A plea -- deeply personal and told through the lives of real Americans -- to address the crisis in working-class America, while focusing on solutions to mend a half century of governmental failure.

The kids on the number 6 school bus -- "We're no. 61!" -- When jobs disappear -- American aristocracy -- How America went astray -- Drug dealers in lab coats -- Losing the war on drugs -- Up by the bootstraps -- Deaths of despair -- Interventions that work -- Universal health care: one day, one town -- Homeless in a rich nation -- The escape artists -- A shot in the face -- God save the family -- The marriage of true minds -- We eat our young -- Raising troubled kids -- Creating more escape artists -- America regained -- Appendix: Ten steps you can take in the next ten minutes to make a difference.