Books about Disparity from Amazon.com

Professor David S. Landes takes a historic approach to the analysis of the distribution of wealth in this landmark study of world economics Landes argues that the key to today's disparity between the rich and poor nations of the world stems directly from the industrial revolution, in which some countries made the leap to industrialization and became fabulously rich, while other countries failed to adapt and remained poor. Why some countries were able to industrialize and others weren't has been the subject of much heated debate over the decades; climate, natural resources, and geography have all been put forward as explanations--and are all brushed aside by Landes in favor of his own controversial theory: that the ability to effect an industrial revolution is dependent on certain cultural traits, without which industrialization is impossible to sustain. Landes contrasts the characteristics of successfully industrialized nations--work, thrift, honesty, patience, and tenacity--with those of nonindustrial countries, arguing that until these values are internalized by all nations, the gulf between the rich and poor will continue to grow..
Price: $9.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"The text is state-of-the-art in its analysis of health disparities from both domestic and international perspectives. Minority Populations and Health: An Introduction to Health Disparities in the United States is a welcome addition to the field because it widens access to the complex issues underlying the health disparities problem. "-- Preventing Chronic Disease/CDC, October 2005

"This is a very comprehensive, evidence-based book dealing with the health disparities that plague the United States. This is a welcome and valuable addition to the field of health care for minority groups in the United States."-- Doody's Publishers Bulletin, August 2005

"Health isn’t color-blind. Racial minorities disproportionately suffer from some diseases, but experts say race alone doesn’t completely account for the disparities. Newsweek's Jennifer Barrett Ozols spoke with Thomas LaVeist, director of the Center for Health Disparities Solutions at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and author of the upcoming book, "Minority Populations and Health: An Introduction to Health Disparities in the U.S." (Jossey-Bass) about race and medicine. "-- MSNBC/Newsweek interview with author Thomas L. LaVeist, February 2005

"The book is readable and organized to be quickly read with specifics readily retrievable. It is comprehensive and visual."-- Journal of the American Medical Association, September 2005

Minority Populations and Health is a textbook that offers a complete foundation in the core issues and theoretical frameworks for the development of policy and interventions to address race disparities in health-related outcomes. This book covers U.S. health and social policy, the role of race and ethnicity in health research, social factors contributing to mortality, longevity and life expectancy, quantitative and demographic analysis and access, and utilization of health services. Instructors material available at http://www.minorityhealth.com.
Price: $47.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This essential text assists health care students and practitioners in delivering skilled and appropriate care to all patients, no matter their ethnicity, country of origin, cultural history, or access to services. Presenting need to know and often hard to find information on differences in access to heath-care, immunization histories, disease prevalence, attitudes about health and provision of care, and much more, this resource provides practical, authoritative and specific guidance..
Price: $42.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

As the twentieth century drew to a close, the rich were getting richer; power was concentrating within huge corporations; vast tracts of the earth were being laid waste; three quarters of the earth's population had no control over its destiny and no claim to basic rights. There was nothing new in this. What was new was the virtual absence of any political will to do anything about it. Spaces of Hope takes issue with this.
David Harvey brings an exciting perspective to two of the principal themes of contemporary social discourse: globalization and the body. Exploring the uneven geographical development of late-twentieth-century capitalism, and placing the working body in relation to this new geography, he finds in Marx's writings a wealth of relevant analysis and theoretical insight. In order to make much-needed changes, Harvey maintains, we need to become the architects of a different living and working environment and to learn to bridge the micro-scale of the body and the personal and the macro-scale of global political economy.
Utopian movements have for centuries tried to construct a just society. Harvey looks at their history to ask why they failed and what the ideas behind them might still have to offer. His devastating description of the existing urban environment (Baltimore is his case study) fuels his argument that we can and must use the force of utopian imagining against all who say "there is no alternative." He outlines a new kind of utopian thought, which he calls dialectical utopianism, and refocuses our attention on possible designs for a more equitable world of work and living with nature. If any political ideology or plan is to work, he argues, it must take account of our human qualities. Finally, Harvey dares to sketch a very personal utopian vision in an appendix, one that leaves no doubt about his own geography of hope..
Price: $23.35 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The health care system in the United States has been called the best in the world, but many of its residents cannot afford or do not have access to adequate care. Health Disparities in the United States explores how socioeconomic status, race, and ethnic make-up affect health disparities; what the wide gulf in care and health outcomes means for the medical community, cultural subsets, and society at large; and how to address the issue effectively.

Topics examined include:• The relationship between income and social status and health care and outcomes• The effect of race and ethnicity on health and the availability of care• Conscious, unconscious, and institutionalized bias in treatment options• How and when race and ethnicity should be taken into account in treating illness• Practical and practicable ideas for reducing health disparities

Analyzing the complex web of social forces that influence health outcomes in the United States, this book is a vital teaching tool and a comprehensive reference for social science and medical professionals.

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Price: $25.78 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Report from the Committee on Understanding and Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care and the Board on Health Sciences Policy. Examines how disparities in treatment may arise in healthcare systems and looks at aspects of the clinical encounter contributing to such disparities. Highlights cross-cultural education to improve communication..
Price: $63.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Singer offers a fresh set of ideas for understanding how the global socioeconomic system insures that massive quantities of psychotropic drugs reach the poorest sectors of American society. Drugging the Poor provides a unified theoretical framework to assess how all drugs, including tobacco, heroin, alcohol, cocaine, and diverted pharmaceuticals contribute to maintaining social inequality among the wealthier and poorer social classes in American society. Singer's analysis rejects conventional approaches that see tobacco or alcohol manufacturers and distributors, on the one hand, and drug cartels and mafias, on the other, as completely different entities. Instead, he shows how legal and illegal "drug corporations" share key features and follow the same economic principles. He also emphasizes that mixing legal and illegal drugs to self-medicate against social discrimination, poverty, and structural violence offers short-term relief, but in the long run, it functions to maintain an unjust and oppressive system. Drugging the Poor actively challenges the assumption that how things are is how they always have been or how they need to be..
Price: $21.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Presents a global view of stratification in an interesting but theoretically sound way, using an effective combination of academic works, lively stories, and news reports. Helps to educate the social science major or general student about social and cultural differences across the world, and teaches about growing global interdependence and how this is connected to contemporary social problems.

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Price: $12.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

By 2007, it is estimated that 9.2 million girls of color will be enrolled in college compared to 6.9 million boys of color. Why the discrepancy? Lopez takes us to the schools, homes, and workplaces of Caribbean youth to point out the different expectations that guide behavior. Now the largest immigrant group in New York City, Lopez focuses in particular on these Caribbean teens to explain how and why our schools and cities are failing boys of color. This is a fascinating ethnographic study on a topic of increasing interest to people in the field of education and anyone concerned about the future of young people..
Price: $23.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]