Based on seven years of research, including visits to more than forty initiatives in twenty states and interviews with more than 200 practitioners, administrators, funders and scholars, the author shows us how high rates of unwed pregnancies, single parenthood, child abuse, youth violence, school failure, and intergenerational poverty can be turned around. Transformation of our desolated inner ci

Marshall Brain's The Teenager's Guide to the Real World provides honest and practical information about the facts of life-from the costs of life to the reality of careers to the commitment of love and marriage.

Reviving Ophelia, by Mary Pipher, Ph.D., is subtitled "Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls." It is a good book for parents of growing daughters, the daughters themselves, and anyone who has ever known young girls.

"What can you do to stay strong in a world that isn't always girl-friendly?" asks Jeanette Gadeberg, author of Brave New Girls: Creative Ideas to Help Girls Be Confident, Healthy, & Happy. Acknowledging the difficult realities of being a pre-adolescent girl in today's world, full of pressures from peers, the media, family, and self, this guide offers frank discussions of these issues and practical suggestions for trusting oneself and staying strong.

As a pediatrician specializing in the treatment of family violence, Dr. Eli Newberger studies the character of boys and the ways we—parents, caregivers, communities—can help them develop into emotionally strong and healthy men.

Reviewed by Nancy Irene Boehm

I really liked author Lisa Robert's style of writing. I was able to read the book quickly and comprehend the contents easily. Her writing is light and enjoyable. It kept my interest through the entire book. The stories were great. The one where she is in labor and trying to finish a thesis had me giggling all day.

Child welfare work is tough, high-stress labor on behalf of the most vulnerable people in society, often requiring confrontation with the more powerful people against whom the child needs protection. What does it take to be a good social worker under such conditions, and what would make a person keep at it? This insight-packed little paperback provides a valuable look into the lives of four such

The Way We Really Are provides readers with an historical and sociological perspective on changes in the American family. This intriguing book applies the logic of history to the economics of family life, the changing roles of parents, and how government and communities can best support today's and tomorrow's families.

The Yale Guide to Children's Nutrition is a comprehensive guide to help parents develop sound nutritional habits for their children and aid the children in their physical and mental development. The book is suitable not only for parents, but also health care providers and policymakers.

Reviewed by Morris Rodentstein

Pursuing Justice
In the 1990's, the federal government ended its 60-year safety net guarantee to the poor, shifting responsibility to the states and local communities with limited resources. This means that the burden increasingly has moved to community groups, like America's churches, synagogues, temples and mosques, which have a long tradition of caring for the needy—a shift in responsibility that challenges the foundation of faith communities across the country.