Introduction -- The Power of the Illusion, the Way We Never Were -- The Dream Interrupted, Insecurity Among the Middle-Aged -- Privileged Expectations and Insecure Realities -- The Myth of Equal Opportunity -- Negotiating Uncertainty -- Economic Vulnerability as the New Normal.

Passing the torch: an overview -- Thirty years later: educational attainments -- How families fared: the college payoff -- Breaking the cycle of disadvantage: maternal education and children's success -- How college changes a mother's parenting and affects her children's educational outcomes --...