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

The kids on the number 6 school bus -- "We're no. 61!" -- When jobs disappear -- American aristocracy -- How America went astray -- Drug dealers in lab coats -- Losing the war on drugs -- Up by the bootstraps -- Deaths of despair -- Interventions that work -- Universal health care: one day, one town -- Homeless in a rich nation -- The escape artists -- A shot in the face -- God save the family -- The marriage of true minds -- We eat our young -- Raising troubled kids -- Creating more escape artists -- America regained -- Appendix: Ten steps you can take in the next ten minutes to make a difference.