humanitarian assistance, american

An assessment of how Haiti has fared after the 2010 earthquake reveals how the country continues to suffer from poverty, illness, and a broken infrastructure, assessing the factors that prevent aid from reaching people in need.

The story of Jim Ziolkowski, the man behind the organization buildOn--which turns inner city teens into community leaders at home and abroad--and his mission to change the world one community at a time. Under Jim's leadership, buildOn volunteers have contributed more than 850,000 hours of community service, and the organization has constructed more than 430 schools worldwide, from the South Bronx, to Detroit, Chicago, and Oakland, to Haiti, Senegal, Nicaragua, and Nepal.

Greg Mortenson describes his efforts to promote peace throughout the world, and details how he was able to establish over 130 schools--mostly for girls--in remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan with the backing of the Central Asia Institute--a nonprofit organization.

The author shares the story of how an episode of "Oprah" inspired her to travel to Congo, discusses her experiences in what she calls the worst place in the world to be a woman, and describes her efforts to help the women of Congo by founding the national organization Run for Congo Women.

A memoir in which Eric Greitens discusses how his desire to make a difference led him to the world's trouble spots where he worked to serve and sick, poor, and displaced, explains his decision to join the Navy SEALS to protect the weak, and discusses how the lessons he learned in humanitarianism affected his missions in Kenya, Thailand, Afghanistan, and Iraq.