Deep within the American Dream lies the belief that hard work and steady saving will ensure a comfortable retirement and a better life for one's children. But in a nation experiencing unprecedented prosperity, even for many families who seem to be doing everything right, this ideal is still out...

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction. A Hidden Inequality -- Worlds of Uncertainty -- Chapter 1. Earning -- Chapter 2. Spending -- Chapter 3. Smoothing and Spiking -- How Families Cope -- Chapter 4. Saving -- Chapter 5. Borrowing -- Chapter 6. Sharing -- New Ways of Seeing...