Synopses & Reviews
The Measure of America, 2010-2011, is the definitive report on the overall well-being of all Americans. How are Americans doing—compared to one another and compared to the rest of the world? This important, easy-to-understand guide will provide all of the essential information on the current state of America.
This fully illustrated report, with over 130 color images, is based on the groundbreaking American Human Development Index, which provides a single measure of the well-being for all Americans, disaggregated by state and congressional district, as well as by race, gender, and ethnicity. The Index rankings of the 50 states and 435 congressional districts reveal huge disparities in the health, education, and living standards of different groups. For example, overall, Connecticut ranked first among states on the 2008-2009 Index, and Mississippi ranked last, suggesting that there is a 30-year gap in human development between the two states. Further, among congressional districts, New York's 14th District, in Manhattan, ranked first, and California's 20th District, near Fresno, ranked last. The average resident of New York's 14th District earned over three times as much as the average resident of California's 20th District, lived over four years longer, and was ten times as likely to have a college degree.
The second in the American Human Development Report series, the 2010-2011 edition features a completely updated Index, new findings on the well-being of different racial and ethnic groups from state to state, and a closer look at disparities within major metro areas. It also shines a spotlight on threats to progress and opportunity for some Americans as well as highlighting tested approaches to fosteringresilience among different groups.
Using a revelatory framework for explaining the very nature of humanprogress, this report can be used not only as a way to measure America but also to build upon past policy successes, protect the progress made over the last half century from new risks, and create an infrastructure of opportunity that can serve a new generation of Americans. Beautifully illustrated with stunning four-color graphics that allow for a quick visual understanding of often complex but important issues, The Measure of America is essential reading for all Americans, especially for social scientists, policy makers, and pundits who want to understand where Americans stand today.
Review
“A comprehensive study of the basic features of human development in the United States seen in a global context.”
- Amartya Sen, Nobel-prize winning economist and professor, Harvard University
“Bravo to the American Human Development team for another breakthrough volume. The Measure of America 2010-2011 could not be more timely.”
- Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University
“If politics is more like trench warfare and scholars are the ammunition mules, then Measure provides a great deal of firepower.”
- Claude S. Fischer, Boston Review
“The first comprehensive study of the basic features of human development in the United States seen in a global context.”
- Amartya Sen, Nobel-prize winning economist and professor, Harvard University
Review
"The Measure of America 2010-2011: Mapping Risks and Resilience, assesses how people are doing in terms of health, education levels and standards of living for the 50 states and 436 congressional districts, using data from government organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "
"The Measure of America's interactive map is a cool way to look at how your state stacks up."
"If you want to spend the next few hours staring at maps of various social indicators, from the broad like income and health, to the narrow like do diabetes rates and voter turnout correlate, head on over to the American Human Development Project’s 'Mapping the Measure of America'.” "The American Human Development Project has created an incredible interactive map showing health, education, and income state by state." "If you want to see your country for real, take a look at The Measure of America, a website and book about how we’re doing. The project tracks what it calls the Human Development Index, factoring in health and education and standard living."
Review
One of the "Noteworthy Paperbacks"-The Indiana Gazette,
Review
"As an educator, I share the belief that all of the authors in this collection must also have held as truth: that children are indeed the future, and to bring about social change, one needs to begin by changing the hearts and minds of children... I believe lovers of social/political history and inquiring minds in general, [sic] would find this collection appealing."-Style Substance Soul,
Review
One of the "Best in Paperbacks."-Times Herald-Record Sunday,
Review
"Julia Mickenburg and Philip Nel have edited a collection of children's literature that represents the left-wing-oriented, oppositional tradition in children's literature in the United States. And a lovely collection it is!... Mickenburg and Nel have done all of us —parents, activists, writers—a service by providing examples of what has been done. The task remains to carry this forward."-Science and Society,
Review
"While is clearly intended as a textbook for a college course on this subject, the variety within this anthology should suggest it is well worth extended investigation. We may even begin questioning the degree of propaganda that surrounds our daily life as adults and realize such story-telling is no longer limited only to the realm of childhood."-American Communist History,
Synopsis
In 1912, a revolutionary chick cries, “Strike down the wall!” and liberates itself from the “egg state.” In 1940, ostriches pull their heads out of the sand and unite to fight fascism. In 1972, Baby X grows up without a gender and is happy about it.
Rather than teaching children to obey authority, to conform, or to seek redemption through prayer, twentieth-century leftists encouraged children to question the authority of those in power. Tales for Little Rebels collects forty-three mostly out-of-print stories, poems, comic strips, primers, and other texts for children that embody this radical tradition. These pieces reflect the concerns of twentieth-century leftist movements, like peace, civil rights, gender equality, environmental responsibility, and the dignity of labor. They also address the means of achieving these ideals, including taking collective action, developing critical thinking skills, and harnessing the liberating power of the imagination.
Some of the authors and illustrators are familiar, including Lucille Clifton, Syd Hoff, Langston Hughes, Walt Kelly, Norma Klein, Munro Leaf, Julius Lester, Eve Merriam, Charlotte Pomerantz, Carl Sandburg, and Dr. Seuss. Others are relatively unknown today, but their work deserves to be remembered. (Each of the pieces includes an introduction and a biographical sketch of the author.) From the anti-advertising message of Johnny Get Your Moneys Worth (and Jane Too)! (1938) to the entertaining lessons in ecology provided by The Day They Parachuted Cats on Borneo (1971), and Sandburgs mockery of war in Rootabaga Pigeons (1923), these pieces will thrill readers intrigued by politics and history--and anyone with a love of childrens literature, no matter what age.
About the Author
Kristen Lewis is the co-director of the American Human Development Project and co-author of
The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008-2009. She has worked on human development issues for over twenty years, at both the global level and in communities in over 40 developing nations. She was a lead author of the water and sanitation report of the UN Millennium Project, led by Jeffrey Sachs, and writes extensively on development, gender, and the environment.
Sarah Burd-Sharps is the co-director of the American Human Development Project and co-author of The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008-2009. She worked on human development issues for over twenty years, at both the global level and in communities in over 40 developing nations. She served as the deputy director of the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report Office until September 2006.