"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a new novel inspired by little-known historical events: a dramatic story of three young women on a journey in search of family amidst the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who rediscovers their story and its vital connection to her own students' lives. In her distinctive voice, Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual "Lost...

"At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril's son Danny, as he and his older...

because i was bad in my last life * because allah has willed it * because the rich do nothing for the poor * because the poor do nothing for themselves * because it is my destiny. These are just some of the answers to the simple yet groundbreaking question William T. Vollmann asks in cities and villages around the globe: "Why are you poor?" In the tradition of James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Vollmann's Poor People struggles to confront...

The end of poverty?: Explains how global poverty began with military conquest, slavery, and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals, and forced labor. Today's financial crisis is a direct consequence of these unchallenged policies that have lasted centuries. Features expert insights from Nobel Prize winners, acclaimed authors, university professors, government ministers, and the leaders of social movements. Includes interviews,...

A revelatory account of poverty in America so deep that we, as a country, don’t think it exists. Jessica Compton’s family of four would have no cash income unless she donated plasma twice a week at her local donation center in Tennessee. Modonna Harris and her teenage daughter Brianna in Chicago often have no food but spoiled milk on weekends. After two decades of brilliant research on American poverty, Kathryn Edin noticed something she hadn’t...

Charlie Wilson is snubbed by neighbors because of her family's poverty, and her closest friend is her dog Fuzz. She tries to befreind another girl her age, but is rejected by the girl's wealthy, prejudiced mother. Alonzo, a gruff old farmer, befriends her, and when faced with a life-or-death test of their love for Alonzo, Charley and Fuzz must perform a miraculous rescue.

Raising Hope: The Equal Voice Story chronicles five families whose lives were changed when they participated in a campaign to lift families out of poverty. The Equal Voice for America's Families campaign brought together 30,000 families who created and adopted a National Family Platform. Through town halls and conventions, low-income families across America came together to tackle some of society's most pressing social and economic issues. Hear from...

"Seventeen-year-old Riggle is living in rural Indiana with his uncle and uncle's girlfriend after the death of both of his parents. Now his uncle has gone missing, probably on a drug binge. It's Monday, and $800 in rent is due Friday. Riggle, who's been suspended from school, has to either find his uncle or get the money together himself. His mission exposes him to a motley group of Opioid locals--encounters by turns perplexing, harrowing, and heartening....

Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities...

Despite their own poverty since Daddy died, Mama tells nine-year-old James Otis they need to help Sarah, whose family lost everything in a fire.