Across the political spectrum, unwed fatherhood is denounced as one of the leading social problems of today. Doing the Best I Can is a strikingly rich, paradigm-shifting look at fatherhood among inner-city men often dismissed as “deadbeat dads.” Kathryn Edin and Timothy J. Nelson examine how couples in challenging straits come together and get pregnant so quickly—without planning. The authors chronicle the high hopes for forging lasting family bonds that pregnancy inspires, and pinpoint the fatal flaws that often lead to the relationship’s demise. They offer keen insight into a radical redefinition of family life where the father-child bond is central and parental ties are peripheral. Drawing on years of fieldwork, Doing the Best I Can shows how mammoth economic and cultural changes have transformed the meaning of fatherhood among the urban poor. Intimate interviews with more than 100 fathers make real the significant obstacles faced by low-income men at every step in the familial process: from the difficulties of romantic relationships, to decision-making dilemmas at conception, to the often celebratory moment of birth, and finally to the hardships that accompany the early years of the child's life, and beyond.

From the hugely popular star of TVUs "Judge Mathis, " comes the inspirational story of a young man who rose from delinquent to Detroit District Court Judge to national television personality. Color photos.

This issue of Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, guest edited by Drs. Vincent Morelli, Roger Zoorob, and Joel J. Heidelbaugh, is devoted to Primary Care of the Medically Underserved. This outstanding issue includes the following articles: Primary Care Issues in Rural Populations; Primary Care Issues in Inner City America and Internationally; Medical Care for Undocumented Immigrants: National and International Issues; Pediatric and Adolescent Issues in Underserved Populations; Women's Health issues in Underserved Populations; Geriatric Care Issues: American and International Perspectives; Medical Care of the Homeless: An American and International Issue; Cardiovascular Issues in the Underserved; Occupational Health and Sleep Issues in Underserved Populations; Infectious Diseases Issues in Underserved Populations; Cancer in the Underserved; Psychological Issues in Underserved Populations; Substance Abuse Issues Amongst the Underserved: American and International Perspectives; Diet and Obesity Issues in the Underserved; Exercise/Sports Medicine Issues in Underserved Populations; A Global Perspective on Climate Change and Health in Underserved Populations; and International Comparisons in Underserved Health: Issues, Policies, Needs and Projections.

This distinguished collection stands out from the recent flurry of books on health reform by its sustained and sophisticated analysis of the political dimension. In The Politics of Health Care Reform, some of America's best-known political scientists, historians, and legal scholars make sense of our most turbulent policy issue. They dig below the jargon and minutiae to explore the enduring questions of American politics, government reform, and health care. The Politics of Health Care Reform explains how successful reforms occur in the United States and shows what is unique about health care issues. Theoretically informed, politically astute, historically nuanced, this volume takes an inventory of our health policy infrastructure. Here is an account of the institutions, ideas, and interests that shape health policy in the 1990s: Congress, the federal courts, interest groups, state governments, the public bureaucracy, business (large and small), the insurance industry, the medical profession. The volume offers a fresh look at such critical matters as public opinion, the politics of race and gender, and the lessons we can draw from other nations. The Politics of Health Care Reform is the definitive collection of political science essays about health care. Expanded from two special issues of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, the most prominent scholarly journal in the field it helped create, this collection will enliven the present debate over health reform and instruct everyone who is concerned about the future of American health care. Contributors. Lawrence Brown, Robert Evans, William Glaser, Colleen Grogan, Robert Hackey, Lawrence Jacobs, Nancy Jecker, Taeku Lee, Joan Lehman, David McBride, Ted Marmor, Cathie Jo Martin, James A. Morone, Mark Peterson, David Rochefort, Rand Rosenblatt, David Rothman, Joan Ruttenberg, Mark Schlesinger, Theda Skocpol, Michael Sparer, Deborah Stone, Kenneth Thorpe