This handbook provides a survey of the American welfare state. It offers an historical overview of U.S. social policy from the colonial era to the present, a discussion of available theoretical perspectives on it, an analysis of social programs, and on overview of the U.S. welfare state's consequences for poverty, inequality, and citizenship. ...the book contains some novel and interesting chapters that are not usually included in a collection of this kind and which reveal the uniqueness of social policy in the United States...The editors and contributors are to be commended for the books range and accessibility and for producing a well-documented and valuable reference source.