For two years, beginning in 1988, Jonathan Kozol visited schools in neighborhoods across the country, from Illinois to Washington D.C., and from New York to San Antonio.He spoke with teachers, principals, superintendents, and, most important, children. What he found was devastating. Not only were schools for rich and poor blatantly unequal, the gulf between the two extremes was widening--and it has widened since. The urban schools he visited were overcrowded and understaffed, and lacked the basic elements of learning--including books and, all too often, classrooms for the students.
In "Savage Inequalities," Kozol delivers a searing examination of the extremes of wealth and poverty and calls into question the reality of equal opportunity in our nation's schools.

There are more than 450,000 children living in foster care. The Heart Knows Something Different collects over three dozen personal narratives by young writers, ages 15 to 20, and provides an insider's account of growing up in "the system." It takes us into a world largely hidden from public view, and attests to the mix of pain and fear, and sometimes hope, and sometimes even happiness that the foster care experience involves.

In this critique of the US public school system, the author uses examples from the real experiences of other teachers and parents who share his concern with shaping the values of caring, responsible citizens of the future. Kozol has also written Illiterate America and Savage Inequalities.

"Kozol...has assembled facts, rebuttals, and proposals--in an emotionally potent, ethically charged package."--"Kirkus."

The story that jolted the conscience of the nation when it first appeared in "The New Yorker"
Jonathan Kozol is one of America's most forceful and eloquent observers of the intersection of race, poverty, and education. His books, from the National Book Award-winning "Death at an Early Age" to his most recent, the critically acclaimed "Shame of the Nation," are touchstones of the national conscience. First published in 1988 and based on the months the author spent among America's homeless, "Rachel and Her Children" is an unforgettable record of the desperate voices of men, women, and especially children caught up in a nightmarish situation that tears at the hearts of readers. With record numbers of homeless children and adults flooding the nation's shelters, "Rachel and Her Children" offers a look at homelessness that resonates even louder today.

Does our society care about its children? This provocative and in-depth examination of violence in the lives of children uncovers the conditions and social policies that perpetuate violence. In addition, this volume forces us to look at other forms of violence confronting children in families, neighborhoods, and schools: The violence of poverty and homelessness The violence of environmentally induced childhood diseases The media and legislative "criminalization" of children The increasing trend toward incarceration of youthful offenders The pre-eminent contributors to this volume examine these issues from both historical and contemporary public policy perspectives. They address the myths and realities of youth violence and the impact of poverty, race, and gender. Prevailing ideas about punishment and retribution, the role of the state in terms of private or public responsibility, and the developmental needs of the child are all themes that frame the multiple advocacy perspectives presented by these cogent essays.