Sign-In
Cart
Maximum Leverage
Paperback
Biographies GeneralPoverty & Social Work
Publisher Price: $22.00
Publisher: Hard Ball Press
Published: Apr 15 2026
Pages: 312
Weight: 1.07
Height: 0.85 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
Phil Cohen's interwoven collection of stories portrays his early years surviving poverty on the violent streets of New York, ultimately shaping his journey to becoming a legendary union organizer.
The reader is transported into a world of crime, hardship, and suspense, as the author vividly describes a harrowing year driving illegal gypsy cabs in New York's most dangerous neighborhoods. To avoid the resulting arrest warrants, he seeks refuge in a cheap hotel, scraping by until the owners invite him to manage their establishment. Cohen ends up using his instincts to help impoverished residents deal with law enforcement, health care and welfare.
Following a series of gripping transitions, he's hired as a lead organizer by a major trade union which inserts him into daunting situations other staff couldn't handle. The riveting engagements include defeating union busters, leveraging good contracts with hostile employers, rectifying unjust terminations, and breaking the Ku Klux Klan's control of a union local.
Written as action dramas with engaging character studies, the stories thrust readers into the whirlwind of vicious labor disputes while providing an audience-friendly understanding of labor law and asymmetric organizing tactics.
Also in
Poverty & Social Work
The Agrarian Seeds of Empire: The Political Economy of Agriculture in Us State Building
Bauerly, Brad
Paperback
Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power
Chomsky, Noam
Paperback
The New Science of Giambattista Vico: Unabridged Translation of the Third Edition (1744) with the Addition of Practic of the New Science
Vico, Giambattista
Paperback
The Yahoo Boys: Love, Deception, and the Real Lives of Nigeria's Romance Scammers
Barragán, Carlos
Hardcover
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Goldstone, Brian
Paperback
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Goldstone, Brian
Hardcover
Miracle Children: Race, Education, and a True Story of False Promises
Benner, Katie
Green, Erica L.
Hardcover
Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth--And What to Do about It
Moyn, Samuel
Hardcover
The Everywhere Millionaire: Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There
Zwick, Eric
Zidar, Owen
Hardcover
The Middle-Class New Deal: Restoring Upward Mobility and the American Dream
Dickerson, A. Mechele
Paperback
City on the Edge: Technology, Politics, and the Fight for the Soul of San Francisco
Weber, Jonathan
Hardcover
Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?: Playing Offense in the Fight for Racial Justice in America
Phillips, Steve
Hardcover
Getting to Reparations: How Building a Different America Requires a Reckoning with Our Past
Brown, Dorothy A.
Hardcover
Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell's Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People
Kidder, Tracy
Paperback
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America (20th Anniversary Edition)
Ehrenreich, Barbara
Paperback
Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty
Banerjee, Abhijit V.
Duflo, Esther
Paperback
Marked by Time: How Social Change Has Transformed Crime and the Life Trajectories of Young Americans
Sampson, Robert J.
Hardcover
Sensory Pathways to Healing from Trauma: Harnessing the Brain's Capacity for Change
Lanius, Ruth A.
Harricharan, Sherain
Kearney, Breanne E.
Paperback
Charlie Kirk Quotes: The Courageous Life and Legacy of Charlie Kirk Founder, Turning Point USA the Unauthorized Version
Cohen, Felicity Graham
Butler, Michael D.
Paperback
Reclaiming Your Community: You Don't Have to Move Out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One
Carter, Majora
Paperback
Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet
Collins, Chuck
Hardcover
Overcoming Binge Eating: The Proven Program to Learn Why You Binge and How You Can Stop
Fairburn, Christopher G.
Paperback
The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide: What You and Your Family Need to Know
Miklowitz, David J.
Paperback
Anti-Fascist Economics: In Defense of Affordability, Dignity, and Democracy
Weber, Isabella
Hardcover
Psychoanalytic Diagnosis: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process
McWilliams, Nancy
Paperback
Raising a Secure Child: How Circle of Security Parenting Can Help You Nurture Your Child's Attachment, Emotional Resilience, and Freedom to Explore
Powell, Bert
Hoffman, Kent
Cooper, Glen
Paperback
Under the Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See
Mayhew, Kelly
Miller, Jim
Davis, Mike
Paperback
The Cost of Being Undocumented: One Woman's Reckoning with America's Inhumane Math
Garcia, Antero
Dick, Alix
Hardcover
Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change and Grow
Rollnick, Stephen
Miller, William R.
Hardcover
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Elliott, Andrea
Paperback
DBT Skills in Elementary Schools: Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving in Grades K-5 (DBT STEPS-E)
Mazza, James J.
Dexter-Mazza, Elizabeth T.
Rathus, Jill H.
Paperback
The Mismeasurement of America: How Outdated Government Statistics Mask the Economic Struggle of Everyday Americans
Ludwig, Gene
Hardcover
Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass 25th Anniversary Edition
Dalrymple, Theodore
Paperback
Smart But Scattered Teens: The Executive Skills Program for Helping Teens Reach Their Potential
Dawson, Peg
Guare, Colin
Guare, Richard
Paperback
The Death and Life of Gentrification: A New Map of a Persistent Idea
Brown-Saracino, Japonica
Hardcover
Talking to My Daughter about the Economy: Or, How Capitalism Works--And How It Fails
Varoufakis, Yanis
Paperback
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (Emdr) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures
Shapiro, Francine
Hardcover
Postcolonial Astrology: Reading the Planets Through Capital, Power, and Labor
Sparkly Kat, Alice
Paperback
Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World
Menendian, Stephen
Powell, John A.
Hardcover
10th Anniversary Edition The Life You Can Save: How To Do Your Part To End World Poverty
Singer, Peter
Paperback
Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West
Farrell, Justin
Paperback
The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide
Thrasher, Steven W.
Paperback
Aristocracy, American Style: Class Privilege and the Persistence of Elite Power
Isenberg, Nancy
Hardcover
The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty
Schneider, Rachel
Morduch, Jonathan
Paperback
The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid
Clinton, Chelsea
Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, Anna
Hardcover
The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality
Sunkara, Bhaskar
Paperback
Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone
Jaffe, Sarah
Paperback
Program Evaluation: A Practical Guide for Social Work and the Helping Professions
Royse, David
Paperback
Decolonizing Wealth, Second Edition: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance
Villanueva, Edgar
Paperback
Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns
Colburn, Gregg
Aldern, Clayton Page
Paperback
The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second Chances
Fagan, Kevin
Paperback
The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North
Adams, Michelle
Hardcover
Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD: A Comprehensive Therapist Manual
Monson, Candice M.
Chard, Kathleen M.
Resick, Patricia A.
Paperback
Introduction to Social Work: Social Workers Effecting Change in Our World
Ritter, Jessica A.
Paperback
What We Inherit: How New Technologies and Old Myths Are Shaping Our Genomic Future
Martschenko, Daphne O.
Trejo, Sam
Hardcover
The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal about Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
Mask, Deirdre
Paperback
Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America
Atuahene, Bernadette
Hardcover
Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice: Putting Theory into Action
Capous-Desyllas, Moshoula
Morgaine, Karen
Paperback
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor... and Yourself
Corbett, Steve
Fikkert, Brian
Paperback
The Idea of America: Reflections on Inequality, Democracy, and the Values We Share
Walker, Darren
Hardcover
You Are Not Your Trauma: An ACT Guide for Healing from Within
Walser, Robyn D.
Westrup, Darrah
Paperback
Treating Trauma and Traumatic Grief in Children and Adolescents
Mannarino, Anthony P.
Deblinger, Esther
Cohen, Judith A.
Paperback
Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor
Eubanks, Virginia
Paperback
The Cost of Being Undocumented: One Woman's Reckoning with America's Inhumane Math
Dick, Alix
Garcia, Antero
Paperback
We Shall Not Bow Down: Children of Color Under Siege: An Invocation to Resistance
Kozol, Jonathan
Paperback
Your Defiant Teen: 10 Steps to Resolve Conflict and Rebuild Your Relationship
Robin, Arthur L.
Barkley, Russell A.
Paperback
Living Well with Social Anxiety: Practical Strategies for Improving Your Daily Life
Dobson, Deborah
Paperback
Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity
Appelbaum, Yoni
Hardcover
Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity
Appelbaum, Yoni
Paperback
Systemic Racism in the United States: Scaffolding as Social Construction
Tourse, Robbie W. C.
Hamilton-Mason, Johnnie
Wewiorski, Nancy J.
Paperback
Fighting for a Foothold: How Government and Markets Undermine Black Middle-Class Suburbia
Simms, Angela
Paperback
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League
Hobbs, Jeff
Paperback
A Paradise of Small Houses: The Evolution, Devolution, and Potential Rebirth of Urban Housing
Podemski, Max
Paperback
White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy
Barber, William J., II
Paperback
Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth
Smarsh, Sarah
Paperback
Policing the Progressive City: Portland, Oregon, from Settlement to Uprising
Williams, Kristian
Paperback
Means and Ends: The Revolutionary Practice of Anarchism in Europe and the United States
Baker, Zoe
Paperback