It won’t happen to me.I’m too busy to worry about a living will.My family will know what to do.No one wants to plan for death or incapacitating illness. But, as the emotional legal battle in the Terri
It won't happen to me.I'm too busy to worry about a living will.My family will know what to do.No one wants to plan for death or incapacitating illness. But, as the emotional legal battle in the Terr
From the cloning of Dolly the sheep a decade ago to more recent advances in embryonic stem cell research, new genetic technologies have often spurred polemical, ill-informed debates. Perhaps nowhere
Low voter turnout is a serious problem in American politics today, but it is not a new one. Its roots lay in the 1920s when, for the first time in nearly a century, a majority of eligible Americans di
Ingraham (community and public affairs, Binghamton U.) brings together nine essays on how government managers and elected officials use management and systems to improve performance. It uses data from
Although bats are often thought of as cave dwellers, many species depend on forests for all or part of the year. Of the 45 species of bats in North America, more than half depend on forests, using th
This special issue of American Quarterly asks powerful and poignant questions about technology and its effects on our bodies, minds, families, economies, armies, and academies. Technology is an entry
While the United States was founded on abstract principles of certain "unalienable rights," its legal traditions are based in British common law, a fact long decried by progressive reformers. Common
Radio "shock jocks," Super Bowl entertainment, music videos, and internet spam—all of these topics inspire passionate disagreements about whether and how to regulate sexually explicit material. But ev
Because it provided the dominant framework for "development" of poor, postcolonial countries, modernization theory ranks among the most important constructs of twentieth-century social science. In Ma
From marsupials to bats to carnivores to cetaceans, fully one-fourth of the world's mammals can be found on the South American continent. Rexford D. Lord provides the most vivid snapshot of South Ame
While the remains of its massive aqueducts serve as tangible reminders of Rome's efforts to control its supply of drinking water, there are scant physical reminders that other waters sometimes raged
In the first edition of Women in Greek Myth, Mary R. Lefkowitz convincingly challenged narrow, ideological interpretations of the roles of female characters in Greek mythology. Where some scholars sa
In the past half century scholars have downplayed the significance of Lorenzo de' Medici (1449–1492), called "the Magnificent," as a patron of the arts. Less wealthy than his grandfa
The Chicago Tribune has called Richard Burgin "among our finest artists of love at its most desperate," a critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed him "one of America’s most distinctive storytell
Depression is a mood disorder that affects one in ten Americans in any given year. At one time too stigmatized to be mentioned in polite conversation, depression is now discussed frankly in the media,
Depression is a mood disorder that affects one in ten Americans in any given year. At one time too stigmatized to be mentioned in polite conversation, depression is now discussed frankly in the media,
In the early years of aviation, pilots were frequently forced to make blind landings due to inclement weather, a problem that led to proposals for a dizzying array of technological solutions from the
How does one go about organizing something as complicated as a strategic-missile or space-exploration program? Stephen B. Johnson here explores the answer -- systems management -- in a groundbreaking
From the familiar painted turtle basking on a log to the majestic long-lived giant tortoises, turtles are among the most fascinating animals on the planet. For many years Franck Bonin, Bernard Devaux
Tragedy Walks the Streets challenges the conventional understanding that the evolution of European drama effectively came to a halt during France's Revolutionary era. In this interdisciplinary history
While American leaders wage war on extremists in the Middle East, they are dangerously detached from a potentially greater threat closer to home. In Breeding Bin Ladens, Zachary Shore asserts that th
Drawing on primary sources made available to scholars only after the archives of the Holy Office were unsealed in 1998, Negotiating Darwin chronicles how the Vatican reacted when six Catholics—five c
This volume studies elections as a core institution of liberal democracy in the context of newly democratizing countries. Political scientist Staffan I. Lindberg gathers data from every nationally co
Here, Kenneth J. Meier and Laurence J. O'Toole Jr. present a timely analysis of working democracy, arguing that bureaucracy—often considered antithetical to fundamental democratic principles—can actua
Bowling Alone, the title of Robert Putnam's 1995 article (later a bestselling book) perfectly captured a sense of national unease: Somewhere along the way, America had become a nation divided by apath
Here, Conor O'Dwyer introduces the phenomenon of runaway state-building as a consequence of patronage politics in underdeveloped, noncompetitive party systems. Analyzing the cases of three newly demo
Vigilant Memory focuses on the particular role of Emmanuel Levinas's thought in reasserting the ethical parameters for poststructuralist criticism in the aftermath of the Holocaust. More than simply
Life in the Chesapeake Bay is the most important book ever published on America's largest estuary. Since publication of the first edition in 1984, tens of thousands of naturalists, boaters, fishermen,
Life in the Chesapeake Bay is the most important book ever published on America's largest estuary. Since publication of the first edition in 1984, tens of thousands of naturalists, boaters, fishermen
Written by a neurobiologist and a psychologist, this volume presents a new theory of olfactory perception. Drawing on research in neuroscience, physiology, and ethology, Donald A. Wilson and Richard J
Lindemann (history, U. of Miami) reconstructs the mystery surrounding the violent death of a counterfeit Milanese count, Joseph Visconti, at the hands of an erstwhile Prussian lieutenant, the Baron vo
This timely volume reviews current data on the effects of estrogen on the central nervous system, highlighting clinical aspects of this topic. Experts from the fields of psychiatry, pharmacology, neur
There was once a time when we could not measure sound, color, blood pressure, or even time. We now find ourselves in the throes of a measurement revolution, from the laboratory to the sports arena, f
For four decades, Venezuela prided itself for having one of the most stable representative democracies in Latin America. Then, in 1992, Hugo Chavez Frias attempted an unsuccessful military coup. Six y
In 1894, French army captain Alfred Dreyfus, an Alsatian Jew, was wrongly accused of passing military secrets to the Germans. The ensuing scandal has often been studied for what it reveals about Frenc
Approaching the topic from the perspective of political economy, Aldrich (economics, Smith College) narrates the history of railroad safety in the United States. He looks at a number of themes involvi
Senility haunts the landscape of the self-made man, asserts historian Jesse Ballenger. Here, Ballenger traces the transformation of senility as a cultural category from the late nineteenth century to
This accessible work is the first in more than seventy-five years to discuss the many roles of adrenaline in regulating the "inner world" of the body. David S. Goldstein, an international authority a
In 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt identified "four essential human freedoms." Three of these -- freedom from fear, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion -- had long been understood as defining
