In this book, Nancy Isenberg reveals that the wretched and landless poor have existed from the time of the earliest British colonial settlements to today's hillbillies. Poor whites were central to the rise of the Republican Party in the early nineteenth century and the Civil War itself was fought over class issues nearly as much as it was fought over slavery. Reconstruction pitted white trash against newly freed slaves, which factored in the rise...

This personal narrative surveys the panorama of our world, past and present

"In Strangers in Their Own Land, the renowned sociologist Arlie Hochschild embarks on a thought-provoking journey from her liberal hometown of Berkeley, California, deep into Louisiana bayou country--a stronghold of the conservative right. As she gets to know people who strongly oppose many of the ideas she famously champions, Hochschild nevertheless finds common ground and quickly warms to the people she meets--among them a Tea Party activist whose...

"In an era when immigration on a global scale defines the fears and aspirations of Americans, this book presents the complexities of migration through the stories of families fleeing violence and poverty, the government and nongovernmental organizations helping or hindering their progress, and the American communities receiving them. Going beyond the polemical, partisan debate, Noorani offers sensitive insights and real solutions"--

He asked for spare change; she kept walking. But something made her turn around and go back. They met nearly every week for years, and built an unexpected, life-changing friendship that has today spanned almost three decades.

Food. There's plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it? Because most of what we're consuming today is not food, and how we're consuming it - in the car, in front of the TV, and increasingly alone - is not really eating. Instead of food, we're consuming "edible foodlike substances" - no longer the products of nature but of food science. Many of them come packaged with health claims that should be our first...

A reflection of where we were and are going as a people. The author tries to answer the question, "Will our children have better lives than we do?"

In this delightful blend of nonfiction and inspirational humor, readers will encounter a small forest of facts and learn a few life lessons from our foliaged friends, who show how their interconnected community collaborates, shares resources, warns of threats, and thrives together.

As an idealistic twenty-three-year-old English teacher at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. Erin Gruwell confronted a room of "unteachable, at-risk" students. One day she intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature, and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust - only to be met by uncomprehending looks ... With powerful entries from the students' own diaries and a narrative text by [her,...

The authors document how four forces--exponential technologies, the DIY innovator, the Technophilanthropist, and the Rising Billion--are conspiring to solve our biggest problems. "Abundance" establishes hard targets for change and lays out a strategic roadmap for governments, industry and entrepreneurs, giving us plenty of reason for optimism.