American Dream : Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare

In this definitive work, two-time Pulitzer finalist Jason DeParle cuts between the mean streets of Milwaukee and the corridors of Washington to produce a masterpiece of literary journalism. At the heart of the story are three cousins whose different lives follow similar trajectories. Leaving welfare, Angie puts her heart in her work. Jewell bets on an imprisoned man. Opal guards a tragic secret that threatens her kids and her life. DeParle traces their family history back six generations to slavery and weaves poor people, politicians, reformers, and rogues into a spellbinding epic.With a vivid sense of humanity, DeParle demonstrates that although we live in a country where anyone can make it, generation after generation some families don’t. To read American Dreamis to understand why.

Jason DeParle is a senior writer for the New York Times and a frequent contributor to the New York Times Magazine. He won a George Polk Award in 1999 and was a two- time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the welfare system. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and their two sons.