《为何生活越来越像走钢索》内容简介

　　在几十年前，和我一起长大的孩子们都相信，他们的世界一定会比父母的更美好！但几十年后，这些曾经和我一起坐六号校车上学的快乐的孩子，最后都死了，死了，死了，死了。

　　究竟是什么原因，让本对未来满怀希望的他们一步步走向破碎？

　　我们的老朋友克莱顿坦诚地讲述了自己的苦难，但令人痛心的是，本书尚未完成，他就离开了人世。陷入困境的他们并不比他们的父母差。事实上，他们中的大多数人都受过更好的教育。但令人震惊的是，这样的不幸并非个例：对于很多人来说，生活已经越来越变得像在走钢索……

　　可社会有一种流行的批判，去抱怨这些人的懒惰、不负责任和自毁行为。

　　为此，我们回到故乡亚姆希尔，并探访了全国50个州和1个特区，去深入了解和我一起长大的伙伴们的遭遇，去探寻数千万人经历失去工作、尊严、希望、生命的原因，并指出我们如何才能做得更好。

　　本书是普利策奖得主夫妇，《天空的另一半》作者尼可和雪莉的新书，书中引用了富兰克林的话：“检验我们进步的标准，并不在于让富裕者锦上添花，而是在于为缺吃少穿者雪中送炭。”

　　有读者评价，“写这本书是一种英雄般的、痛苦的、有时又充满慈悲的行为，让我们看到今天对太多人来说生存就像走钢索的生活。尼可和雪莉夫妇知道这里没有简单的解决方案，但这并不意味着我们不能采取行动，无论是推动更好的政策，还是改变我们自己的态度。”

　　作者说，“撰写本书的过程令人心碎，这是一项沉重的责任。”

　　作者简介

　　尼可拉斯·D.克里斯多夫（NicholasD.Kristof）

　　出生于1959年，美国记者、政治评论家，毕业于哈佛大学、牛津大学。1984年加入《纽约时报》后，他先后担任过该报香港、北京和东京分社的社长。由于出色的从业水准，他曾七次入围普利策，并两次获得该奖。

　　雪莉·邓恩（SherylWuDunn）

　　出生于1959年，美国企业高管、记者、作家，毕业于康奈尔大学、哈佛商学院、普林斯顿大学。她曾任《纽约时报》商业版编辑和驻外记者，是历史上第一位获得普利策奖的亚裔美国人。

　　1990年，克里斯多夫和邓恩共同获得普利策新闻奖国际报道奖，成为历史上第一对获此殊荣的夫妻组合。

　　译者简介：

　　赵文伟

　　英文、意大利文、西班牙文译者。2020年凭《最棒的吉米》入选IBBY荣誉榜单翻译家榜。译有：《疯狂的奥兰多》《月亮和六便士》《心是孤独的猎手》《歌剧魅影》《少年斯特法诺》《爱的教育》等。

Why is Life more and more like Walking a tightrope

A few decades ago, the children I grew up with believed that their world would be better than their parents'! But decades later, these happy kids who used to ride the number Six bus with me ended up dead, dead, dead, dead.

What is the reason, let the hope for the future of their step by step to shatter?

Our old friend Clayton spoke candidly about his ordeal, but sadly he died before the book was finished. They are no worse off than their parents in their predicament. In fact, most of them are better educated. But shockingly, this misfortune is not unique: for many people, life has increasingly become a tightrope walk...

But there is a popular criticism in society to complain about the laziness, irresponsibility and self-destructive behavior of these people.

So we went back to our hometown of Yamhill and visited all 50 states and one District to learn more about the people I grew up with, to find out why tens of millions of people have lost their jobs, their dignity, their hope, their lives, and how we can do better.

"The test of our progress," Franklin is quoted as saying in a new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning husband and wife, Nicole and Shirley, authors of "The Other Half of the Sky," "is not to enrich the rich, but to help the needy."

"Writing this book has been a heroic, painful, and sometimes compassionate act that opens our eyes to the tightrope life that for too many people today, survival is." Nicole and Shirley know there are no easy solutions here, but that doesn't mean we can't take action, whether it's pushing for better policies or changing our own attitudes."

"The process of writing this book was heartbreaking, and it was a heavy responsibility," the author said.

About the author

By NicholasD.Kristof

Born in 1959, he is an American journalist and political commentator who graduated from Harvard University and Oxford University. After joining The New York Times in 1984, he served as bureau chief in Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo. He has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize seven times and won the prize twice.

Shirley Dunn (SherylWuDunn)

Born in 1959, he is an American business executive, journalist, and author who graduated from Cornell University, Harvard Business School, and Princeton University. A former business editor and foreign correspondent for the New York Times, she was the first AsiAn-American to win the Pulitzer Prize.

In 1990, Christopher and Dunn jointly won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, becoming the first married couple in history to do so.

About the Translator

Zhao Wenwei

English, Italian, Spanish translators. Selected to IBBY's Honor List of Translators in 2020 for "The Best Jimmy." Translations include: "Crazy Orlando", "The Moon and Sixpence", "The Heart is a lonely Hunter", "The Phantom of the Opera", "Young Stefano", "Love Education" and so on.