The author is convinced that there is a ruling class in America today. He examines the American power structure as it has developed in the 1980s. He presents systematic, empirical evidence that a fixed group of privileged people dominates the American economy and government. The book demonstrates that an upper class comprising only one-half of one percent of the population occupies key positions within the corporate community. It shows how leaders within this "power elite" reach government and dominate it through processes of special-interest lobbying, policy planning and candidate selection. It is written not to promote any political ideology, but to analyze our society with accuracy.

This thoughtful collection of essays immerses students in the public dialog surround some of the most important issues in America today.

"Epic in scope, but gentle and charming in delivery, Fred Amram's We're in America Now is a quiet chronicle of a clamorous era. Politics and war compel Amram's family to leave the only home they ever knew and embark on a personal exodus, fleeing a new pharaoh, pursuing a new promised land. They arrive in America to discover that paradise is not all milk and honey, but love, loyalty, and faith conspire to hold the family together, and the story of how they rebuild the life that was robbed them is moving, probing, and insightful." —J.C. Hallman, author of B & Me: A True Story of Literary Arousal These compelling stories form a riveting memoir that begins with the author's birth during the rise of Hitler in 1930s Germany. He and his surviving family soon escape to Holland and sail to America where they encounter many challenges as immigrants in a new world. This country truly becomes a land of opportunity where one can build a new life and become more than a "Holocaust survivor." Fred Amram is a retired University of Minnesota professor of communication and creativity. He spent his early years in Hanover, Germany, where he experienced the Holocaust from its inception in 1933. He witnessed Kristallnacht and the Gestapo invading his home. He watched the British bombers from his balcony when Jews were banned from air raid shelters. The loss of uncles, aunts, a grandmother, and many more relatives has motivated him to share his experiences in hopes of ending genocide everywhere.

With 50 very brief readings — all new to this edition — from over 35 very recent periodicals and student newspapers on 12 topics of current interest, America Now reflects what students are talking and writing about right now. A key challenge in the first-year composition course is to inspire students as readers and to spark the kind of thoughtful classroom discussion that leads to solid academic writing. As series editor of The Best American Essays, Robert Atwan constantly scours a wide range of print and online periodicals, bringing to America Now an unrivaled awareness of the best writing on today’s hottest issues — and the editorial support students need to approach it. To make these issues especially relevant for students, Atwan also explores hundreds of campus newspapers on the Internet to find the best student writing on current topics. These models by their peers from across the country show students that they, too, can share ideas through their own discussion and writing.

Revitalizing America takes an in-depth look at the promises of democracy made to Americans and the world, and the betrayals of those promises. The promises laid out in the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address and the Pledge of Allegiance have created a Santa Claus type myth about our government that is shattered every day in the world of real politics. The victims are "we the people." Our grievances can be recited just as the American revolutionists called out the king's offenses in the Declaration of Independence. They run the gamut from violations of human and civil rights, massive secret tests using poisonous materials on the citizenry without public knowledge or consent to old fashioned bribery and greed of public officials. It's our duty to remember our country was born through a revolution, and we must revitalize our democracy through a political and economic revolution. The people need to take back the government. www.revitalizeamericanow.org

In taking readers on a guided tour of American acrimony, Wood traces the roots of anger's triumph in today's social and political world.