sections of this book read like an episode of The West Wing. It is a pleasant read and a solid introduction to the ADA. The extensive notes allow for further research.
• 
  Ellie Stitzer

  this book goes very, very in depth into the process of passing the ADA. most other things I’ve read on this topic have just been like “the crawl on the Capitol happened and then it was passed!” so it was cool to get to read about the nitty gritty stuff behind everything. would recommend
• 
  Selena

  Learned so much from this. Disappointed that Yoshiko didn't have a more substantial part and Michael Winter was only mentioned during the Capitol Crawl and Atsuko wasn't mentioned at all.
• 
  Meredith

  I was slow in starting this book, in part because of feeling generally depressed about how the ADA has failed in enforcement, particularly when it comes to employment protections. This is especially rich since the Republican justification for it was always “then more disabled people will be employed and won't need benefits.” After it passed the early court decisions totally shrunk the scope of what is or isn't a disability, to the extent that when two pilots were denied employment at United Airlines because they were nearsighted if they weren't wearing glasses/contacts, the court said they didn't have protection under the ADA because their impairments were corrected via glasses. Only they were still denied based on an impairment... This ruling affects wheelchair users as well, and anyone whose impairment is corrected with a device or medication. I know many people who were denied employment because they needed the accommodation of sitting down behind a checkout counter. That tiny thing, which causes no financial impact to a business, is still keeping disabled people from working and keeping us in poverty.
  
  Once I did start the book, it was a good, compelling read, though don't believe the cover blurb about it being “a spellbinding political thriller.” Davis writes well, and with some insight into disability pre-ADA (his parents are both Deaf), but he is not disabled and he does fall into ableist language at times (though being disabled doesn't necessarily prevent that, of course). The organization of the book is good though, and he describes the people involved well. The ADA was unusual in it's formation, as there was a strict agreement that meetings would go on behind closed doors (mostly without any disabled people there, by the by) and no one would talk to the press. That way there would be less press and public pressure and response to specifics of the legislation, meaning more politicians were willing to back it.
  
  It wasn't quite a five-star read for me (and I can't help but wish it had been authored by a disabled person). I recommend this book to everyone, really, in part to increase understanding of being disabled in the US (and keeping in mind this is one of the easier places in the world to be disabled). It's also an important reminder of just how different things are now, post-ADA. Curb cutouts, elevators in metro stations, accessible buses, these are relatively new and now (mostly) ubiquitous things. There are still many architectural barriers to accessibility, but it is so much better now, and it's easy to take those seemingly simple changes for granted.
• 
  Winifred

  Fascinating topic, and a well done. Interesting emphasis on the politics of how passing the ADA was accomplished related (and in some cases didn't relate) to the work of advocates. Nice acknowledgement of some of the unsung (and in some cases actually unknown) heroes who contributed on the political side, and some of the accidents of history and larger forces that led to and shaped the involvement of particular people.
  
  Engaging quotes and accounts from the people involved are included throughout the book, and the author embellishes what could be a dry topic with colorful scenes involving politicians pounding their fists on the table and advocates confronting politicians. Nice but succinct look at what motivated some of the major players, and how they related to one another and the events they were swept up in. For example this book looks at questions like, how did some of the people who worked day and night to get this bill passed actually feel at the signing ceremony? Did the famous capitol crawl actually have any bearing on whether or not the ADA was passed? Who were the real people that contributed to this huge change that had a ripple effect the world over?
  
  A good overview for people less familiar with this topic and who may take the ADA for granted as a forgone conclusion, and a nice complement for people who are interested in and knowledgeable about the disability rights movement from an advocacy perspective.
• 
  Linda Wright

  A rollercoaster ride detailing the work prior to the the passage of the ADA twenty-five years ago. The twists and turns, negotiations and compromises in the political arena were from personal accounts.
  The book continues to describe the court cases which failed to understand the intent of the law and the pitfalls of the original legislation. The corrective language of the ADDA.
  
  Thanks to the Audible I was able to read this book.
• 
  Scott Golden

  [I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.]
  Despite the tabloidistic [sic] subtitle (the story hasn't so much been "hidden" as it has just not been headline news) this is a relatively straightforward review of the people and events surrounding the landmark ADA legislation. Not a powerhouse of excitement, but well done all the same.
• 
  Toni

  Sorry Goodreads, I thought I finished my review on this but apparently only updated my status. This book was extremely valuable for anyone who wants or needs information on how the "disabilities act," or the more positive, "enabling acts," came to be born, and the widespread areas it covers.
  I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway, and I'm very appreciative. Thank you.
• 
  Krista

  Incredibly in-depth and well-researched, this book shows the incredibly long journey it took to get the Americans with Disabilities Act created and passed. It gives great insight to the inner workings of the government and a peek into the lives of the politicians who helped create and pass this act.
• 
  Moira-ji

  (If you liked this, see also The Bill of the Century by Clay Risen, re: the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964)
• 
  David Renfrow

  So this book was well written and obviously meticulously researched. However, the book failed to really draw me in. I was hoping for more personal stories about disability both before the ADA was passed and then after the laws enactment. This book has a few of those spread throughout the book but no enough in my opinion. Instead the books goes into overdrive on how the bill moves through the political process. There are more transcripts from congressional committees and sub committees then personal stories. And many of the personal stories are only allowed because they tied into one of the bills sponsors or another politician. One of the most agonizing classes I ever took in college was Intro to State and local government. This book felt like it was a required reading for that class.
• 
  Sherry Boschert

  The marginalization of people with disabilities by our society tends to make them/us somewhat invisible to able-bodied folks. Get your eyes opened about this largest minority group in the country and the dramatic, pervasive role played by disability activists in civil rights history. A good read and a fascinating, ongoing part of history.