This illustration by William Hogarth, titled "The Idle 'Prentice Turned Away and Sent to Sea," is on the cover of Ala Alryyes' new book "Original Subjects: The Child, the Novel and the Nation."

Yale Books in Brief

The following is a list of books published recently by members of the Yale community. Descriptions are based on material provided by the publishers. To submit information about books for this column, send e-mail to opa@yale.edu. Original Subjects: The Child, the Novel, and the Nation Ala Alryyes, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and English (Harvard University Press, 2001) "Original Subjects" argues that the 18th- and early 19th-century novel narrates the lives, not of the middle class, but of its children -- troubled, homeless and all of a sudden independent. Analyzing the interweaving of the fortunes of the nation-state and the child-hero over a wide stretch of time, "Original Subjects" relates political and social theory to a wide selection of novels in both the English and French traditions, focusing on works by Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Rousseau, Diderot and Walter Scott. Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid edited by Robert J. Sternberg, the IBM Professor of Psychology and Education (Yale University Press, 2002) This book is the first devoted to investigating what the most current psychological research can tell us about stupidity in everyday life. The contributors to the volume, renowned scholars in various areas of human intelligence, present examples of people messing up their lives, and they offer insights into the reasons for such behavior. From a variety of perspectives, the contributors discuss the nature and theory of stupidity; how stupidity contributes to stupid behavior; and whether stupidity is measurable. The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania: Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939­1944 Herman Kruk; edited and introduced by Benjamin Harshav, the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature; translated by Barbara Harshav, Lecturer of Comparative Literature (Yale University Press, 2002) For five horrifying years in Vilna, the Vilna ghetto and concentration camps in Estonia, Herman Kruk recorded his own experiences as well as the life and death of the Jewish community of the city symbolically called "The Jerusalem of Lithuania." This chronicle includes many recovered pages of Kruk's diaries and provides an eyewitness account of the annihilation of the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. This volume includes the Yiddish edition of Kruk's diaries published in 1961 and translated here for the first time, as well as many widely scattered pages of the chronicles. Earthly Necessities: Economic Lives in Early Modern Britain Keith Wrightson, Professor of History (Yale University Press, paperback, 2002) In this redefinition of the economic history of early modern Britain, Keith Wrightson combines the research of economic historians with the insights of social and cultural history. He describes the basic institutions and relationships of economic life, traces the processes of change and demonstrates the effects of these changes on men, women and children at all social levels. The Translator John Crowley, Lecturer in English (William Morrow, 2002) John Crowley tells a tale set in a time when a writer's words -- especially forbidden ones -- could be powerful enough to change the course of history. In 1962 at a large college in the Midwest, Kit Malone, a young woman with a troubled history, registers for a class to be taught by Innokenti Falin, an exiled Russian poet. The two become friends, and Falin asks Malone to help translate his work. As the tension of the cold war accelerates toward a crisis in Cuba, their friendship grows into love. Years later, Malone realizes what really happened on the last night she spent with Falin, while America held its breath against the threat of war. Voting with Dollars: A New Paradigm for Campaign Finance Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, and Ian Ayres, the William K. Townsend Professor of Law (Yale University Press, 2002) In this book, two leading law professors challenge the existing campaign reform agenda. Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres build on the example of the secret ballot and propose a system of "secret donation booths" for campaign contributions. They unveil a plan in which the government provides each voter with 50 "Patriot dollars" for presidential elections. Citizens anonymously send their Patriot dollars to their favorite candidates or political organizations. Americans are free to make additional contributions, but they must also give these gifts anonymously. Because candidates cannot identify who provided the funds, it will be much harder for big contributors to buy political influence. And the need for politicians to compete for the Patriot dollars will give much more power to the people, argue the authors. The Diligent: Worlds of the Slave Trade Robert Harms, Professor of History (Basic Books, 2001) The slave trade is one of the best known yet least understood processes in history, says Robert Harms. The popular image of traders in slave ships going to Africa and rounding up slaves as if they were cattle is not only historically inaccurate, it also disguises the fact that the slave trade was a highly organized Atlantic-wide system that required close collaboration at the highest levels of government in Europe, Africa and the New World, he notes. Using the private journal of First Lieutenant Robert Durand, and supplementing it with a wealth of archival research, Harms re-creates in detail the voyage of the French slave ship The Diligent. The Yale Child Study Center Guide to Understanding Your Child Dr. Linda C. Mayes, the Arnold Gesell Associate Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology at the Child Study Center, and the late Dr. Donald J. Cohen, the Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology at the Child Study Center (Little, Brown and Company, 2002) Children don't grow up simply by adding inches and pounds -- child development is a much richer mix of physical, cognitive, social and emotional growth. While children make progress at their own pace, parents can help (or, occasionally, hinder) them, note the authors. Understanding the many ways in which children grow is the essence of parenting. Drs. Linda Mayes and Donald Cohen's approach helps parents understand the nature of a problem, their role in it and response to it, and when and where to go for help with concerns such as learning disabilities, bullying, sibling rivalry, mental health and depression, anger and other difficult feelings, and divorce. Mind and Mechanism Drew McDermott, Professor of Computer Science (The MIT Press, 2001) In "Mind and Mechanism," Drew McDermott takes a computational approach to the mind-body problem (how it is that a purely physical entity, the brain, can have experiences). He begins by demonstrating the falseness of dualist approaches, which separate the physical and mental realms. He then surveys what has been accomplished in artificial intelligence, differentiating what we know how to build from what we can imagine building. McDermott then details a computational theory of consciousness -- claiming that the mind can be modeled entirely in terms of computation -- and deals with various possible objections. He also discusses cultural consequences of the theory, including its impact on religion and ethics. T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Law School helps launch Legal Affairs magazine Skull discovery boosts theory that all humans came from a single species Investor confidence 'unshaken,' according to new indexes . . . Yale Library honors aviator Lindbergh's 100th birthday In Focus: Yale Cancer Center Academy pays tribute to noted Yale composer Physicist's honor recognizes his research on quantum dots New Drama Dean hails theater's ability to change lives Non-native but common reeds in Connecticut are changing the state's . . . MEDICAL SCHOOL NEWS Grants to help bring smoking research to policymakers Obese youths at high risk for diabetes, says study Virus that 'vanishes' raises questions about roots of brain damage Pearson is honored by the American Pediatric Society Robert C. Johnson, former dean of the Divinity School, dies Students win travel fellowships for summer research abroad Graduate student forum to explore 'the art of great teaching' Health-care experts to discuss challenges and dilemmas of 'patient-driven care' Hellenic studies program to host conference on modern Greece Impact of new technologies on architecture to be explored Conference will focus on the problem of illegal logging in tropical forests Medical anthropologists to discuss their work Notice from the New Haven Police Department Yale Books in Brief Campus Notes Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News|Bulletin Board Yale Scoreboard|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs Home|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page