"I was born dirt poor and will probably die dirt poor," states Jack Barnes in his beguiling memoir in which he reveals the life fate dealt him and what he did with it. Despite being homeless and living in his car for a number of years, he always maintained a job in order to support his family. Written up in two feature stories in Newsday, Jack's life is that of a man who loved and lost but never forgot his sense of humanity and responsibility to his children and grandchildren."Every day he broke his back. Every night he slept in his car. This was the only America that John Barnes knew." Newsday, Sunday, December 27, 1987.
This book, first published in 1986, is a major reference work for the political discussions arising out of the 1985 Congress revisions of US food and farm laws. It covers production, distribution and consumption of food, analyses international as well as domestic problems, and presents new ways forward. Emphasising public policy and programmes, the book has chapters on agricultural production; environmental and resource problems; food marketing; domestic hunger and nutrition; and world hunger and development.
This book, first published in 1986, is a major reference work for the political discussions arising out of the 1985 Congress revisions of US food and farm laws. It covers production, distribution and consumption of food, analyses international as well as domestic problems, and presents new ways forward. Emphasising public policy and programmes, the book has chapters on agricultural production; environmental and resource problems; food marketing; domestic hunger and nutrition; and world hunger and development.
I, Janet Godwin Meyer, grew up on a dirt road in Georgia in the 1950s. My grandparents lived just across the state line in Alabama. Until I was eight years old, I had no idea that our black neighbors (the Collins family) were constantly reminded that they were second-class citizens. My parents accepted the Collins family as true friends who could be relied on to help and love their neighbors. My daddy was strong-willed and independent in his constant support of all our black friends. Shut Godwin helped many whites and blacks, and his reputation as a force to be reckoned with actually made the Ku Klux Klan back away from any sort of witch hunts. And many times over the years, he redirected the evildoers that he called the KKK cowards dressed up in white ghost costumes. When I was ten years old, my mother drove her children across the country so that we could spend the summer in Magdalena, New Mexico. That was the closest we could get to my daddys sawmill. For fifty cents an acre paid to the federal government, my dad purchased the right to cut timber from the national forest.
Those who are born into grinding "dirt poor" poverty have little chance of escape to a better way of life. Of course, some do escape. But it is an "extremely" small number. Of these that do many are unable to adjust and be comforted by a more normal life. Uneducated and dirt poor they lack the most basic, simple survival skills, reading, writing, addition, subtraction. This book is a fictional story of several such characters, but the story has a basis in fact of real life circumstances and real life people. They were "feral" children and often grew into savage, brutal and untamed (feral) adults. The idea that we can fix them with government programs is misguided. They must have a benefactor of some kind, "a connection" outside the world of those who are "dirt poor."
"También de este lado hay sueños. On this side, too, there are dreams. Lydia Quixano Perez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. Even though she knows they'll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with four books he would like to buy--two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia's husband's tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same. Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia--trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier's reach doesn't extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to? American Dirt will leave readers utterly changed when they finish reading it. A page-turner filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity on every page, it is a literary achievement."--
Who could forget the searing images and heartfelt emotions stirred up by 2005's Live 8 benefit? The message was simple: let's make poverty history. Hundreds of thousands of well-meaning people from all over North America and Europe responded with an outpouring of donations. It was a remarkable display of compassion. Heads of state who assembled at the most recent G8 conference posed in front of the cameras to proclaim the West's determination to eliminate poverty in Africa. Leaders of the richest countries in the world agreed that it was incumbent upon them to come to the aid of the poorest countries in the world. But as Giles Bolton makes so heartbreakingly clear in this compelling and at times angry manifesto, virtually nothing has changed. Drawing on his experience at ground zero of the international humanitarian aid movement, Bolton provides a simple, succinct but comprehensive guide to the complex reality of the aid industry in Africa. What really happens to your aid money? Where does the money go? How do globalization and trade regulations exacerbate the problem? How do government agencies waste and squander your money? In part the memoir of a dedicated, idealistic aid worker and in part a frustrated and angry jeremiad of a jaded political bureaucrat. Giles Bolton's Poor Story is a clarion call to everyone in the West to wise up to the reality of international aid, and a passionate and heartfelt plea to effect change and real relief'¦before it is too late.
There are so many of us living on small wages, fixed incomes such as military, disability, and social security. How do we live on so little and maintain a quality of life, have a charming home, afford organic foods, and have fun with our families? This is a little book packed with simple and great advice on how to do all of this along with ideas on urban farming, extra tips on saving money, and ways to do most activities for free. You can even decorate and garden at no cost when you learn to be creative. Being poor doesn't mean you actually have to "live" poor, you can live abundantly and thrive.
“A must-read . . . Takes you inside a child’s gut and shows you how to give kids the best immune start early in life.” —William Sears, MD, coauthor of The Baby Book Like the culture-changing Last Child in the Woods, here is the first parenting book to apply the latest cutting-edge scientific research about the human microbiome to the way we raise our children. In the two hundred years since we discovered that microbes cause infectious diseases, we’ve battled to keep them at bay. But a recent explosion of scientific knowledge has led to undeniable evidence that early exposure to these organisms is beneficial to a child’s well-being. Our modern lifestyle, with its emphasis on hyper-cleanliness, is taking a toll on children’s lifelong health. In this engaging and important book, microbiologists Brett Finlay and Marie-Claire Arrieta explain how the trillions of microbes that live in and on our bodies influence childhood development; why an imbalance of those microbes can lead to obesity, diabetes, and asthma, among other chronic conditions; and what parents can do--from conception on--to positively affect their own behaviors and those of their children. They describe how natural childbirth, breastfeeding, and solid foods influence children’s microbiota. They also offer practical advice on matters such as whether to sterilize food implements for babies, the use of antibiotics, the safety of vaccines, and why having pets is a good idea. Forward-thinking and revelatory, Let Them Eat Dirt is an essential book in helping us to nurture stronger, more resilient, happy, and healthy kids.
