Tracks of Hope

The Forgotten Story of America's Runaway Train
and How We Can Change its Course
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"Tracks of Hope is replete with important and useful information... I especially liked the way this book is organized, beginning each section with some common beliefs about poverty, followed by clear information that convincingly undermines such beliefs."
-Prof. William Julius Wilson of Harvard U.

A unique coffee-table-style book, Tracks of Hope presents its case for doing something about poverty through daunting facts, inspirational anecdotes, innovative ideas, and stories of change makers - and leaves the reader with a greater understanding of the effects domestic poverty has on us all. Combining and contrasting the imagery of tracks with thought-proving urban landscapes, this new book delves into the reasons why "getting on the right track" is in our best self-interest.

"It is up to us, and in our enlightened self-interest, starting right here and starting right now, to make things better," writes Speeth. As an example, "Larry Brown with the Harvard School of Public Health and several other leading researchers have determined that the total cost burden of hunger in the U.S. is about $90 billion - an amount that could be entirely eliminated by just $10-12 billion of increased spending on federal nutrition programs."

By appealing to the mind while being gentle on the eyes, Tracks of Hope focuses on the idea that domestic poverty is not just a moral issue, but an economic one as well. "This book is dedicated to exposing the collective price of poverty," comments David Grusky, professor of sociology at Stanford University, in the book's foreword.

Tracks of Hope: The Forgotten Story of America's Runaway Train and How We Can Change Its Course is not only a call to action but a response as well, in that it provides a resource for taking action: a listing of "Big and Little Things You Can Do Now to 'Be the Change.'" This informative guide offers suggestions and spells out the dollar costs of certain actions (often zero, sometimes income generating) and how much time each action will take - showing us all that it can cost next to nothing in time or money to participate in changing the course of America's poverty train.

The Elfenworks team uses its diverse skill set to raise the profile of nonprofits we support, and the issues on our common agenda (such as domestic poverty). One of our proudest moments of recent memory was the Concert for Hope celebrating the opening of the Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality and the launching of inequality.com . Truly, it was a hopeful moment - a new day for the nation - and news of it was carried in the San Jose Mercury News. The citizen commentary on that news, though, bespoke a great lack of information, and it started us down the path to the book.

In our book we interweave a parable told by Professor David Grusky, Director of the Stanford Center, at that Concert for Hope. The parable involves a train, a little girl, and a choice. We hope you'll find our book informative and thought-provoking. Of course, one book can't possibly contain enough pages to answer all your questions, but if it gets anyone down the path to questioning invalid assumptions, towards discontentment with the status quo, and towards greater involvement [see our resources page for how], we will feel it has been well worthwhile.

This book, now available for online purchase at blurb.com, is a thought-provoking journey through domestic poverty as seen through our storyteller's lens. Members of the press, contact our for more.