Best of
Class

2021

A Sister's Shame (A Maggie Hartley Foster Carer Story)


Maggie Hartley - 2021
    Perfect for fans of Cathy Glass and Casey Watson.Foster carer Maggie Hartley is used to all manner of children arriving on her doorstep, but nothing can prepare her for sisters Billy and Bo when they arrive at her home. It is clear from the moment she sets eyes on them four-year-old Bo and seven-year-old Billy have clearly been subjected to unimaginable neglect, and it takes all of Maggie's skills as a foster carer to try to connect with the volatile little girls, who seem far younger than their years. Over time, the little girls slowly emerge from their shells, and Maggie begins the difficult task of trying to gain their trust. But as time goes on, it becomes clear that there is something much darker going on, something that will call into question everything Maggie has ever learned in all her years as a foster carer...

The Book No One Wants to Read


Beth Bacon - 2021
    Everyone will think you’re reading. Are you ready? Let’s get started…

A Class Act: Life as a Working-Class Man in a Middle-Class World


Rob Beckett - 2021
    At work, in the middle-class world of television he’s the laddie, cockney geezer, but to his mates down the pub in south-east London, he’s the theatrical one, a media luvvie. Even at home, his wife and kids are posher than him.In this hilarious exploration of class, Rob compares his life growing up as a working-class kid to the life he lives now, trying to understand where he truly belongs.Will he always be that fat kid who was told he’d never be a high-flyer? Why does he feel ashamed if he does anything vaguely middle class? Will he ever favour craft beer over lager? What happens if you eat 50 olives and drink two bottles of champagne? Why is ‘boner’ such a funny word?In search of answers, Rob relives the moments in his life when the class divide couldn’t be more obvious. Whether it’s the gig for rich bankers that was worse than Matt Hancock hosting the GQ Men of the Year Awards, turning up at a swanky celebrity house party with a blue bag of cans from the offy or identifying the root of his ambition as a childhood incident involving soiled pants and Jurassic Park, Rob digs deep.A Class Act is his funny, candid and often moving account of what it feels like to be an outsider and the valuable (sometimes humiliating) life lessons he’s learned along the way.

We Need to Talk About Money


Otegha Uwagba - 2021
    This is a book about toxic workplaces and misogynist men, about getting payrises and getting evicted. About class and privilege and racism and beauty. About shame and pride, compulsion and fear.In unpicking the shroud of secrecy surrounding money – who has it, how they got it, and how it shapes our lives – this boldly honest account of one woman’s journey upturns countless social conventions, and uncovers some startling truths about our complex relationships with money in the process.‘A beautiful, searingly personal account of a world defined by money, full of courage and truth telling.’ Owen Jones‘In this compelling book, Otegha confronts the British aversion to discussing money and in doing so reveals she is one of the most original and talented young writers we have.’ Sathnam Sanghera‘A brilliant book that moved, amused, challenged and made me re-evaluate my own relationship with money. Otegha Uwagba writes with real intelligence and insight about the things many of us suspect but leave unsaid. A must-read.’ Elizabeth Day‘This brilliant book has made me re-evaluate my money privileges, past and present. A must-read for anyone who thinks their money is just their monthly cash flow.’ Raven Smith‘A riveting, confronting memoir – as beautifully written as it is provocative and thoughtful.’ Pandora Sykes‘Refreshingly honest – Otegha captures the creeping realisation in your twenties that your feelings about what you earn defines so much, from self-image to who we date, who we are friends with to what we will – or won’t – put up with at the office.’ Laura Whateley‘Personal but universal, Uwagba’s story of navigating university and the world of work while dealing with the pressures of class, lack of privilege and misogyny, is illuminating, eye-opening and reassuring.’ The Bookseller

Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America


Eyal Press - 2021
    Undocumented immigrants who man the "kill floors" of industrial slaughterhouses. Guards who patrol the wards of America's most violent and abusive prisons. In Dirty Work, Eyal Press offers a paradigm-shifting view of the moral landscape of contemporary America through the stories of people who perform society's most ethically troubling jobs. As Press shows, we are increasingly shielded and distanced from an array of morally questionable activities that other, less privileged people perform in our name.The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn unprecedented attention to the issue of "essential workers," and to the health and safety risks to which workers in prisons and slaughterhouses are exposed. But Dirty Work examines another, less familiar set of occupational hazards: psychological and emotional hardships such as stigma, shame, PTSD, and moral injury. These burdens fall disproportionately on low-income workers, undocumented immigrants, women, and people of color.Illuminating the moving, at times harrowing stories of the people doing society's dirty work, and incisively examining the structures of power and complicity that shape their lives, Press reveals fundamental truths about the moral dimensions of work, and the hidden costs of inequality in America.

Border Nation: A Story of Migration


Leah Cowan - 2021
    They have an impact on all of our lives, whether it’s the fallout from Brexit or the inhumanity of a detention center. In Border Nation, Leah Cowan shows how borders are violent, oppressive, and must be resisted. Looking back, we learn of the elitist, colonial and patriarchal origins of borders, explore the vital history of anti-racist, anti-border organizing and hear stories from people who have crossed partitions. Debunking myths around migration, Leah Cowan unpacks the 'hostile environment' and reveals how healthcare crises, terrorism, unemployment and housing shortages are often manipulated by politicians and the media to vilify migrants. As borders grow, migrants are policed and immigration controls are tightened, this book transforms our understanding of borders, migration and our fight for belonging.

Cairo Circles


Doma Mahmoud - 2021
    When the FBI comes knocking on his door, he’s convinced it’s a case of mistaken identity―until they show him a picture of his cousin Amir. Amir has perpetrated a horrific attack and Sheero is suddenly forced to return to Cairo and confront the events that led to their wildly different circumstances. While Amir wore Sheero’s hand-me-downs and suffered at the hands of neglectful, abusive parents, Sheero attended Cairo’s most prestigious high school, where he and his best friend Taymour, the son of one of Cairo’s business moguls, could enjoy sports clubs, beach vacations, high-end dining, and socializing with girls from the French and British schools. Once inseparable cousins, Sheero and Amir grew further apart, Amir ultimately having more in common with the children of Taymour’s housekeeper: Omar, Mustafa, and Zeina. In Cairo Circles, the lives of this unforgettable group of six young Egyptians intertwine dramatically over the course of over a decade, revealing complex relationships dominated by faith, tradition, social class, and the boundaries of personal freedom. An epic, multi-perspective page-turner, Doma Mahmoud's debut introduces readers to a bold and inventive new voice in fiction as Cairo's streets burst to life on the page.

Broke in America: Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty


Joanne Samuel Goldblum - 2021
    Food. Housing. The most basic and crucial needs for survival, yet 40 percent of people in the United States don't have the resources to get them. With key policy changes, we could eradicate poverty in this country within our lifetime—but we need to get started now.Nearly 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line—about $26,200 for a family of four. Low-income families and individuals are everywhere, from cities to rural communities. While poverty is commonly seen as a personal failure, or a deficiency of character or knowledge, it's actually the result of bad policy.Public policy has purposefully erected barriers that deny access to basic needs, creating a society where people can easily become trapped—not because we lack the resources to lift them out, but because we are actively choosing not to. Poverty is close to inevitable for low-wage workers and their children, and a large percentage of these people, despite qualifying for it, do not receive government aid.From Joanne Samuel Goldblum and Colleen Shaddox, Broke in America offers an eye-opening and galvanizing look at life in poverty in this country: how circumstances and public policy conspire to keep people poor, and the concrete steps we can take to end poverty for good.In clear, accessible prose, Goldblum and Shaddox detail the ways the current system is broken and how it's failing so many of us. They also highlight outdated and ineffective policies that are causing or contributing to this unnecessary problem.Every chapter features action items readers can use to combat poverty—both nationwide and in our local communities, including the most effective public policies you can support and how to work hand-in-hand with representatives to affect change.So far, our attempted solutions have fallen short because they try to "fix" poor people rather than address the underlying problems. Fortunately, it's much easier to fix policy than people. Essential and timely, Broke in America offers a crucial road map for securing a brighter future.

Missed Meal Mayhem


Jarrett Lerner - 2021
    Sternbladder’s class missed breakfast and isn’t allowed to have snacks! How will he pass his math test, study for spelling, or play soccer at recess if his stomach is growling out of control? Hunger Heroes to the rescue!

Hope Springs


Jaime Berry - 2021
    On the search for the “perfect place,” she and her Nan live by their Number One Relocation Rule—just the two of them is all they need. But Jubilee’s starting to feel like just two is a little too close to alone.Desperate to settle down, Jubilee plans their next move, Hope Springs, Texas—home of her TV crafting idol, Arletta Paisley. Here she meets a girl set on winning the local fishing tournament and a boy who says exactly the right thing, by hardly speaking at all. Soon, Jubilee wonders if Hope Springs might just be the place to call home after all.But when the town is threatened by a mega-chain superstore fronted by Arletta Paisley, Jubilee is faced with her toughest decision yet, skip town again or stand up to her one-time hero. With the help of her new friends and the one person she never thought she’d need—her Momma—will Jubilee find a way to save the town she’s come to love and convince Nan that it’s finally time to settle down?

Frankenstein: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting


Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - 2021
    Frankenstein. The Scarlet Letter. You’re familiar with these pillars of classic literature. You have seen plenty of Frankenstein costumes, watched the film adaptations, and may even be able to rattle off a few quotes, but do you really know how to read these books? Do you know anything about the authors who wrote them, and what the authors were trying to teach readers through their stories? Do you know how to read them as a Christian? Taking into account your old worldview, as well as that of the author?   In this beautiful cloth-over-board edition bestselling author, literature professor, and avid reader Karen Swallow Prior will guide you through Frankenstein. She will not only navigate you through the pitfalls that trap readers today, but show you how to read it in light of the gospel, and to the glory of God.   This edition includes a thorough introduction to the author, context, and overview of the work (without any spoilers for first-time readers), the full original text, as well as footnotes and reflection questions throughout to help the reader attain a fuller grasp of Frankenstein.   The full series currently includes: Heart of Darkness, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Eyre, and Frankenstein. Make sure to keep an eye out for the next classics in the series.

The Roles We Play


Sabba Khan - 2021
    Sabba Khan's debut graphic memoir explores what identity, belonging and memory mean for her and her family against the backdrop of this history. As a second generation Azad Kashmiri migrant in East London, Khan paints a vivid snapshot of contemporary British Asian life and investigates the complex shifts experienced by different generations within migrant communities, creating an uplifting and universal story that crosses borders and decades. Race, gender and class are brought to the forefront in a simple and personal narrative, illuminated by an eloquent minimal style and architectural page design. Khan asks how religion and secularism, tradition and trend, heritage and progression can move toward a common space of love and understanding?

Profit and Punishment: How America Criminalizes the Poor in the Name of Justice


Tony Messenger - 2021
    It is Charged meets Evicted, focusing on that touchstone issue of the criminal justice reform movement: the insidious use of fines and fees to raise money for broken government budgets off the backs of the poor, and the partnership those governments have formed with for-profit companies that are getting rich on the backs of people incarcerated for minor crimes.In a feat of exceptional reporting, Profit and Punishment reveals a familiar reality to the nation's poor, anchored by the stories of three single mothers living in poverty, one in Oklahoma, one in Missouri, and one in South Carolina, who are abused by a judicial system more focused on debt collection than public safety.All over the country, similar schemes are criminalizing the vulnerable and the poor, with the full support of politicians in both parties. The geography is Missouri, South Carolina, and Oklahoma. The story is American.

She Persisted: Ruby Bridges


Kekla Magoon - 2021
    This was no easy task, especially for a six-year-old. Ruby's bravery and perseverance inspired children and adults alike to fight for equality and social justice. Perfect for back-to-school reading!Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Ruby Bridges's footsteps and make a difference!And don't miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted!Praise for She Persisted: Ruby Bridges Bridges' voice, quoted from various sources, gives readers access to her own perspective. A context-offering complement to Bridges' own books for children. -- Kirkus Reviews Given the more relatable perspective of starting first grade, this volume makes Bridges's story poignant for the intended audience. --School Library Journal

Cut Short: Youth Violence, Loss and Hope in the City


Ciaran Thapar - 2021
    It is a blueprint for positive change, and a book we desperately need._________________________'Compelling' The Sunday Times; 'Assured' Observer; 'Brilliantly written' Nikesh Shukla'Makes you stop and think' Nick Robinson, BBC R4's Today programme'This book strongly gives a voice to the voiceless . . . essential reading' Kenny Allstar'Angry, impassioned, informed, accurate - the story behind the cutting short of public health and young lives' Danny Dorling'Ciaran's work is informed by lived experience at the frontline of social change. It takes a sensitive and respectful look at the truths less often told' George the Poet

How to Philosophize with a Hammer and Sickle: Nietzsche and Marx for the 21st-Century Left


Jonas Čeika - 2021
    At the same time, as a new wave of nationalism and right-wing politics spreads across the world, fewer and fewer people are being convinced that socialism could improve their everyday lives, let alone save us from our own destruction.In this timely and explosive book, philosopher and YouTuber Jonas Čeika (aka Cuck Philosophy) re-invigorates socialism for the twenty-first century. Leaving behind its past associations with bureaucracy and state tyranny, and it's lifeless and drab theoretical accounts, Čeika instead uses the works of Marx and Nietzsche to reconnect socialism with its human element, presenting it as something not only affecting, but created by living, breathing, suffering human individuals.At a time when ecological collapse is hurtling towards us, and capitalism offers no solution except more growth and exploitation, How to Philosophise with a Hammer and Sickle shows us the way forward to a socialism grounded in human experience and accessible to all.

The Next Shift: The Fall of Industry and the Rise of Health Care in Rust Belt America


Gabriel Winant - 2021
    What does this shift portend for our future?Pittsburgh was once synonymous with steel. But today most of its mills are gone. Like so many places across the United States, a city that was a center of blue-collar manufacturing is now dominated by the service economy--particularly health care, which employs more Americans than any other industry. Gabriel Winant takes us inside the Rust Belt to show how America's cities have weathered new economic realities. In Pittsburgh's neighborhoods, he finds that a new working class has emerged in the wake of deindustrialization.As steelworkers and their families grew older, they required more health care. Even as the industrial economy contracted sharply, the care economy thrived. Hospitals and nursing homes went on hiring sprees. But many care jobs bear little resemblance to the manufacturing work the city lost. Unlike their blue-collar predecessors, home health aides and hospital staff work unpredictable hours for low pay. And the new working class disproportionately comprises women and people of color.Today health care workers are on the front lines of our most pressing crises, yet we have been slow to appreciate that they are the face of our twenty-first-century workforce. The Next Shift offers unique insights into how we got here and what could happen next. If health care employees, along with other essential workers, can translate the increasing recognition of their economic value into political power, they may become a major force in the twenty-first century.

If God Still Breathes, Why Can't I?: Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority


Angela N. Parker - 2021
    Parker’s experience of being taught to forsake her embodied identity in order to contort herself into the stifling construct of Whiteness is common among American Christians, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. This book calls the power structure behind this experience what it is: White supremacist authoritarianism. Drawing from her perspective as a Womanist New Testament scholar, Dr. Parker describes how she learned to deconstruct one of White Christianity’s most pernicious lies: the conflation of biblical authority with the doctrines of inerrancy and infallibility. As Dr. Parker shows, these doctrines are less about the text of the Bible itself and more about the arbiters of its interpretation—historically, White males in positions of power who have used Scripture to justify control over marginalized groups. This oppressive use of the Bible has been suffocating. To learn to breathe again, Dr. Parker says, we must “let God breathe in us.” We must read the Bible as authoritative, but not authoritarian. We must become conscious of the particularity of our identities, as we also become conscious of the particular identities of the biblical authors from whom we draw inspiration. And we must trust and remember that as long as God still breathes, we can too.

Pighearted


Alex Perry - 2021
    It’s the first sign of a heart attack. He knows he needs to go to the hospital, but he’s determined to score a goal. Charging after the ball, he refuses to stop…even if his heart does.J6 is a pig and the only one of his five brothers who survived the research lab. Though he's never left his cell, he thinks of himself as a therapy pig, a scholar, and a bodyguard. But when the lab sends him to live with Jeremiah's family, there’s one new title he’s desperate to have: brother.At first, Jeremiah thinks his parents took in J6 to cheer him up. But before long, he begins to suspect there's more to his new curly-tailed companion than meets the eye. When the truth is revealed, Jeremiah and J6 must protect each other at all costs—even if their lives depend on it.

Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health


Donald S. Whitney - 2021
    Are you governed increasingly by God's Word? Are you more loving? Are you a quicker forgiver? These and other questions bring the lofty idea of "sanctification" into a helpful and convicting spotlight. With a new discussion guide optimized for small groups and Christian education, this concise and compelling book will transform your spiritual life and the life of your church.

She Persisted: Virginia Apgar


Sayantani DasGupta - 2021
    After a professor discouraged from becoming a surgeon, she became an anesthesiologist instead and created the famous Apgar test to check the health of newborn babies. It's a test that's still used in hospitals across the world today!Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Virginia Apgar's footsteps and make a difference!And don't miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted!Praise for She Persisted: Virginia Apgar A fast-paced tale that will spark curiosity--Dr. Apgar would approve. -- Kirkus Reviews Equally appealing for report writers and readers looking for role models. -- Booklist

Now You Say Yes


Bill Harley - 2021
    Again. And to complicate matters, she is now the only one who can take care of her super-smart and on-the-spectrum nine-year-old stepbrother, Conor.Is there anyone Mari can trust to help them? Certainly not her mother’s current boyfriend, Dennis. Not the doctors or her teachers, who would be obliged to call in social services. So in a desperate move, Mari takes Conor and sets out to find their estranged grandmother, hoping to throw themselves at the mercy of the only person who might take them in.On their way to New England, the duo experiences the snarls of LA traffic, the backroads of the Midwest, and a monumental stop in Missouri where they witness the solar eclipse, an event with which Conor is obsessed. Mari also learns about the inner workings of her stepbrother’s mind and about her connections to him and to the world…and maybe even a little about her own place in it.

She Persisted: Oprah Winfrey


Renée Watson - 2021
    But she had different dreams. She went after them and turned her dreams into reality, becoming a media superstar and inspiring countless other people along the way.Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Oprah Winfrey's footsteps and make a difference!And don't miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted!Praise for She Persisted: Oprah Winfrey * This is a lively introduction to the life of a woman who beat many odds to become successful. . . . A highly recommended addition to this stellar series. --Kirkus Reviews, *STARRED REVIEW*A must purchase for all libraries. --School Library Journal

White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality


Sheryll Cashin - 2021
    Politicians and people of all colors propagated "ghetto" myths to justify racist policies that concentrated poverty in the hood and created high-opportunity white spaces. In White Space, Black Hood, Sheryll Cashin traces the history of anti-Black residential caste--boundary maintenance, opportunity hoarding, and stereotype-driven surveillance--and unpacks its current legacy so we can begin the work to dismantle the structures and policies that undermine Black lives.Drawing on nearly 2 decades of research in cities including Baltimore, St. Louis, Chicago, New York, and Cleveland, Cashin traces the processes of residential caste as it relates to housing, policing, schools, and transportation. She contends that geography is now central to American caste. Poverty-free havens and poverty-dense hoods would not exist if the state had not designed, constructed, and maintained this physical racial order.Cashin calls for abolition of these state-sanctioned processes. The ultimate goal is to change the lens through which society sees residents of poor Black neighborhoods from presumed thug to presumed citizen, and to transform the relationship of the state with these neighborhoods from punitive to caring. She calls for investment in a new infrastructure of opportunity in poor Black neighborhoods, including richly resourced schools and neighborhood centers, public transit, Peacemaker Fellowships, universal basic incomes, housing choice vouchers for residents, and mandatory inclusive housing elsewhere.Deeply researched and sharply written, White Space, Black Hood is a call to action for repairing what white supremacy still breaks.Includes historical photos, maps, and charts that illuminate the history of residential segregation as an institution and a tactic of racial oppression.

I Am Oprah Winfrey


Brad Meltzer - 2021
    Each book tells the story of an icon in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers and that always includes the hero's childhood influences. At the back are an excellent timeline and photos. This book features critically acclaimed talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who used her struggles in childhood as motivation to become Queen of All Media.

Excavate!: The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall


Bob Stanley - 2021
    This is not even a book about Mark E Smith. This is a book about The Fall group - or more precisely, their world. 'To 50,000 Fall Fans: please buy this inspired & inspiring, profound & provocative, beautiful & bonkers Book of Revelations.'DAVID PEACE'Mind blowing . . . there is so much to enjoy in this brilliant book.'TIM BURGESS'A container sized treasure trove . . . I strongly advise you to buy it.'MAXINE PEAKE'The most wonderful, unashamedly intellectual, pretentious, ridiculous, exciting hymn to this incredible group.'ANDY MILLER, BACKLISTEDOver a prolific forty-year career, the Fall created a world that was influential, idiosyncratic and fiercely original - and defied simple categorisation.Their frontman and lyricist Mark E. Smith spun opaque tales that resisted conventional understanding; the Fall's worldview was an education in its own right. Who wouldn't want to be armed with a working knowledge of M. R. James, shipping-dock procedures, contemporary dance, Manchester City and Can? The group inspired and shaped the lives of those who listened to and tried to make sense of their work.Bringing together previously unseen artwork, rare ephemera and handwritten material, alongside essays by a slate of fans, EXCAVATE! is a vivid, definitive record - an illumination of the dark corners of the Fall's wonderful and frightening world.

Required Reading: Climate Justice, Adaptation and Investing in Indigenous Power


NDN Collective - 2021
    Required Reading is a roadmap that hones in on why Indigenous peoples must lead through the heart of the climate crisis.As the recent IPCC report highlights, we are on the brink of ecological collapse, yet we know that Indigenous communities continue to hold key insights into how to mitigate environmental destruction. Required Reading: Climate Justice, Adaptation and Investing in Indigenous Power is both a road map and a call to action that illuminates the linkages between centering Indigenous leadership and repairing our fractured world.

Remake the World: Essays, Reflections, Rebellions


Astra Taylor - 2021
    The essays collected here reveal the range and depth of her thinking, with Taylor tackling the rising popularity of socialism, the problem of automation, the politics of listening, the possibility of rights for the natural and non-human world, the future of the university, the temporal challenge of climate catastrophe, and more. Addressing some of the most pressing social problems of our day, Taylor invites us to imagine how things could be different while never losing sight of the strategic question of how change actually happens.Curious and searching, these historically informed and hopeful essays are as engaging as they are challenging and as urgent as they are timeless. Taylor 's unique philosophical style has a political edge that speaks directly to the growing conviction that a radical transformation of our economy and society is required.

Portrait Of A Forbidden Love (The Rebellious Sisterhood, #1)


Bronwyn Scott - 2021
    When she finds out that aristocratic art critic Darius Rutherford has been snooping in her studio, she’s furious! Sparks of anger turn into flames of desire, but one lapse in judgment could give Darius all the fuel he needs to ruin her, as a lady and as an artist! Unless she trusts him enough to take the risk…From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.The Rebellious SisterhoodFemale artists…taking their world by storm!Book 1: Portrait of a Forbidden Love

Rich Thanks to Racism


Jim Freeman - 2021
    In Rich Thanks to Racism, one of the country's leading civil rights lawyers, Jim Freeman, explains why as he reveals the hidden strategy behind systemic racism. He details how the driving force behind the public policies that continue to devastate communities of color across the US is a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals who profit mightily from racial inequality.In this groundbreaking examination of "strategic racism," Freeman carefully dissects the cruel and deeply harmful policies within the education, criminal justice, and immigration systems to discover their origins and why they persist. He uncovers billions of dollars in aligned investments by Bill Gates, Charles Koch, Mark Zuckerberg, and a handful of other billionaires that are dismantling public school systems across the US. He exposes how the greed of prominent US corporations and Wall Street banks were instrumental in creating the world's largest prison population and our most extreme anti-immigrant policies. He also demonstrates how these "racism profiteers" prevent these flagrant injustices from being addressed by pitting white communities against communities of color, obscuring the fact that the struggles faced by white people are deeply connected with those faced by people of color.Rich Thanks to Racism is an invaluable roadmap for all those who recognize that the key to unlocking America's full potential is for more people of all races and ethnicities to prioritize racial justice.

She Persisted: Nellie Bly


Michelle Knudsen - 2021
    She went undercover to expose wrongdoing and famously raced around the world so she could write about the experience for her newspaper. Reaching for her dreams wasn't easy. But Nellie never gave up, no matter how many obstacles she faced--and she helped others along the way.Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Nellie Bly's footsteps and make a difference!And don't miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted!Praise for She Persisted: Nellie Bly A fast read, sure to engage transitioning independent readers or older reluctant reader [as well as] more sophisticated readers . . . A likable, meaningful addition to the She Persisted collection. -- Kirkus Reviews This welcome installment of the series will captivate an audience of varying reading levels with a fast pace, accessible language, and adventurous storytelling. -- School Library Journal

She Persisted: Maria Tallchief


Christine Day - 2021
    She refused, and worked hard at dancing her best, becoming America's first prima ballerina. Many famous American ballets were created for Maria!Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton!

She Persisted: Florence Griffith Joyner


Rita Williams-Garcia - 2021
     Considered the fastest woman of all time, Florence Griffith Joyner, also known as Flo Jo, set two world records in 1988 that still stand today. But getting there wasn't easy, and Flo Jo had to overcome many challenges along the way. Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Florence Griffith Joyner's footsteps and make a difference!

Lightning Strike


Tanya Landman - 2021
    Angry that her family work all the hours yet never have enough to live on. Angry that conditions at the factory where she and her sister work are so harsh. Angry that no one seems to care.When Eliza speaks out, her words spark fury among the rest of the workers and the flame of rebellion is lit.But can one girl really inspire an uprising that will change the world?

Class


Nathalie Olah - 2021
    At a moment when galleries and museums are seen to be upholding outdated and damaging class structures and systems, how is it possible to trace and tackle the legacy and impact of class in art throughout history, and today?Class is a radical reframing of some of our most relevant and respected artworks, recasting the national collection of art in socio-political rather than chronological or art-historical terms, and by doing so, broadening access to art for all. It journeys from the London of Henry James and Hogarth, through Gilbert and George's Swinging Sixties and beyond, past the Young British Artists to a new generation tackling the question of class, and the intersection of social, racial and political inequality.

Selected Writings on Race and Difference


Stuart Hall - 2021
    Spanning the whole of his career, this collection includes classic theoretical essays such as “The Whites of Their Eyes” (1981) and “Race, the Floating Signifier” (1997). It also features public lectures, political articles, and popular pieces that circulated in periodicals and newspapers, which demonstrate the breadth and depth of Hall's contribution to public discourses of race. Foregrounding how and why the analysis of race and difference should be concrete and not merely descriptive, this collection gives organizers and students of social theory ways to approach the interconnections of race with culture and consciousness, state and society, policing and freedom.

She Persisted: Sally Ride


Atia Abawi - 2021
    But she wanted to do even more! After leaving NASA, she created science and engineering programs that would help other girls and women make their dreams come true as well.In this chapter book biography by award-winning author Atia Abawi, readers learn about the amazing life of Sally Ride--and how she persisted. Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton!

Rituals Roadmap: The Human Way to Transform Everyday Routines Into Workplace Magic


Erica Keswin - 2021
    Now, in Rituals Roadmap, she shows us how to further employee engagement, explaining that workplace rituals foster a sense of belonging and help workers connect with one another and their work.From our morning cup of coffee to the standing Wednesday morning meeting with our team, our lives are steeped in rituals. Rituals Roadmap combines cutting-edge scientific research with examples from the most human companies, like Starbucks, Microsoft, Chipotle and LinkedIn, showing how they establish rituals during meetings, employee onboarding procedures, and daily interactions among coworkers.Whether you choose to pass around a stuffed penguin at your weekly meeting to express gratitude like Aria Finger of DoSomething, or decide to make lunchtime a daily ritual with your team in the same way one top performing team at Douglas Elliman does, rituals create community and change us in a way that conjures lifelong commitments. If you're serious about employee engagement, Rituals Roadmap is your blueprint for creating a workplace full of engaged, connected employees who drive revenue and stay at their jobs long term.

She Persisted: Clara Lemlich


Deborah Heiligman - 2021
    She started working in clothing factories on the Lower East Side, only to realize that workers were being treated unfairly. So she stood up for the rights of workers, especially girls and women--and she won, changing the way factory workers were treated in America forever!Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Clara Lemlich's footsteps and make a difference!Praise for She Persisted: Clara Lemlich Intentionally and successfully inspiring. --Kirkus ReviewsAn important addition to the biography section of any library. --School Library Journal

She Persisted: Helen Keller


Courtney Sheinmel - 2021
    She was the first person who was both deaf and blind to go to and graduate from college, and she continued to write books and articles, speak in public, and stand up for the rights she believed everyone should have, inspiring others to do the same.Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Helen Keller's footsteps and make a difference!And don't miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted!Praise for She Persisted: Helen Keller An engaging portrait of a fascinating woman. --Kirkus ReviewsA must purchase for all libraries. --School Library Journal

Unforgotten: The Wild Life of Dian Fossey and Her Relentless Quest to Save Mountain Gorillas


Anita Silvey - 2021
    It soon became her life's mission to study and protect the few mountain gorillas left on Earth. Fossey had no experience or formal scientific training, but she was smart, passionate, and strong-willed--and she just happened to meet paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey, who helped her pursue her goal of studying animals in the wild. Fossey set up a research camp and threw herself into tracking and observing mountain gorillas. Over the next 18 years, Fossey got closer to gorillas than any human ever had before. As she learned to mimic their behavior and became accepted by them, Fossey's studies grew into a labor of love and a mission to protect her beloved gorillas from poachers and other threats--no matter what the cost.Sadly, Fossey was murdered at her camp in 1985, and to this day, her death remains a mystery. But her legacy lives on through the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund: In 1973 Fossey recorded only 275 gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park; there are about twice that many today. Fossey's story is one of tragedy, but also passion, science, and preservation. As Jane Goodall, once said, "If Dian had not been there, there might be no mountain gorillas in Rwanda today." Unforgotten is the dramatic conclusion to Silvey's trilogy of biographies on Leakey's "Trimates." With unparalleled storytelling, sidebars, maps, and an award-winning design, Unforgotten will inspire the next generation of budding scientists and conservationists.

Little light


Coral Rumble - 2021
    Hiding from bullies. Hiding from all the nappies and bottles and her mum run ragged. This is her story told in verse.

A Wider Type of Freedom: How Struggles for Racial Justice Liberate Everyone


Daniel Martinez HoSang - 2021
      In Where Do We Go From Here? (1967), Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., described racism as "a philosophy based on a contempt for life," a totalizing social theory that could only be confronted with an equally massive response, by "restructuring the whole of American society." A Wider Type of Freedom provides a survey of the truly transformative visions of racial justice in the United States, an often-hidden history that has produced conceptions of freedom and interdependence never envisioned in the nation's dominant political framework. A Wider Type of Freedom brings together stories of the social movements, intellectuals, artists, and cultural formations that have centered racial justice and the abolition of white supremacy as the foundation for a universal liberation. Daniel Martinez HoSang taps into moments across time and place to reveal the longstanding drive toward a vision of universal emancipation. From the nineteenth century's abolition democracy and the struggle to end forced sterilizations, to the twentieth century's domestic worker organizing campaigns, to the twenty-first century's environmental justice movement, he reveals a bold, shared desire to realize the antithesis of "a philosophy based on a contempt for life," as articulated by Martin Luther King Jr. Rather than seeking "equal rights" within failed systems, these efforts generated new visions that embraced human difference, vulnerability, and interdependence as core productive facets of our collective experience.

An Influencer in King Arthur's Court


Teresa Yea - 2021
    A coveted brand deal with a major fashion line and a tax-deductible trip to England.Until a terrible misfortune happened to me at Stonehenge. I dropped my phone. Cracked my screen. My phone? Dead. My brand deal deadline? Waiting… I wander into a creepy gift shop run by a sultry clerk named Morgaine le Fey. She fixes my phone and leaves me with a nasty surprise. A trip to a dark and dank age. No electricity or indoor plumbing. Bloodthirsty mobs and horror of horrors… No WiFi. But a foxy wizard named Merlin acts as my guide, though I’m not sure if he wants to kiss me or kill me. Hot Merlin takes me to Camelot, home of King Arthur, his Knights of the Round Table, and a hotbed of spicy royal scandal. Armed with a tote bag full of modern gadgets, I land a job. My name is Laurel Kirby and this is how I became a royal influencer in King Arthur’s Court.

The Return of Inequality: Social Change and the Weight of the Past


Mike Savage - 2021
    The rich have been pulling away from the rest of us for years, and the super-rich have been pulling away from the rich. More and more assets are concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. Mainstream economists say we need not worry; what matters is growth, not distribution. In The Return of Inequality, acclaimed sociologist Mike Savage pushes back, explaining inequality's profound deleterious effects on the shape of societies.Savage shows how economic inequality aggravates cultural, social, and political conflicts, challenging the coherence of liberal democratic nation-states. Put simply, severe inequality returns us to the past. By fracturing social bonds and harnessing the democratic process to the strategies of a resurgent aristocracy of the wealthy, inequality revives political conditions we thought we had moved beyond: empires and dynastic elites, explosive ethnic division, and metropolitan dominance that consigns all but a few cities to irrelevance. Inequality, in short, threatens to return us to the very history we have been trying to escape since the Age of Revolution.Westerners have been slow to appreciate that inequality undermines the very foundations of liberal democracy: faith in progress and trust in the political community's concern for all its members. Savage guides us through the ideas of leading theorists of inequality, including Marx, Bourdieu, and Piketty, revealing how inequality reimposes the burdens of the past. At once analytically rigorous and passionately argued, The Return of Inequality is a vital addition to one of our most important public debates.

On Burnley Road: Class, Race and Politics in a Northern English Town


Mike Makin-Waite - 2021
    What was happening in Burnley Town Hall when the British National Party won seats there? Written by the council worker responsible for promoting good race relations following the 'northern town disturbances' of 2001, this book argues that events in Burnley were a harbinger of the shift towards populism that would later result in Brexit.

On the Job: The Untold Story of America's Work Centers and the New Fight for Wages, Dignity, and Health


Celeste Monforton - 2021
    This new and troubling reality has galvanized media and policymakers, but all the while a different and little-known story of rebirth and struggle has percolated just below the surface.On the Job is the first account of a new kind of labor movement, one that is happening locally, quietly, and among our country's most vulnerable--but essential--workers. Noted public health expert Celeste Monforton and award-winning journalist Jane M. Von Bergen crisscrossed the country, speaking with workers of all backgrounds and uncovering the stories of hundreds of new, worker-led organizations (often simply called worker centers) that have successfully achieved higher wages, safer working conditions and on-the-job dignity for their members.On the Job describes ordinary people finding their voice and challenging power: from housekeepers in Chicago and Houston; to poultry workers in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Springdale, Arkansas; and construction workers across the state of Texas. An inspiring book for dark times, On the Job reveals that labor activism is actually alive and growing--and holds the key to a different future for all working people.

The Shadow of the Mine: Coal and the End of Industrial Britain


Huw Beynon - 2021
    The Shadow of the Mine tells the story of King Coal in its heyday and what happened to mining communities after the last pits closed. Coal was central to the British economy, powering its factories and railways. It carried political weight, too. In the eighties the miners risked everything in a year-long strike against Thatchers shutdowns. Defeat foretold the death of their industry. Tens of thousands were cast onto the labour market with a minimum amount of advice and support. Yet British politics all of a sudden revolves around the coalfield constituencies that lent their votes to Boris Johnsons Conservatives in 2019. Even in the Welsh Valleys, where the red wall still stands, support for the Labour Party has halved in a generation. Huw Beynon and Ray Hudson draw on decades of research to chronicle these momentous changes through the words of the people who lived through them.