Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus, Public Affairs, 1999. The inventor of microcredit and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize shares how a $27 loan became a $2.5 billion banking enterprise that provides financing to poor entrepreneurs.

The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It by Paul Collier, Oxford University Press, 2007. This book explains why a billion people in the world remain trapped in grinding poverty, and discusses a range of policies that can help them.

Changing the Face of Hunger: The Story of How Liberals, Conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, and People of Faith are Joining Forces in a New Movement to Help the Hungry, the Poor, and the Oppressed by Tony Hall, Thomas Nelson, 2007. Congressman Tony Hall uses his experience in Ethiopia and several other developing nations to address the causes and solutions of poverty, and the necessity of cooperation throughout the political world.

Creating a Habitat for Humanity: No Hands But Yours by Jonathan T.M. Reckford, Fortress Press, 2007.  This book addresses the issues of affordable housing and homelessness, and how Habitat for Humanity changes the lives of not only its housing recipients, but also participating builders.

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time by Jeffrey Sachs, Penguin Press, 2005. The economic advisor to the United Nations and several countries presents nine specific steps for eliminating the world’s worst poverty by 2025.

The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty by Peter Singer, Random House, 2009. This book tries to answer two tough questions: why people in affluent countries should help fight global poverty, and how much each person should give.

Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matter Most by Wes Stafford, WaterBrook Press, 2007. Dr. Wes Stafford uses his experiences as a boy raised in West Africa to encourage readera to invest in the future of their children and the less fortunate children of others.

Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America by Mike Yankoski, Multnomah Press, 2005. This is the story of Mike Yankoski, a Christian convicted to go and live among the homeless for six months to bring to light the issues that plague the oft-forgotten and impoverished of our society.

Up and Out of Poverty: The Social Marketing Solution by Philip Kotler and Nancy R. Lee, Wharton School Publishing, 2009. Poverty is considered from the perspective of the marketer – what marketing strategies and techniques can do to assess and help reduce poverty.

Voices of the Poor—Can Anyone Hear Us? by Deepa Narayan, Oxford University Press, 2000. This book is part of a research initiative that addresses poverty from the perspective of the poor. Spanning 50 countries, the voices of over 40,000 men and women are collected and used to help change the conventional definition of poverty.

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, Moody Publishers, 2009.  This book centers on the incorrect assumptions Christians may have about the causes of poverty.

The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good by William Easterly, Penguin Press, 2007. Using statistical analyses, Easterly explains why traditional aid programs can actually make things worse, and demonstrates the victories of locally planned and executed efforts.