"A history of the class system in America from the colonial era to the present illuminates the crucial legacy of the underprivileged white demographic, citing the pivotal contributions of lower-class white workers in wartime, social policy, and the rise of the Republican Party,"--NoveList.

What caused some of the great civilizations of the past to collapse into ruin, and what can we learn from their fates? Diamond weaves an all-encompassing global thesis through a series of historical-cultural narratives. Moving from the prehistoric Polynesian culture of Easter Island to the formerly flourishing Native American civilizations of the Anasazi and the Maya, the doomed medieval Viking colony on Greenland, and finally to the modern world,...

"Squeezed" weaves together intimate reporting with sharp and lively critique to show how the high cost of parenthood and our increasingly unstable job market have imploded the middle-class American Dream for many families, and offers surprising solutions for how we might change things. Families today are squeezed on every side--from high childcare costs and harsh employment policies to workplaces without paid family leave or even dependable and regular...

"From world-renowned economist Paul Collier, a candid diagnosis of the many failures of the greatest economic system in history, and a pragmatic and realistic vision for how we can repair it. Western society, once thriving, is being torn apart by deep new rifts in its social and economic fabric. It's now populous cities versus rural counties; the highly skilled elite versus the less educated; wealthy versus developing countries. As these breaks have...

More than 150 key social issues confronting the United States today are covered in this eight-volume set, in an A to Z format: from abortion and adoption to capital punishment and corporate crime; from obesity and organized crime to sweatshops and xenophobia. Each includes historical background on the issue; a discussion of current problems, debates, and possible future developments; a chronology; fairly extensive lists of references and Web sites...

Evaluates the reasons that some nations are poor while others succeed, outlining provocative perspectives that support theories about the importance of institutions.

"Shoshana Zuboff, named "the true prophet of the information age" by the Financial Times, has always been ahead of her time. Her seminal book In the Age of the Smart Machine foresaw the consequences of a then-unfolding era of computer technology. Now, three decades later she asks why the once-celebrated miracle of digital is turning into a nightmare. Zuboff tackles the social, political, business, personal, and technological meaning of "surveillance...

"This volume details the rise and decline of poorhouses in Massachusetts, painting a portrait of life inside these institutions and revealing a history of political and social turmoil over issues that still dominate the conversation about welfare recipients today. This work also provides photographs and histories of dozens of former poorhouses across the state, some still stand"--Provided by publisher.

"An unflinching chronicle of gentrification in the twenty-first century, and a love letter to lost New York, by the creator of the popular and incendiary blog Vanishing New York. For generations, New York City has been a mecca for artists, writers, and other hopefuls longing to be part of its rich cultural exchange and unique social fabric. But today, modern gentrification is transforming the city from an exceptional, iconoclastic metropolis into...

"Curated from the grassroots social movement of the same name, this inspiring, uplifting portrait series documents how people coped with living in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Front Steps Project" demonstrates that even in the most challenging of circumstances, incredible kindness, love, courage and hope exists to build, bind, and connect communities around the globe. Created on March 18, 2020, The Front Steps Project" began when friends...