"Marwell's ethnography is truly exceptional in illustrating the byzantine institutional setting that must be navigatied before CBOs can connect neighborhood residents to the resources they need. . . . Bargaining for Brooklyn has much to offer, not just to ethnographers of urban poverty and community studies, but to urban, political, and organizations sociology broadly. The writing is accessible, and the cases are compelling. . . . Not only will the book be widely read and assigned, it should be a central text on urban poverty, interscalar institutional analysis, and CBOs. More generally, Marwell's voice is a welcome addition to an already illustrious cast of contemporary urban ethnographers."
— Michael McQuarrie, American Journal of Sociology