Representative Gerry Studds served the Massachusetts South Shore, Cape Cod, and New Bedford congressional district from 1973 to 1997. During his first decade in the House he helped pass legislation that protected American fishermen from overfishing by international boats and limited President Ronald Reagan's wars in Central America. The defining moment of his career, however, came in 1983, when he was censured by the House for having had an affair with a page ten years previously. On the floor of Congress, Studds confessed to having behaved inappropriately and then courageously declared that he was a gay man- becoming the country's first openly gay member of Congress. Defying all expectations, Studds won reelection in a bruising campaign. For the rest of his career, he remained loyal to his constituents' concerns while also championing AIDS research and care, leading the effort in Congress to allow gays and lesbians to serve in the military, and opposing the Defense of Marriage Act. Once a deeply conflicted man, he ultimately found a balance between his public service and his private life, which included a happy, legally recognized marriage.

About a billion people around the world suffer from extreme poverty, scraping by on a dollar or two a day. They go to bed hungry, catch diseases that are easily eradicable, and don't have a school where they can learn to read. Millions of Americans care about global poverty, but not enough of us. Our problem is that we are too ignorant about the wider world. Most of us can't find Bangla Desh or Mali on the map. We can't identify countries by religion, language, or population size. Too many politicians share the ignorance of the public. Some of them encourage it. That's how we blundered into Iraq and abandoned Africa to malaria and warlords. Disconnect argues that we can learn about the world by actively addressing global problems through our own communities. For example, Chicago links one school with students in Morocco, and Fargo, North Dakota has a "sister" in China. San Diego volunteers have a sister cities program in Afghanistan, and tiny Amesbury, Ma. built a school library in Esabulu, Kenya. Women's groups are working in Sudan and Rwanda. Many Americans are using their passion for sport, justice, or health care to partner with people in Pakistan, Guatemala and Haiti who have something to teach us all about courage and wisdom. This book tells the stories of Americans who are blazing the way, pioneers of the new century.