State Poverty

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Evicted reimagines the debate on poverty, making a “provocative and compelling” (NPR) argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The New...

Trattner provides in-depth examination of developments in child welfare, public health, and the evolution of social work as a profession, showing how all these changes affected the treatment of the poor and needy in America. He explores the impact of public policies on social workers and other helping professions - all against the backdrop of social and intellectual trends in American history. From Poor Law to Welfare State directly addresses racism and sexism and pays special attention to the worsening problems of child abuse, neglect, and homelessness. 

The definitive biography of country legend Merle Haggard by the New York Times bestselling biographer of Clint Eastwood, Cary Grant, The Eagles, and more. Merle Haggard was one of the most important country music musicians who ever lived. His astonishing musical career stretched across the...

One of the most pernicious and persistent myths in the United States is the association of Black skin with poverty. Though there are forty million more poor white people than Black people, most Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, continue to think of poverty—along with issues like welfare, unemployment, and food stamps—as solely a Black problem. Why is this so? What are the historical causes? And what are the political consequences that result?

An enlightening and personal daily account of the experience of the Great Depression in the midwest, full of anxieties about the economic future, with powerful echoes for today. "Compelling." —New York Times In the early 1920s, Benjamin Roth was a young lawyer fresh out of the army. He settled...

Theodore Dalrymple, a British psychiatrist who treats the poor in a slum hospital and a prison in England, has seemingly seen it all. Yet in listening to and observing his patients, he is continually astonished by the latest twist of depravity that exceeds even his own considerable experience. Dalrymple's key insight in Life at the Bottom is that long-term poverty is caused not by economics, but by a dysfunctional set of values, one that is continually reinforced by an elite culture searching for victims.  

This instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller from one of the world’s leading economists offers a grand narrative of the century that made us richer than ever, but left us unsatisfied. “A magisterial history.” —Paul Krugman Named a Best Book of the Year by Financial...

The purpose of this book is to eliminate poverty in America. I am convinced that the causes of our present economic and political malaise are the philosophies taught in our schools and universities. These philosophies are responsible for lower standards of living, homelessness, and poverty. They are based upon collectivism and altruism and their constant invocation by both leaders and citizens creates a feedback loop in which the ideas that have caused our problems are being fed back to us as solutions for those very same problems. This book examines how we can break this echo chamber and ...

READ BY THE AUTHOR The road to hell is paved with bad intentions, not good ones. In The Left's War on Reality, Michael Shellenberger and Alex Gutentag, two former progressives, delve into the unsettling truth behind the Left’s policies. What they uncover is far more troubling than mere...

This favorite book for children, based on the author’s own youthful experiences, describes the life of the March family in a small New England community in the 1800s. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March are raised in genteel poverty by their loving mother while their father serves as chaplain during...

At the age of 14, Francisco Jiménez, together with his older brother Roberto and his mother, are caught by la migra. Forced to leave their home, the entire family travels all night for 20 hours by bus, arriving at the U.S. and Mexican border in Nogales, Arizona. In the months and years that follow, Francisco, his mother and father, and his seven brothers and sister not only struggle to keep their family together, but also face crushing poverty, long hours of labor, and blatant prejudice.

“A lump of coal-taking up space,” is how a fourth-grade nun describes ten-year-old William Chamberlain. Despite his struggle with dyslexia, a precocious and rebellious spirit and labeled dumb, William vows to have money one day; he won’t be poor like his parents. As he grows into adulthood, nothing, not his lack of education, The Great Depression, World War II, or a bad marriage can deter him from seeking his dream. William possesses the innocence, naivety, and warmness of heart of a Forest Gump. This story of William and his family spans nearly three decades.

A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR An award-winning journalist’s powerful portrait of his native Baghdad, the people of Iraq, and twenty years of war. “An essential insider account of the unravelling of Iraq…Driven by his intimate knowledge and deep personal stakes, Abdul-Ahad…offers...

What secrets do the Las Vegas storm drains keep? What discoveries wait in the dark? What's beneath the neon? Armed with a flashlight, tape recorder, and expandable baton, Las Vegas CityLife writer-editor Matthew O'Brien explored the Las Vegas flood-control system for more than four years. Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas chronicles O'Brien's adventures in subterranean Vegas. He follows the footsteps of a psycho killer. He braces against a flood. He parties with naked crack-heads.

Economics is being revolutionized to the point it's becoming obsolete. With production techniques and technology allowing man to extract exponentially more wealth from finite resources, nearly all our earthly wants and desires are satisfied making the concept of “wealth” and “money” obsolete. But while you'd think such an economic miracle would be celebrated, humans are forever petty, forever greedy, and forever jealous. And instead of enjoying a life of leisure nearly every first-worlder is practically guaranteed to enjoy, most seethe with envy over the petty and minor differences ...

Although the political economy of Pakistan is facing multiple challenges, the country is also ripe to undergo a significant social and economic transformation. Pakistan now stands in a very comfortable position to meet the challenges it is facing, thanks to the inherent strengths of her economy and some fortuitous external circumstances which are strong enough to overcome her weaknesses and convert the threats posed by the external environment into opportunities. This book, part two of the series, is all about these challenges and the suggested plan of action to respond to these challenges....

What happens when a country transforms much of its economy while the Communist Party retains political power? Beginning with Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, this volume follows China through one of the most dramatic social and economic transformations in modern history. The communes are dismantled. University examinations return. Private business reappears. Millions leave villages for factories and construction sites. State workers discover that jobs once promised for life can disappear. Families buy homes, accumulate savings, send children to university, and enter a world their parents could...

When the ultimate act of courage is choosing to live—and serve.. For too many American veterans, the return home initiates a new and terrifying battle, fought in silence against the crippling darkness of rage, trauma, and suicide. Courage: Courage is Rage in Action is the unflinching look at this national health crisis, yet it is also a story of extraordinary redemption. Through riveting, intimate accounts, this book reveals how a generation of veterans—facing the edge of despair—made the radical choice to transform their internal fury into a new, selfless mission: providing vital ...

A Braver, Safer, More Responsible, Deglobalised and Honourable World. Introducing Small State Conservative Socialism, a revolutionary new form of true democracy that will end corruption, crime, lawlessness, riots and demonstrations, illegal immigration, poverty, home repossessions, war and political extremism. It should be possible to please all voters. And now it is. Small State Conservative Socialism means: More Democracy ✓ Less Crime ✓ More People Power ✓ Less Corruption ✓ More Peace and Order ✓ Less Extremism ✓ More Responsibility ✓ Less Taxation ✓ Chapters include: ...

This updated book (11th edition published in March 2025) investigates the nature and origin of the highly destructive conflict in Afghanistan, involving both civil and international war, which has been an ongoing feature of the country since the Soviet invasion of 1979. It examines the anti-Soviet struggle of the 1980s, the vicious civil war and emergence of the Taliban in the 1990s, the 2001 US-led invasion to remove al-Qaeda and the Taliban from Afghanistan and the dramatic collapse of the Afghan government as the Taliban swept to power once again in 2021. Decades of conflict have had ...