Jonathan Kozol is the conscience of education in this country, which he once again proves with this book. Even though the societal ravages he describes these children undergoing make Job's sojourn seem like a walk beach, the children remain the soul of innocence. This is a motivational book: it may turn you into an advocate for underprivileged children in your own community, like the champions depicted in these pages. Always, always, though, his focus is on these beautiful children who are being neglected and left behind by the cold and uncaring, bureaucratic society in which we all live.