This book is a collection of essays about youths in the city, written by Jane Addams. She was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage in the United States. She co-founded Chicago's Hull House, one of America's most famous settlement houses. She was also a co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In 1931, she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and is recognized as the founder of the social work profession in the United States.