This book is a passionate plea for social change and political action, a call to conscience, a reading of our lack of true concern for the needs of poor children.
As the richest nation in the world... we have prescribed a large dose of verbiage minimally sweetened with money to whichever aspect of a problem currently forces itself upon public notice.
At the same time, it is a scientific treatise on the relationships between environmental factors associated with the culture of poverty and the potential of poor children.
In the preface, the authors state: we have written this book to call attention to the health problems which underly the school failure of impoverished children... what we hope for is a change from the wistful notion that expressions of good will and a national verbal commitment are sufficient to reduce the spreading problems which are festering along our back