The United States has absorbed nearly 10 million immigrants in the past decade. This book examines who the new immigrants are, where they live, and who among them are gaining entry into the American middle class. Discussed are the complex factors that promote or hinder immigrant success, as well as the varying opportunities and constraints met by those living in particular regions. Extensive data are synthesized on key dimensions of immigrant achievement: income level, professional status, and rates of homeownership and political participation. Also provided is a balanced analysis of the effects of immigration on broader socioeconomic, geographic, and political trends. Examining the extent to which contemporary immigrants are realizing the American dream, this book explores crucial policy questions and challenges that face our diversifying society.

** #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller ** In this essential book written by a rural native and Silicon Valley veteran, Microsoft’s Chief technology officer tackles one of the most critical issues facing society today: the future of artificial intelligence and how it can be realistically used to promote growth, even in a shifting employment landscape. There are two prevailing stories about AI: for heartland low- and middle-skill workers, a dystopian tale of steadily increasing job destruction; for urban knowledge workers and the professional class, a utopian tale of enhanced productivity and convenience. But there is a third way to look at this technology that will revolutionize the workplace and ultimately the world. Kevin Scott argues that AI has the potential to create abundance and opportunity for everyone and help solve some of our most vexing problems. As the chief technology officer at Microsoft, he is deeply involved in the development of AI applications, yet mindful of their potential impact on workers—knowledge he gained firsthand growing up in rural Virginia. Yes, the AI Revolution will radically disrupt economics and employment for everyone for generations to come. But what if leaders prioritized the programming of both future technology and public policy to work together to find solutions ahead of the coming AI epoch? Like public health, the space program, climate change and public education, we need international understanding and collaboration on the future of AI and work. For Scott, the crucial question facing all of us is this: How do we work to ensure that the continued development of AI allows us to keep the American Dream alive? In this thoughtful, informed guide, he offers a clear roadmap to find the answer.

The noted feminist theorist argues for a new conception of architectural design and outlines housing plans that will support new patterns of nurturing and opportunity for a range of individuals and families

A National Bestseller! What does an undocumented immigrant look like? What kind of family must she come from? How could she get into this country? What is the true price she must pay to remain in the United States? JULISSA ARCE knows firsthand that the most common, preconceived answers to those questions are sometimes far too simple-and often just plain wrong. On the surface, Arce's story reads like a how-to manual for achieving the American dream: growing up in an apartment on the outskirts of San Antonio, she worked tirelessly, achieved academic excellence, and landed a coveted job on Wall Street, complete with a six-figure salary. The level of professional and financial success that she achieved was the very definition of the American dream. But in this brave new memoir, Arce digs deep to reveal the physical, financial, and emotional costs of the stunning secret that she, like many other high-achieving, successful individuals in the United States, had been forced to keep not only from her bosses, but even from her closest friends. From the time she was brought to this country by her hardworking parents as a child, Arce-the scholarship winner, the honors college graduate, the young woman who climbed the ladder to become a vice president at Goldman Sachs-had secretly lived as an undocumented immigrant. In this surprising, at times heart-wrenching, but always inspirational personal story of struggle, grief, and ultimate redemption, Arce takes readers deep into the little-understood world of a generation of undocumented immigrants in the United States today- people who live next door, sit in your classrooms, work in the same office, and may very well be your boss. By opening up about the story of her successes, her heartbreaks, and her long-fought journey to emerge from the shadows and become an American citizen, Arce shows us the true cost of achieving the American dream-from the perspective of a woman who had to scale unseen and unimaginable walls to get there.

The United States has been epitomized as a land of opportunity, where hard work and skill can bring personal success and economic well-being. The American Dream has captured the imagination of people from all walks of life, and to many, it represents the heart and soul of the country. But there is another, darker side to the bargain that America strikes with its people -- it is the price we pay for our individual pursuit of the American Dream. That price can be found in the economic hardship present in the lives of millions of Americans. In Chasing the American Dream, leading social scientists Mark Robert Rank, Thomas A. Hirschl, and Kirk A. Foster provide a new and innovative look into a curious dynamic -- the tension between the promise of economic opportunities and rewards and the amount of turmoil that Americans encounter in their quest for those rewards. The authors explore questions such as: -What percentage of Americans achieve affluence, and how much income mobility do we actually have? -Are most Americans able to own a home, and at what age? -How is it that nearly 80 percent of us will experience significant economic insecurity at some point between ages 25 and 60? -How can access to the American Dream be increased? Combining personal interviews with dozens of Americans and a longitudinal study covering 40 years of income data, the authors tell the story of the American Dream and reveal a number of surprises. The risk of economic vulnerability has increased substantially over the past four decades, and the American Dream is becoming harder to reach and harder to keep. Yet for most Americans, the Dream lies not in wealth, but in economic security, pursuing one's passions, and looking toward the future. Chasing the American Dream provides us with a new understanding into the dynamics that shape our fortunes and a deeper insight into the importance of the American Dream for the future of the country.

What Happens? When the Values of Duty, Honor, Country clash at West Point with the religious teachings of the Liberty Baptist Church in Burnt Prairie . . . Join us on this journey in the Vietnam War era when the author was confronted by Colonel Al Haig, soon to join President Nixon’s White House and later to serve as President Reagan’s Secretary of State, . . . And Admiral Moorer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a federal courtroom. . . Waging a vigorous official defense of compulsory chapel, while the author stood up for freedom of religion under the First Amendment, Despite them all having sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States . . . In such a clash and its aftermath, the answer . . .

The redefinition of the single-family house, the urban landscape, and the American Dream. Sitting squarely at the center of the American Dream, the detached single-family home has long been the basic building block of most US cities. In Remaking the American Dream, Vinit Mukhija considers how this is changing, in both the American psyche and the urban landscape. In defiance of long-held norms and standards, single-family housing is slowly but significantly transforming through incremental additions of second and third units. Drawing on empirical evidence of informal and formal changes, Remaking the American Dream documents homeowners’ quiet unpermitted modifications, conversions, and workarounds, as well as gradual institutional alterations to once-rigid local land-use regulations. Mukhija’s primary case study is Los Angeles and the role played by the State of California—findings he contrasts with the experience of other cities including Santa Cruz, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, and Vancouver. In each instance, he shows how, and asks why, homeowners are adapting their homes and governments are changing the rules that regulate single-family housing to allow for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) or second units. Key to Mukhija’s research is the question of why the idea of single-family living is changing and what this means for the future of US cities. The answer, this book suggests, heralds nothing less than a redefinition of American urbanism—and the American Dream.

“If we are going to live in a democracy, we need to have a healthy middle class . . . tells us what needs to be done to reclaim what it is to be American.” —Eric Utne, founder, Utne Reader America does not need an “upgrade.” For years the Right has been tampering with one of the best political operating systems ever designed. The result has been economic and environmental disaster. In this hard-hitting book, nationally syndicated radio and television host and bestselling author Thom Hartmann outlines eleven common-sense proposals, deeply rooted in America’s history, that will once again make America strong and Americans—not corporations and billionaires—prosperous. Some of these ideas will be controversial to both the Left and the Right, but the litmus test for each is not political correctness—but whether or not it serves to revitalize this country we all love and make life better for its citizens.

WHAT HAPPENS? When the Values of Duty, Honor, Country clash at West Point with the religious teachings of the Liberty Baptist Church in Burnt Prairie . . . Join us on this journey in the Vietnam War era when the author was confronted by Colonel Al Haig, soon to join President Nixon's White House and later to serve as President Reagan's Secretary of State, . . . And Admiral Moorer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a federal courtroom. . . Waging a vigorous official defense of compulsory chapel, while the author stood up for freedom of religion under the First Amendment, Despite them all having sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States . . . In such a clash and its aftermath, the answer . . . The American Dream is Re-Made. The author updates this clash in the 1960's with more recent clashes of values: In the closing days of the term of Illinois Governor Dan Walker; Against the Illinois political establishment and legal system in the fight to expand the initiative power of Illinois voters; On two different elected school boards, where some put their own interest ahead of students; In the controversies over restoring fiscal balance in the Illinois budget during the administration of Governor Pat Quinn; and In his entrepreneurial endeavors on behalf of investment clients. Such clashes demonstrate the enduring influence of grassroots Americans in upholding and improving the American Dream.