High Middle

Why have so many middle-class Americans encountered so much financial trouble? In this classic analysis of hard-pressed families, the authors discover that financial stability for many middle-class Americans is all too fragile. The authors consider the changing cultural and economic factors that threaten financial security and what they imply for the future vitality of the middle class. A new preface examines the persistent and new threats that have emerged since the original publication.

“The Most Dangerous Game” (1924) is the Richard Connell short story that continues to fascinate readers with its suspense and action. This is the original story—only word order and difficult vocabulary have been updated. Biographical information, end notes, and analysis of the major themes follow the text. AR Quiz No. 8634 EN Fiction Upper Grades - BL: 5.3 - AR Pts: 1.0. For other short stories in easy to understand modern English search the web for “George Lakon.”

Dodging missiles, mapping undersea caves, outrunning secret agents and uncovering treasure? That's a day in the life of the Kidds! The Kidd family are on an exciting new mission, using the augmented reality gear created by their parents to discover a long-lost treasure. Until their ship, The Lost, explodes in a ball of fire! Bick, Beck, Storm and Tommy are stranded at sea and their parents have been captured by rival treasure hunters. Can the Kidd siblings find the ancient treasure and save their parents in time?

Don’t trust anyone, not even yourself…. You think you know someone pretty well, until you’re awoken in the middle of the night to the sound of unfamiliar voices and realize your sister’s being swept away by some supernatural creatures who climb in and out of windows and leap from two-story houses like it’s nothing. My parents tried to tell me everything was fine, but when Cadence finally did come back from wherever they’d taken her, I knew there was something unusual about my older sister. Now, her best friend is dead. Her ex-boyfriend is acting bizarre. And I’m afraid I might...

Amelia loved her mother, Libby, more than anything. Life was good, and she and her siblings had fun times growing up with their parents in their beloved green home. But all that changed when Amelia was six years old. Her parents divorced--and Libby met Frank, a narcissistic abuser who transformed her mother into an unrecognizable shell of her former self. That was the beginning of the chase for Amelia as she tried to bring her mother back--to save her. But how long could she chase a woman who didn’t seem to want to be saved? And how deep would she allow the abuser to pull her down into ...

Analysis of High Dam cinema during the July period through cinematic production and direction after the July Revolution. Analysis of the scenario, dialogue, and messages contained in the artworks, analysis of the artistic production process, and how High Dam cinema was presented through cinema at that time, and why.

“Michelle! Michelle! Long live Michelle!” The cheers and chants for me are alone music to my ears. There is no need for instruments, but a king must have them to accompany his saunter. My throne, my glorious throne, shines in splendor now. With every step it glows brighter, welcoming its king. Its gold glitters. Its purple velvet like an amethyst sparkling in the sun. The light from the throne fills the room, the cheers roar louder than ever. Giddy—I am simply giddy! My lips part into a grin—I cannot help it. My foot touches the red velvet dais. My throne. My throne. It is mine. It ...

“The Tell-Tale Heart” is the Edgar Allan Poe gothic short story that continues to fascinate readers with its murder, beating heart, and insanity. -The language of over 170 years ago has been updated making Poe’s difficult language easily understood by today’s readers. -Every effort has been made to keep the story as close to the original as possible--only word order and difficult vocabulary have been changed. -End notes, interpretation, and discussion of major themes follow the text. -Biographical information on Edgar Allan Poe is included.-Accelerated Reader AR Quiz No. 7946 EN ...

Sometimes following your dreams isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…. When I decided I’d stop at nothing to become a Vampire Hunter, even though my older sister and her teammates knew I wasn’t ready, I got myself into trouble—a whole lot of trouble. Now, I’ll never be exactly what I wanted to be—and I’ll never be the same as I was before either. There’s a dangerous Vampire on the loose, and I know I’m the only one who can stop him from continuing to prey on the innocent. But since I’ve already broken my sister’s trust, how can I prove to her that I’m more than just ...

Why fear the Vampire Queen when I'm my own worst enemy? Most people avoid trouble at all costs, but I seem to be seeking it out. While the rest of the team is content to let Holland keep building her army while we essentially do nothing, I'm determined to track her down. But I can't do that unless I can find a way to enhance my powers. When that opportunity presents itself, I know I shouldn't take the risk--it's going against orders and will break my poor mother's heart. Do you think that'll stop me? My name is Cassidy Findley, and this is my life as a teenage Vampire Hunter. The Chronicles...

Walking around in other people's heads can get messy... especially if those people are vampires. Learning that I have the powers to read vampires' minds might make me an invaluable part of the LIGHTS team, but it's a lot to swallow, especially now that I've moved to Kansas City full-time. I miss my friends, my parents, my old life, but I'm also excited about what's to come. Sometimes, it's hard for me to tell which of my sides is the true me--the hunter or the vampire--and it just takes one tricky hunt to get me all off kilter. Can I get myself back together again before my sister Cadence ...

In the uncharted depths of space, challenges await that will push them beyond their limits… After testing their new ship the Hermes, gifted to them by an advanced species from the distant planet Pandooma, charismatic teenage adventurer Samantha and her multi-talented young crew head back out into space, hungry for new discoveries. However, attacked by pirates determined to resume their reign of terror, the crew has to flee the planet they were exploring—leaving two of their number behind. When two more crew members disappear, the priority of those left on the Hermes has to be to save ...

“The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether” is an Edgar Allan Poe short story that expertly blends his dark perspective with the comic. -This is the original story—only word order and difficult vocabulary have been updated. -End notes, interpretation, and discussion of major themes follow the text. -Biographical information on Edgar Allan Poe is included. -For other classic short stories in easy to understand updated English search for “Simplified for Modern Readers Series.”

Three people living in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem embark on distinct journeys that converge at "the file"; their efforts to admit Palestine to the Olympics in the early 20th century. Their pivotal roles in history have been purposely omitted from official record, kept secret, or forgotten. Why? Because of the "Nazi Olympics" in 1936 in Berlin. And because of the death in 1972 of eleven Israeli Olympic athletes in the Munich Massacre. This book narrates the previously untold history of a Palestine Olympic Committee recognized before the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Know that one of you will not return… These are the ominous words spoken by the Oracle of Atlantis as it sends the intrepid Samantha and her teenage crew on their toughest challenge yet: relive the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh. Devising an ingenious method for working out where to head to follow in the footsteps of the Sumerian antihero, they face a series of challenges, each of which hides a lesson. Do they copy Gilgamesh or learn from his mistakes? For learn they must to collect the seven holy keys that will lead them to a prize as yet unknown. Pushed to the limits of their endurance ...

Death is a stalker, preying on the ones I love, and even my superpowers aren't strong enough to stop it. All I wanted was to help the people suffering in Eastern Europe. With the Vampire Queen gone, Daunator was laying claim to the area, taking as many people as he could get. Unfortunately, the Leaders were still on their honeymoon, and no one else on the team wanted to do anything about it. Except for Christian--my nemesis. But when he found himself in a really bad situation, it was up to me to save him--before it was too late. I had no idea trying to save someone I hate would jeopardize ...

Just how does a robot gain a soul? Cletus, an AI consciousness, has a bug in its programming that leads it to hear the voice of a young man, the ghost of Boone Richards. In exchange for a soul, Boone tasks Cletus with a mission that threatens to upend the carefully planned settlement of Maior Pales by humans. As the arrival of the humans on Maior Pales looms, Cletus is faced with a moral dilemma. A descendant of the family who killed Boone has gathered a gang of outlaws to disrupt the settlement, and Boone's sister Delphine is speaking out against the violence. Cletus must decide whether to...

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Treasure Hunters by James Patterson, read by Bryan Kennedy. The Kidd family discovers an ancient map to the lost Incan City of Paititi. But when the map is stolen, the Kidds have to rely on Storm's picture-perfect memory to navigate the dangerous Amazon jungle - until she's kidnapped! To save Storm, the Kidds must locate the fabled city...before the bad guys find it first. The race is on!

Weaving the brackish humor of Chuck Palahniuk with the empathy of Barbara Ehrenreich, J. R. Helton brings to life an obscured underside of the American psyche in this unflinching account of life inside the working class of Texas in the 1980s. We first meet Helton as a struggling writer succumbing to the bleak reality of what it means to support himself and a wife. That despair is transformed into resilience as Helton insightfully narrates his wayward years, enduring hateful employers and mind-numbing manual labor.

Extending back to the first demonstrations of 2011, No Turning Back dissects the tangle of ideologies and allegiances that make up the Syrian conflict. As protests ignited in Daraa, some citizens were brimming with a sense of possibility. A privileged young man named Suleiman posted videos of the protests online, full of hope for justice and democracy. A father of two named Mohammad, secretly radicalized and newly released from prison, saw a darker opportunity in the unrest.