Courtney E. Martin

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Georgia

Reinventing the American Dream

If you are one of the fortunate few with a rewarding career, a fulfilling family life and time to pursue leisure activities you find joyful, then entrepreneur Courtney E. Martin's terrific book will confirm what you probably already know. But if you are among the restless majority searching for meaning in life, you may find that Martin's insights perfectly capture your feelings. She writes of the growing discontent many Americans feel as they work hard, make money and buy things, yet sense that something is missing. Martin contends that happiness cannot come from materialism and routine; instead, she says, it grows as you identify and follow your core values and connect with others. Many people now reject long hours of work in favor of home life or creative pursuits. Her grounded, perceptive descriptions capture a malaise that plagues many, and that you might be able to address, first, simply by unplugging from your cellphone. getAbstract recommends her ideas to those seeking contentment and peace of mind.

The New Better Off

eb7c51a4-480d-4f2b-8918-d0b143fc8678-1

Lou Dobbs

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Maryland

How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back

A prominent CNN host and commentator identifies the ways in which middle-class Americans are being rendered vulnerable by political groups, large corporations, and sensational media practices that are compromising middle-income health care, educational resources, and employment opportunities. 75,000 first printing.

War on the Middle Class

21909580-d672-4e78-87dd-460982100202-0

David Mamet

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Pennsylvania

Three crooks in a junk shop plot to steal a coin collection in this award-winning drama by an acclaimed new American playwright.

American Buffalo

0db54ace-5d30-4c32-9c45-36cade4bb003-0

Ibtihaj Muhammad

Lori Tharps

Nebraska

My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream

THE FIRST FEMALE MUSLIM AMERICAN TO MEDAL AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES NAMED ONE OF TIME'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE Growing up in New Jersey as the only African American Muslim at school, Ibtihaj Muhammad always had to find her own way. When she discovered fencing, a sport traditionally reserved for the wealthy, she had to defy expectations and make a place for herself in a sport she grew to love. From winning state championships to three-time All-America selections at Duke University, Ibtihaj was poised for success, but the fencing community wasn't ready to welcome her with open arms just yet. As the only woman of color and the only religious minority on Team USA's saber fencing squad, Ibtihaj had to chart her own path to success and Olympic glory. Proud is a moving coming-of-age story from one of the nation's most influential athletes and illustrates how she rose above it all.

Proud

e19f3249-d1d6-4786-a7e6-9e868a7a7931-1

Imbolo Mbue

Minnesota

A Novel

A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream—the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy New York Times Bestseller • Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award • Longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award • An ALA Notable Book NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • The New York Times Book Review • San Francisco Chronicle • The Guardian • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Chicago Public Library • BookPage • Refinery29 • Kirkus Reviews Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion, and loyalty—and Jende is eager to please. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses’ summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future. However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers’ façades. When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende’s job—even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice. Praise for Behold the Dreamers “A debut novel by a young woman from Cameroon that illuminates the immigrant experience in America with the tenderhearted wisdom so lacking in our political discourse . . . Mbue is a bright and captivating storyteller.”—The Washington Post “A capacious, big-hearted novel.”—The New York Times Book Review “Behold the Dreamers’ heart . . . belongs to the struggles and small triumphs of the Jongas, which Mbue traces in clean, quick-moving paragraphs.”—Entertainment Weekly “Mbue’s writing is warm and captivating.”—People (book of the week) “[Mbue’s] book isn’t the first work of fiction to grapple with the global financial crisis of 2007–2008, but it’s surely one of the best. . . . It’s a novel that depicts a country both blessed and doomed, on top of the world, but always at risk of losing its balance. It is, in other words, quintessentially American.”—NPR “This story is one that needs to be told.”—Bust “Behold the Dreamers challenges us all to consider what it takes to make us genuinely content, and how long is too long to live with our dreams deferred.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “[A] beautiful, empathetic novel.”—The Boston Globe “A witty, compassionate, swiftly paced novel that takes on race, immigration, family and the dangers of capitalist excess.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Mbue [is] a deft, often lyrical observer. . . . [Her] meticulous storytelling announces a writer in command of her gifts.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

Behold the Dreamers

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#hardcover #americandream #poverty #life #american 

Illinois

ANew York Times bestseller

America's unique prosperity is based on its creation of a middle class. In the twentieth century, that middle class provided the workforce, the educated skills, and the demand that gave life to the world's greatest consumer economy. It was innovative and dynamic; it eclipsed old imperial systems and colonial archetypes. It gave rise to a dream: that if you worked hard and followed the rules you would prosper in America, and your children would enjoy a better life than yours.
 
The American dream was the lure to gifted immigrants and the birthright opportunity for every American citizen. It is as important a part of the history of the country as the passing of the Bill of Rights, the outcome of the battle of Gettysburg, or the space program. Incredibly, however, for more than thirty years, government and big business in America have conspired to roll back the American dream. What was once accessible to a wide swath of the population is increasingly open only to aprivileged few.
 
The story of how the American middle class has been systematically impoverished and its prospects thwarted in favor of a new ruling elite is at the heart of this extraordinarily timely and revealing book, whose devastating findings from two of the finest investigative reporters in the country will leave you astonished and angry.

The Betrayal of the American Dream

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Upton Sinclair

Maura Spiegel

The Jungle

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Meg Mullins

At the heart of Meg Mullins's debut novel is one of the most touchingly believable characters in recent fiction, a gentle soul in the body of an Iranian exile in New York. Ushman Khan sells exquisite hand-woven rugs to a wealthy clientele that he treats with perfect rectitude. He is lonely, and his loneliness becomes unbearable when he learns that his wife in Iran is leaving him. But when a young woman named Stella comes into his store, what ensues is a love story that is all the more moving because its protagonists understand tragedy. The Rug Merchant will sweep readers away with its inspiring, character-rich tale about shaking free from disappointment and finding connection and acceptance in whatever form they appear.

The Rug Merchant

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Michigan

A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard

Breaking Night

d8917f99-a370-4759-a836-83e2d6abefdf-1

California

This story of the immigrant experience in the harrowing Chicago stockyards has drawn comment from historians, policymakers, and literary critics, and it is a widely assigned teaching text. The novel is accompanied by an introduction and explanatory annotations."Contexts and Backgrounds" provides readers with an understanding of The Jungle's disparate social, historical, political, and literary dimensions. Included are autobiographical selections by the author; contemporary perspectives on the meatpacking industry, including writings by Theodore Dreiser, Adolphe Smith, and J. Ogden Armour; and commentary on the living conditions of immigrant workers. Historical studies by Jimmy Skaggs, Rick Halpern, James Barrett, Robert M. Crunden, John Braeman, William Cronon, and Eric Schlosser address the central issues: slaughterhouse abuses, protectionism and The Beef Trust, muckraking, Progressivism, and consumer rights."Criticism" collects eight provocative readings of The Jungle as a literary text, as a historical document in its own right, as a contribution to Progressive-era muckraking, and as an important work in urban, economic, and labor history. Contributions include Jack London, Edward Clark Marsh, Winston Spencer Churchill, Walter Rideout, June Howard, Scott Derrick, Michael Brewster Folsom, and Christopher P. Wilson.A Selected Bibliography is also included.

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Adriana Trigiani

Louisiana

Follows star-crossed lovers Enza, a practical beauty, and Ciro, a strapping mountain boy, who, after their first meeting in the Italian Alps, find their destinies inexplicably entwined as they build their lives in America.

The Shoemaker's Wife

8630bd03-a284-4340-8d2a-bc9781c36f79

Virginia

New York Times bestseller. Wonderful story from the author’s own family history. 
Completely clean copy. No writing, dog ears or tears. Outer edges are clean and deckled. Spine intact. Cover shows minimal to no shelf wear. 

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Jonathan Evison

Iowa

Recipient of the 2019 Alex Award

"Mike Muñoz Is a Holden Caulfield for a New Millennium--a '10th-generation peasant with a Mexican last name, raised by a single mom on an Indian reservation' . . . Evison, as in his previous four novels, has a light touch and humorously guides the reader, this time through the minefield that is working-class America." --The New York Times Book Review

For Mike Muñoz, life has been a whole lot of waiting for something to happen. Not too many years out of high school and still doing menial work--and just fired from his latest gig as a lawn boy on a landscaping crew--he's smart enough to know that he's got to be the one to shake things up if he's ever going to change his life. But how? He's not qualified for much of anything. He has no particular talents, although he is stellar at handling a lawn mower and wielding clipping shears. But now that career seems to be behind him. So what's next for Mike Muñoz?

In this funny, biting, touching, and ultimately inspiring novel, bestselling author Jonathan Evison takes the reader into the heart and mind of a young man determined to achieve the American dream of happiness and prosperity--who just so happens to find himself along the way.

Lawn Boy

2a389703-77c1-4b98-8d45-bd4632e45b48-1

Peter Troy

First Edition 
Beautiful condition. No writing, dog ears or tears. Outer page edges clean except for red marker dot on bottom edge (see photo). Spine intact. Cover perfect and dust jacket has very minimal shelf wear. 

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

An engrossing, epic American drama told from four distinct perspectives, spanning the first major wave of Irish immigration to New York through the end of the Civil War.
 
Four unique voices; two parallel love stories; one sweeping novel rich in the history of nineteenth-century America. This remarkable debut draws from the great themes of literature--famine, war, love, and family--as it introduces four unforgettable characters. Ethan McOwen is an Irish immigrant whose endurance is tested in Brooklyn and the Five Points at the height of its urban destitution; he is among the first to join the famed Irish Brigade and becomes a celebrated war photographer. Marcella, a society girl from Spain, defies her father to become a passionate abolitionist. Mary and Micah are slaves of varying circumstances, who form an instant connection and embark on a tumultuous path to freedom.
    
All four lives unfold in two beautiful love stories, which eventually collide. Written in gorgeous language that subtly captures the diverse backgrounds of the characters, and interspersed with letters, journals, and dreams, this unforgettable story, rendered in cinematic detail, is about having faith in life's great meaning amidst its various tangles.

May the Road Rise up to Meet You

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Texas

Barack. Obama

Some light staining on inside of dust jacket and a little bit on the last few pages.

Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

The junior senator from Illinois discusses how to transform U.S. politics, calling for a return to America's original ideals and revealing how they can address such issues as globalization and the function of religion in public life.

The Audacity of Hope

b3cc4805-0401-44a1-898b-c07806739f2a-1

Vermont

Irving Howe

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

Oregon

The Journey of the East European Jews to America and the Life They Found and Made

A new 30th Anniversary paperback edition of an award-winning classic. Winner of the National Book Award, 1976 World of Our Fathers traces the story of Eastern Europe's Jews to America over four decades. Beginning in the 1880s, it offers a rich portrayal of the East European Jewish experience in New York, and shows how the immigrant generation tried to maintain their Yiddish culture while becoming American. It is essential reading for those interested in understanding why these forebears to many of today's American Jews made the decision to leave their homelands, the challenges these new Jewish Americans faced, and how they experienced every aspect of immigrant life in the early part of the twentieth century. This invaluable contribution to Jewish literature and culture is now back in print in a new paperback edition, which includes a new foreword by noted author and literary critic Morris Dickstein.

World of Our Fathers

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Joshua Davis

Finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize New York Times Best Seller Four undocumented Mexican American students, two great teachers, one robot-building contest . . . and a major motion picture In 2004, four Latino teenagers arrived at the Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They were born in Mexico but raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where they attended an underfunded public high school. No one had ever suggested to Oscar, Cristian, Luis, or Lorenzo that they might amount to much—but two inspiring science teachers had convinced these impoverished, undocumented kids from the desert who had never even seen the ocean that they should try to build an underwater robot. And build a robot they did. Their robot wasn't pretty, especially compared to those of the competition. They were going up against some of the best collegiate engineers in the country, including a team from MIT backed by a $10,000 grant from ExxonMobil. The Phoenix teenagers had scraped together less than $1,000 and built their robot out of scavenged parts. This was never a level competition—and yet, against all odds . . . they won! But this is just the beginning for these four, whose story—which became a key inspiration to the DREAMers movement—will go on to include first-generation college graduations, deportation, bean-picking in Mexico, and service in Afghanistan. Joshua Davis's Spare Parts is a story about overcoming insurmountable odds and four young men who proved they were among the most patriotic and talented Americans in this country—even as the country tried to kick them out.

Spare Parts

6a01f5e0-91d0-4690-83b1-fc14b8c08a54-1

Arizona

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Courtney E. Martin

The New Better Off

Lou Dobbs

War on the Middle Class

David Mamet

American Buffalo

Ibtihaj Muhammad; Lori Tharps

Proud

Imbolo Mbue

Behold the Dreamers

Donald L. Barlett; James B. Steele

The Betrayal of the American Dream

Upton Sinclair; Maura Spiegel

The Jungle

Meg Mullins

The Rug Merchant

Liz Murray

Breaking Night

Upton Sinclair

The Jungle

Adriana Trigiani

The Shoemaker's Wife

Adriana Trigiani

The Shoemaker's Wife

Adriana Trigiani

The Shoemaker's Wife

Adriana Trigiani

The Shoemaker's Wife

Adriana Trigiani

The Shoemaker's Wife

Jonathan Evison

Lawn Boy

Peter Troy

May the Road Rise up to Meet You

Imbolo Mbue

Behold the Dreamers

Adriana Trigiani

The Shoemaker's Wife

Barack Obama

The Audacity of Hope

Imbolo Mbue

Behold the Dreamers

Irving Howe

World of Our Fathers

Joshua Davis

Spare Parts

Adriana Trigiani

The Shoemaker's Wife