Demos Books

Creative Community Organizing: A Guide for Rabble-Rousers, Activists, and Quiet Lovers of Justice

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:39:00 EST

Why can't there be enough food, shelter, jobs, health care, homes, schools, education, safety and security for everyone? How can people work together to challenge the way things are, to help redistribute wealth and power, to create a more just and humane society?

The answer is Creative Community Organizing

Small Change: Why Business Won't Save the World

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:40:00 EST

A new movement is afoot that promises to save the world by bringing the magic of the market to philanthropy. Nonprofits should be run like businesses, its adherents say, and businesses can find new sources of revenue by marketing goods and services that benefit society. Dubbed "philanthrocapitalism," its supporters believe that business principles can and should be the primary drivers of social transformation. What could be wrong with that? Almost everything, argues Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow Michael Edwards.

God's Economy: Faith-Based Initiatives and the Caring State

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:53:00 EST

President Obama has signaled a sharp break from many Bush Administration policies, but he remains committed to federal support for religious social service providers. Like George W. Bush's faith-based initiative, though, Obama's version of the policy has generated loud criticism-from both sides of the aisle-even as the communities that stand to benefit suffer through an ailing economy. God's Economy reveals that virtually all of the critics, as well as many supporters, have long misunderstood both the true implications of faith-based partnerships and their unique potential for advancing social justice.

Inside Obama's Brain:

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:32:00 EST

From the moment he burst onto the national political scene, Barack Obama has fascinated people more than any politician in decades. Many biographers have already retold his story, but no previous book truly explains how his mind works, what passions drive him, or what makes him such an effective leader.

This concise profile explores the ideas, inspirations, and experiences that have shaped the president. It quotes a wide network of sources, including many who broke long-standing vows of silence to offer their candid and surprising observations.

Award-winning journalist Sasha Abramsky interviewed close to one hundred of Obama's current and former friends, colleagues, classmates, teachers, staff, mentors, basketball buddies, fellow Chicago activists, media consultants, editors, and even his next-door neighbors from Hyde Park. These people each know a part of Obama's life and career, which the author blends the pieces into a uniquely detailed analysis.

It Takes a Pillage: Behind the Bailouts, Bonuses, and Backroom Deals from Washington to Wall Street

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:48:00 EST

Demos Senior Fellow Nomi Prins, a former Wall Street manager turned muckraking journalist, gets inside how the banks looted the Treasury, stole the bailout, and continued with business as usual.

Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:05:00 EST

Between 2007 and 2009, Rich Benjamin packed his bags and embarked on a 26,909-mile journey throughout the heart of white America--some of the fastest-growing and whitest locales in the nation. Benjamin calls these enclaves "Whitopias" (pronounced: "White-o-pia"). This is his story.

Women Lead the Way: Your Guide to Stepping Up to Leadership and Changing the World

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:16:00 EST

Distinguished Senior Fellow Linda Tarr-Whelan marshals eye-opening facts and figures to decisively dispel the myths that still hold women back and shows women how to build their confidence and skills to pioneer a distinctive approach to leadership, one that emphasizes collaboration, communication and consensus.

Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:58:00 EST

Trapped in a triangle of the housing market collapse, rising energy costs, and an increasingly dysfunctional healthcare system, America's working poor are now battling an even more formidable enemy: hunger.

Keeping Down the Black Vote: Race and the Demobilization of American Voters

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:47:00 EST

Today, over forty years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 demolished bars to voting for African Americans, the effort to prevent black people—as well as Latinos and the poor in general—from voting is experiencing a resurgence. A myriad of new tactics, some of which adopt the mantle of “election reform,” has evolved to suppress the vote.

Thinking Big: Progressive Ideas for a New Era

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:21:00 EST

Last year, the Progressive Ideas Network, an alliance of multi-issue think tanks and activist organizations, released a collection of essays by key progressive leaders to help shape the progressive agenda for 21st-century America. That collection has now been become a book published by Berrett Koehler, revised and expanded with new essays, including a new foreword by Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow Robert Kuttner.

Unjust Deserts: How the Rich are Taking our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take it Back

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:46:00 EST

The 2008 presidential campaign ended with a sharp moral debate about the distribution of wealth in the United States. In a timely and provocative work of empirically-grounded social criticism, Gar Alperovitz and Lew Daly provide powerful new ammunition in that debate.

The Samaritan's Dilemma: Should Government Help Your Neighbor?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:50:00 EST

"The Samaritan's Dilemma" documents Americans' everyday altruism in all its rich variety and emotional force, and shows why taking altruism seriously is the first step to reviving American democracy. In doing so, writes Stone, we can restore our faith in the quest for social justice, freedom and equality through government and remind ourselves of America's promise.

Obama's Challenge: American's Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:53:00 EST

In this urgent and important book, Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow Robert Kuttner, co-founder of The American Prospect, explains what a President Obama must do to solve America's economic crisis--the gravest since the Great Depression--and, in the process, become a truly transformative leader.

America Votes!: A Guide to Modern Election Law and Voting Rights

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:42:00 EST

The Democracy Program's Brenda Wright and Steven Carbo contributed a chapter on the promise of Election Day Registration, which covers the history and benefits of EDR, as well as a rebuttal of voter fraud arguments and the results of surveys of election administrators, in this important new book on election law, published by the American Bar Association.

Just Another Emperor?: The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:53:00 EST

A new movement is afoot that promises to save the world by revolutionizing philanthropy, making non-profit organizations operate like business, and creating new markets for goods and services that benefit society. Nick-named "philanthropcapitalism" for short, its supporters believe that business principles can be successfully combined with the search for social transformation. Just Another Emperor? (published in collaboration with the Young Foundation in the UK) is the first book to take a comprehensive and critical look at this vital new phenomenon.

Up to Our Eyeballs: How Shady Lenders and Failed Economic Policies are Drowning Americans in Debt

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:11:00 EST

Up to Our Eyeballs is a lively and timely exploration of the causes and consequences of the explosive rise in consumer debt, and of the fast-spreading financial and economic crisis. Woven together with insightful analysis and a menageries of personal accounts, Up to Our Eyeballs offers both a recipe of and prescription for the economic malaise facing today's average families.

10 Excellent Reasons Not to Hate Taxes:

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:29:00 EST

Paying taxes. It's something almost everyone loves to hate. 10 Excellent Reasons Not to Hate Taxes makes the case for thinking about taxes in a fresh and progressive way and offers plenty of material for anyone interested in countering the conservative anti-government, anti-tax agenda.

The Squandering of America: How Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:19:00 EST

Distinguished Senior Fellow Robert Kuttner demonstrates how the American economy is shaped by financial elites and their speculative excesses. He debunks alarmist claims about federal expenditures on programs like Social Security and Medicare and exposes the genuine dangers: unchecked deregulation, hedge funds and private equity abuses of the market, and America's dependence on foreign central banks.

Falling Behind: How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:24:00 EST

Although middle-income families don't earn much more than they did several decades ago, they are buying bigger cars, houses, and appliances. To pay for them, they spend more than they earn and carry record levels of debt. In a book that explores the very meaning of happiness and prosperity in America today, Demos Senior Fellow Robert Frank explains how increased concentrations of income and wealth have set off "expenditure cascades" that raise the cost of achieving many basic goals for the middle class.

SICK: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis--and the People Who Pay the Price

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 18:18:00 EST

In a compelling work of original reportage, Senior Fellow Jonathan Cohn travels across the United States to investigate the reasons behind the country's health care crisis and its impact on individual Americans.

The only country in the developed world that does not guarantee access to medical care as a right of citizenship, the United States is home to millions of people who are struggling to find affordable care.

Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infamtilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 18:23:00 EST

Distinguished Senior Fellow Benjamin R. Barber offers a provocative and compelling look at the ways in which capitalism is consuming U.S. society. Bringing together extensive empirical research and original theory, Barber seeks to understand how the global economy overproduces goods and targets citizens from the point of childhood, creating a new culture of consumerism.

American Furies: Crime, Punishment and Vengeance in the Age of Mass Imprisonment

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 17:28:00 EST

Extensively researched and told with illuminating detail, American Furies is a dramatic examination of US penitentiaries and their surrounding communities. Senior Fellow Sasha Abramsky explains how prisons are no longer motivated by goals of rehabilitation, but rather are driven by political concerns and marked by a movement towards vengeance.

Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 18:28:00 EST

How can we move from serving soup until our elbows ache to solving chronic social ills like hunger or homelessness? How can we break the disastrous cycle of low expectations that leads to chronic social failures? The answers to these questions lie within Momentum, a fresh, zestful way of thinking about and organizing social change work.

Jacked: How "Conservatives" Are Picking Your Pocket (Whether You Voted for Them or Not)

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:33:00 EST

Author, journalist, and Wall Street expert Nomi Prins examines the effects of Conservative policies, scandals, and blunders by conducting a guided tour of a typical American wallet.

The Moral Center: How Progressives Can Unite America Around Our Shared Values

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:39:00 EST

In The Moral Center, Callahan articulates a vision for progressives, offering an escape from the dead-end culture war. With insights garnered from in-depth research and interviews, he examines some of our most polarized conflicts and presents unexpected solutions that lay out a new road map to the American center.

Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 18:49:00 EST

While politicians spew shallow sound bites that describe a "free" American people who govern themselves by selecting their representatives, in reality politicians from both parties maintain control by selecting particular voters. Incumbent politicians maintain thousands of election practices and bureaucratic hurdles that determine who votes and how votes are counted--such as the location of election district boundaries, long lines at urban polling places, and English-only ballots.

CONNED: How Millions Went to Prison and Lost the Vote

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 12:34:00 EST

Award-winning journalist Sasha Abramsky takes us on a journey through disfranchised America, detailing the revival of antidemocratic laws that came of age in the post-Civil War segregationist South, and profiling Americans who are fighting to regain the right to vote.

Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead

Sat, 14 Jan 2006 18:56:00 EST

Former Economic Opportunity Program Director Tamara Draut offers a groundbreaking look at the new obstacle course facing young adults as they try to build careers, buy homes, and start families. As Draut explains, various economic and social trends over the last thirty years, as well as adverse government policies, have conspired to alter dramatically the process of becoming an adult.

Inequality Matters: The Growing Economic Divide in America and Its Poisonous Consequences

Fri, 14 Oct 2005 19:00:00 EST

Barbara Ehrenreich, Meizhu Lui, Robert Franklin, William Greider, Robert Kuttner, David Cay Johnston, Betsy Leondar-Wright and Jim Wallis, among others, sound a cry of alarm against the growing concentration of wealth, income, and economic and political power. Co-edited by Senior Fellows James Lardner and David A. Smith. Foreword by Bill Moyers.

Freedom Reclaimed: Rediscovering the American Vision

Wed, 27 Oct 2004 13:45:00 EST

Has the nation's infatuation with the free market warped the true meaning of American freedom by its emphasis on the self-serving individual in a "looking out for Number One" world? Freedom is America's most treasured value.

In Freedom Reclaimed, Distinguished Senior Fellow John E. Schwarz examines the profound implications of the difference between the vision of American freedom that the Founders enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the free-market idea of freedom that is ascendant today.