Chuck likes the man's life story, coming from a poor background and working hard to make his money.

BBC: Herman Cain captures the heart of many conservatives

Roland came from a poor background.

ECONOMIST: A remarkable colleague

He came from a poor rural background, but he had managed, in the nineteen-sixties, to get a good education at a school for future teachers.

NEWYORKER: Silver or Lead

So the distribution of mimetic species should be one of local clusters of good mimics, against a wider background of poor ones which may mean that a poorly mimetic species outnumbers a good one.

ECONOMIST: Insects and mimicry

These are described as "resilient" pupils, who achieve high standards of attainment by international standards, despite coming from a background that was poor relative to their own country.

BBC: UK pupils 'among least likely to overcome tough start'

Sure enough, Mr. Hare's unhappy lovers embody England's latter-day class conflicts: Tom (Brian Mani) is a nouveau-riche Thatcherite entrepreneur with a boorish streak, while Kyra (Greta Wohlrabe) is a chastened idealist who has renounced her upper-middle-class background to teach poor children.

WSJ: Skylight | Heroes | Richard III | American Players Theatre | Passionate Acting, Impeccable Setting | Theater Review by Terry Teachout

The background to the conference is one of poor employment data and prospects.

FORBES: Labor Pains

This echoes two interesting background motifs of the book: that lawlessness and anarchy hurt the poor and weak most of all, and that the greed of corrupt clerics is particularly odious.

ECONOMIST: Children's literature: Quest fulfilled | The

They were people from every background and every walk of life: black, white, rich and poor, young and old.

WHITEHOUSE: A White House Reception for Justice Kagan

Its innovative commenda, a partnership in which capital-poor sailors and rich Venetians shared the profits from voyages, allowed those of modest background to rise through the ranks.

ECONOMIST: Creating economic wealth