Includes bibliographical references (pages [273]-293) and index

A plea -- deeply personal and told through the lives of real Americans -- to address the crisis in working-class America, while focusing on solutions to mend a half century of governmental failure

Through the lives of real Americans, Kristof and WuDunn address the crisis in working-class America, while focusing on solutions to mend a half century of governmental failure. Rural Yamhill, Oregon, prospered for much of the twentieth century but has been devastated in the last few decades as blue-collar jobs disappeared. About one-quarter of the children on Kristof's old school bus died in adulthood from drugs, alcohol, suicide, or reckless accidents. They are representative of places, from the Dakotas and Oklahoma to New York and Virginia. But here too are stories about resurgence, of working-class families needlessly but profoundly damaged as a result of decades of policy mistakes. -- adapted from jacket