Expanding on the film's arguments, the book Waiting for Superman explores politically charged topics through a series of essays by thinkers at the leading edge of educational innovation. It shows how failing schools destroy neighborhoods— not the reverse—and how research reveals that dedicated, attentive teachers are what help at-risk kids succeed. With candor, poignancy, and hope, this book encourages those inspired by the film to join the battle to save American education and our children's future.

Karl Weber is a writer and editor based in New York. He collaborated with Muhammad Yunus on his bestseller Creating a World Without Poverty and has edited two previous Participant Media Guides, Food, Inc. and Cane Toads and Other Rogue Species.

Davis Guggenheim is a critically acclaimed, Academy Award®-winning director and producer, whose work includes It Might Get Loud, the 2009 documentary featuring Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White; and An Inconvenient Truth featuring former Vice President Al Gore, which won the Oscar® for Best Documentary in 2007. More recently, Guggenheim directed Barack Obama's biographical film for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, as well as Obama's 30-minute primetime infomercial. Guggenheim has also directed many television series including Deadwood, NYPD Blue, and 24.