English Poverty

In the spirit of The Blind Side and Friday Night Lights comes a tender and profoundly moving memoir about an ESPN producer’s unexpected relationship with two disabled wrestlers from inner city Cleveland, and how these bonds—blossoming, ultimately, into a most unorthodox family—would...

In this compelling new book, relying on original reporting from the most dangerous corners of Rio to the halls of power in Washington, DC, Dave Zirin examines how sports and politics are colliding in remarkable fashion in Brazil, opening up an international conversation on the culture, economics, and politics of sports.

Celebrated author Jim Harrison, whose robust, tender, and deeply felt books have made their mark on the American literary landscape, here delivers a collection of three novellas infused with all the wisdom and generous spirit that his readers have come to expect.

Joe Massengale grew up a poor African-American boy in Depression-era Texas, never imagining that he would one day be a successful businessman, race-horse owner, and father. In this book, Massengale distills his success into six learned principles: confidence, fortitude, persistence, pride, fearlessness, and focus.

Nikki Black finds herself homeless and wandering the streets of Los Angeles, when she begins to uncover a sinister cover-up that endangers herself and others.

Biltmore House, a palatial mansion being built by the Vanderbilts, American “royalty,” is in its final stages of construction in North Carolina. The country’s grandest example of privilege, it symbolizes the aspirations of its owner and the dreams of a girl, just as driven, who lives in its shadow. Kerry MacGregor’s future is derailed when, after two years in college in New York City, family obligations call her home to the beautiful Appalachians.

Once America's "arsenal of democracy," Detroit is now the symbol of the American urban crisis. In this reappraisal of America's racial and economic inequalities, Thomas Sugrue asks why Detroit and other industrial cities have become the sites of persistent racialized poverty. He challenges the conventional wisdom that urban decline is the product of the social programs and racial fissures of the 1960s.

From the bottom to the top of our economy, capitalism is too blunt an instrument to tackle Britain's epidemic of inequality. Soaring rents, unfair taxation and a growing gig economy have brought about unprecedented economic shame: Amazon warehouse workers living in tents, nurses turning to foodbanks, London firemen commuting hundreds of miles to work. Even those higher up the ladder are losing their grip on the life they were promised.

Danny gets a terrible start in life and runs away from his drunken father when he thrashes him to within an inch of his life. But life on the streets is no better, and he falls into the clutches of evil men, finding that being big and strong for his age is no protection from the people who want to do him harm. Help comes in the form of Constable Jones, who is determined to help out the children who need it, and new friends Ron and Cassie, who are also runaways. Can Danny’s dream of a loving home ever be a reality?

Jonny has had a bad start in life and has been taken in by a neighbour after the death of his mother. Small for his age, he is prey to a band of local thugs, so he joins the boxing club and learns to defend himself. When a violent altercation ends in tragedy, Jonny runs away and meets a homeless young girl called Cassie, who has been living in an abandoned house - touched by her predicament, Jonny vows to look after her, whatever that takes. Cassie desperately needs love and a safe place to call home, and there are kind hearts who want to help.

Are you stuck in a cycle of putting things off, only to find that delay leads to missed opportunities, regret, and feelings of spiritual unrest? Delay to Decay is more than a book about time management—it’s a transformative journey into understanding the profound spiritual impact of procrastination.

Attention: Why do so many hardworking Black families struggle to build lasting wealth? Why does financial stability seem just out of reach, no matter how much we hustle? Why We Stay Broke exposes the hidden forces—both systemic and self-imposed—that keep our communities trapped in a cycle of poverty and paycheck-to-paycheck living. If you're tired of watching wealth slip through your fingers, this book will open your eyes to the mindset shifts, strategies, and financial moves that can break the cycle once and for all.

Seventh-grader Zoey has her hands full as she takes care of her much younger siblings after school every day while her mom works her shift at the pizza parlor. Not that her mom seems to appreciate it. At least there's Lenny, her mom's boyfriend - they all get to live in his nice, clean trailer. At school, Zoey tries to stay under the radar. Her only friend, Fuchsia, has her own issues, and since they're in an entirely different world than the rich kids, it's best if no one notices them. Zoey thinks how much easier everything would be if she were an octopus.

Read by the author, Dragged Up Proppa is the story of growing up working class in a forgotten England. 'Very compelling, beautifully written memoir of a time and England that no longer exists but remains just as important today as ever' – Sebastian Payne, author of Broken Heartlands Pip Fallow...

Shortlisted for the first ever Booker Prize 'A masterpiece' - Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain 'An extraordinary novel' - Michael Magee, author of Close to Home 'It deserves its modern classic status' - The Times It’s the west of Scotland in the 1950s. New houses are going up. Factories...

I wrote this book Beyond Expectations: How I Rose from Poverty to Achieve Success to empower and inspire young people to work hard, do well at school, achieve success, and enjoy their lives. Find something you like, work hard at it, and you, too, can create a life beyond expectations! My story is one of success because I found a formula that not only worked for me, but can work for almost everyone.

"Funny, bursting with heart, goofy, wise, and did I mention– wildly wonderfully funny." —Jon Scieszka, First National Ambassador of Young People's Literature and Founder of Guys Read A hilarious and heartfelt young YA comedy about the misadventures of an aspiring young rapper as he navigates...

Will has the wrong shoes – he's always known it but doesn't know how to change it. Navigating the difficulties of home and school when you feel you stick out is tough, but finding confidence with the help and empathy of friends can be all you need to see the way.

For fans of A Long Walk to Water and Hatchet, this boy’s gripping journey from poverty to empowerment transports readers to modern-day Ghana, into the throes of an extraordinary survival story. Sena treasures his life in rural Ghana—playing soccer, working the family farm, striving to...

Education, employment, and home ownership have long been considered stepping stones to the middle class. But in Abandoned Families, social policy expert Kristin Seefeldt shows how many working families have access only to a separate but unequal set of poor-quality jobs, low-performing schools, and declining housing markets, which offer few chances for upward mobility. Through in-depth interviews over a six-year period with women in Detroit, Seefeldt charts the increasing social isolation of many low-income workers.