How did homes built to improve people's lives end up doing the opposite? Is their reputation fair, and if so who is to blame? Lynsey Hanley was born and raised on what was then the largest council estate in Europe, and she has lived for years on an estate in London's East End. Writing with passion, humor, and a sense of history, she recounts the rise of social housing a century ago, its adoption as a fundamental right by leaders of the social welfare state in mid-century, and its decline in the 1960s and 70s. What emerges is a vivid mix of memoir and social history, an engaging and illuminating book about a corner of society that the rest of Britain has left in the dark.

    That’s where William Faulkner was living when he wrote the screenplay for To Have and Have Not; that house was designed by Neutra; over there is a Schindler; that’s where Woody Guthrie lived, where Anais Nin died, and where Thelma Todd was murdered . . .Despite the fact that one of these staircases starred in an Oscar-winning short film—Laurel and Hardy’s The Music Box, from 1932—these civic treasures have been virtually unknown to most of the city’s residents and visitors. Now, Secret Stairs puts these hidden stairways back on the map, while introducing urban hikers to exciting new “trails” all around the city of Los Angeles.

    His quest is the here and now, the unexpected, the overlooked, and the eccentric. All the obvious ports of call make appearances: the ancient monuments, the imperial buildings, and the celebrities of modern Delhi. But it is through his encounters with Delhi’s people—from a professor of astrophysics to a crematorium attendant, from ragpickers to members of a police brass band—that Miller creates this richly entertaining portrait of what Delhi means to its residents, and of what the city is becoming.Miller, like so many of the people he meets, is a migrant in one of the world’s fastest growing megapolises, and the Delhi he depicts is one whose future concerns us all. He possesses an intense curiosity; he has an infallible eye for life’s diversities, for all the marvelous and sublime moments that illuminate people’s lives. This is a generous, original, humorous portrait of a great city; one that unerringly locates the humanity beneath the mundane, the unsung, and the unfamiliar.

    But New Yorkers don't give it much attention. They leave their trash on the curb or drop it in a litter basket, and promptly forget about it. And why not? On a schedule so regular you could almost set your watch by it, someone always comes to take it away.But who, exactly, is that someone? And why is he—or she—so unknown?In Picking Up, the anthropologist Robin Nagle introduces us to the men and women of New York City's Department of Sanitation and makes clear why this small army of uniformed workers is the most important labor force on the streets. Seeking to understand every aspect of the Department's mission, Nagle accompanied crews on their routes, questioned supervisors and commissioners, and listened to story after story about blizzards, hazardous wastes, and the insults of everyday New Yorkers. But the more time she spent with the DSNY, the more Nagle realized that observing wasn't quite enough—so she joined the force herself. Driving the hulking trucks, she obtained an insider's perspective on the complex kinships, arcane rules, and obscure lingo unique to the realm of sanitation workers.Nagle chronicles New York City's four-hundred-year struggle with trash, and traces the city's waste-management efforts from a time when filth overwhelmed the streets to the far more rigorous practices of today, when the Big Apple is as clean as it's ever been.Throughout, Nagle reveals the many unexpected ways in which sanitation workers stand between our seemingly well-ordered lives and the sea of refuse that would otherwise overwhelm us. In the process, she changes the way we understand cities—and ourselves within them.

    The local citizens call that evening Devil's Night; tourists, sociologists and even some visiting firefighters gather to witness this outpouring of urban frustration when houses, abandoned buildings and unused factories burn to the ground in an orgy of arson.In capturing Devil's Night and other troubling Motown movements, Ze'ev Cha-fets—hailed as a "1980s de Tocqueville" by The New York Times—returns to the city of his youth. In the early 1960s Detroit seemed like the model American city. Industry was booming as both blacks and whites found steady work in the auto industry. But in 1967 the worst race riot in American history erupted; overnight, Detroit was violently jerked from an existence as a prosperous, integrated industrial center to that of a chaotic, seething ghetto. Chafets goes back to the city where he grew up and learned the facts of life, a city where his strongest friendship was an unlikely one—with a fatherless black teenager from the ghetto—a city where reality set in early when Chafets's own grandfather was killed in a holdup.Chafets leads us through the wilderness of the distinct subcultures of contemporary Detroit. He meets the black intelligentsia who view their "independent state" as progress for black America; he spends time with cops whose conflicting attitudes of pride in their work and bitterness at their city's staggering crime rate lead to frustration; he explores the growing sects in the Muslim and Christian communities that provide ecstatic, religious escape; he talks to whites from the segregated suburbs to find out why they fled and about the roots of their continuous antagonism; and he converses with Mayor Coleman Young, who, despite the abysmal social and financial conditions of his city, is convinced he is leading Detroit— and its black populace—to a better and brighter future.Poignant, perceptive, and at times hilariously funny, Devil's Night: And Other True Tales of Detroit gives an unprecedented look at what Ze'ev Chafets calls "America's first Third World City."

    Mike Davis shows us where the city's money comes from and who controls it while also exposing the brutal ongoing struggle between L.A.'s haves and have-nots.

    When federal, state, and city officials couldn't find their way to decisive action, Cowen, known for his gutsy leadership, quickly partnered with a coalition of civic, business, and nonprofit leaders looking to work around the old institutions to revitalize and transform New Orleans. This team led the charge to restore equilibrium and eventually to rebuild. For the past nine years, Cowen has continued this work, helping to bring the city of New Orleans back from the brink. The Inevitable City presents 10 principles that changed the game for this city, and, if adopted, can alter the curve for any business, endeavor, community—and perhaps even a nation.This is the story of the resurgence and reinvention of one of America's greatest cities. Ordinary citizens, empowered to actively rescue their own city after politicians and government officials failed them, have succeeded in rebuilding their world. Cowen was at the leading edge of those who articulated, shaped, and implemented a vision of transformative change that has yielded surprising social progress and economic growth: a drowned city identified with the shocking images of devastation and breakdown has transformed itself into a mecca of growth, opportunity, and hope.

    With peerless authority, Cannato explores how Lindsay Liberalism failed to save New York, and, in the opinion of many, left it worse off than it was in the mid-1960's.

    She’s young and the world is still turning, so eventually, she has to move on. If Satan had a son, it would be Quadim. Even though he saved her in a sense, he was far from a knight in shining armor. Being dependent on him and having love for his brother that she helped to care for, made her stay in a dead end situation for far too long. When she wants to leave, Quadim doesn’t get the memo, and he vows that if he can’t have her nobody will. 
 Kyreem aka Panama is home from a prison bid and trying to do the right thing, but he just can’t get with being broke. Reconnecting with two old friends puts him in the right situations to come up and rekindle love, but it also places him directly in the middle of some beef.

    Now that her plan to have Tori's baby has backfired she finds herself doing things others would classy as insane. Follow along as she goes through life altering ups and downs and hopefully to the road of redemption.

    The ones who drink and smoke while carrying a new life, the ones who take them to court every chance they get to raise their child support? What about the ones who don’t let them see their children, who turn their children against them or who hate their children because daddy doesn’t want or love her? Yeah, you know them and you wonder just like we all do. Having a messy baby momma has got to be the worst thing in the world if you ask many. But then again, some men are just as messy. In this five book series you will meet some very messy baby mommas’; each book telling one of their stories. The stories of the ones who are not happy to be a baby momma and want more and the ones who shouldn't have been a mother in the first place. These five women like to keep up as much drama as humanly possible. There is nothing they won’t do, no where they won’t go and no measures they won’t take to make their baby daddies and the people in their circle lives a living hell. Some feel they are entitled to what they want, some just don’t want to see their baby daddies happy and others just want what’s fair. This five-part series will give you the trials, tribulation, drama, and mess of each woman. These are the stories of Tasha, Brit, Armani, Q and Salena.

    His love was Faye - the stepmother. However, now that he knows that she’s not loyal to him, where does that leave him? Moreover, how does he bounce back from that? Most importantly, will his family forgive him? Wrath thought he couldn’t be hit with any more secrets, but he was wrong. The Cookie has been let out, and she’s his mother! What happens next? And is he really over Kanada and about to get with Brittany? Just as Dior and Surge finally get their happily ever after, he’s placed in a life and death situation because of Guns as well as his girlfriend’s father, Kevin! Someone dies, but who? And lastly, life for Legion is on the up and up, but paradise is short lived once his dad finds out that A’Moya is pregnant. Will history repeat itself or will Legion do something to make sure she stays safe? Kanada, A’Moya, and Dior were not ready for what came when they found themselves enticed by a thug love. The finale is here, and it’s explosive! What couples will survive? Find out as we take one final ride with the infamous Ramsey men.

    She paved the way for many young hair stylists by opening multiple hair salons throughout Chicago. With her main focus being her business, and trying her best to cope with the tragic death of her father who was Murdered in cold blood right in front of her, having a personal life is the last thing on her mind. That is until she crosses paths with the infamous La’Cari Gibson. La’Cari is in a lane of his own, being born into money meant nothing to him. He still put in the work to make sure his famille’s businesses ran smoothly. True to his wife Zoey, he made sure no other woman could even come close to replacing her and she knew it. Loyalty means everything to him, but once you break that, nothing will stop him from returning the gesture, no matter who you are! Zoey is the true definition of a trophy wife, young, beautiful, and well kept. She stands behind her husband in the most expensive stilettos, purchased directly from his account. Unlike La’Cari loyalty means nothing to Zoey if the money isn’t flowing, and she will stop at nothing to secure her and her man’s bag. Watch as this drama filled story unfolds, when lies, loyalty, and marriages are broken! Love can be a dangerous game, especially when you don’t know the consequences behind losing.

    Cannon swore that he would get Tiff by any means necessary. Things seemed to be going that way a few times, but Tiff just wasn’t ready. Back in her hometown after moving, Tiff runs into Cannon, and it is not a happy reunion. Tiff has secrets that may result in her seeing a side of Cannon she is not prepared for. What secrets could Tiff possibly have? Will she be able to prove to Cannon that she’s not the snake he thinks she is?Cannon also has his own family issues going on and trying to protect the ones closest to him. This leads to family issues that are hard to deal with.Two people close to both Tiff and Cannon take a chance at romance, but distance will make it hard. When tragedy strikes and flights are booked things go from bad to worse in the blink of an eye. The truth will threaten to break up this new couple, will they be able to figure it out their new relationship?Everything that was done in the dark will come to light for these four. When feelings get involved and the trust isn’t there things escalate quickly. Will they be able to sort it out or is it better to just leave things alone?

    Planning and strategizing has always kept her sane, but now that her twenty-ninth birthday’s here, she starts to see the flaws in her perfectly thought out life. She has never had time for love or relationships. That’s never bothered her before, but now, she wants a family and she knows she has some changes to make before life passes her by. Tahir’s twenty-four and lives his life wild and free. When he finds himself in trouble with the law, he calls the attorney his aunt has on retainer. Sparks fly when they meet, and he’s determined to make her his, but he soon learns those sparks are only one sided. She turns him down, not knowing that only makes him more determined to have her. Tahir does everything he can to make himself a part of her life, but will the tactics he’s using backfire? One way, or another, he’s determined to be a permanent part of O’Niya’s life. He has no limit to the things he’ll do to win her heart, but even if she lets this ‘Young Savage,’ in, if his secrets are revealed, she may run away!