 | Ian Shapiro explores how governments merit citizens' allegiancy in "The Moral Foundations of Politics." |
The following is a list of books recently or soon-to-be published 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.
In his new book, Ian Shapiro explores the question: When do governments merit our allegiance, and when should they be denied it? Shapiro discusses the different answers that have been proposed by the major political theorists in the utilitarian, Marxist and social contract traditions over the past four centuries. Showing how these political philosophies have all been shaped by the core values of the Enlightenment, he demonstrates that each one contains insights that survive their failures as comprehensive doctrines and says each should inform our thinking about political legitimacy. He explores the main arguments for and against democracy from Plato's time until today, and argues that it offers the best resources for realizing the Enlightenment's promise and managing internal tensions. As such, Shapiro maintains, democracy supplies the most attractive basis for political legitimacy.
In "Helping Your Child Overcome an Eating Disorder," experts associated with the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders offer parents skills for helping their children at home, one of the most important fronts in the fight against eating disorders, the authors say. They offer suggestions and step-by-step exercises to show parents how to communicate with their children about eating behaviors; created a recovery-friendly home environment; handle mealtimes, food shopping and cooking; avoid power struggles over food; communicate with the larger family about their child's eating disorder; and respond effectively to the child's emotional needs. They also provide tips for finding the right therapist, insights into the causes of eating disorders and strategies for coping with co-occurring illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, anxiety disorders and depression. Kelly Brownell, professor of psychology and director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, wrote the foreword to the book.
In their new book, Jonathan Brent and Vladimir Naumov explored top-secret documents from the KGB and other Russian state and party archives to probe Stalin's last criminal conspiracy. In January 1953, Stalin disclosed that a vast conspiracy among Jewish doctors to murder Kremlin leaders had been exposed, and mass arrest followed. Brent and Naumov examine the infamous plot and the lingering question of whether Stalin himself fabricated the conspiracy, which he claimed was led by U.S. Jews under the direction of the U.S. government. The authors demonstrate that the plot was invented by the Soviet leader, and they also explore the circumstances of Stalin's final days, including his death, at age 73, after collapsing at a dinner party just two months after making the claim that doctors were conspiring against him. In their new book, the authors suggest that the Soviet leader may, in fact, have been killed by rat poison.
T H I S
Yale Books in Brief
The Moral Foundations of Politics
Ian Shapiro, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor and chair of political science
(Yale University Press)
Helping Your Child Overcome
an Eating Disorder: What You Can Do at Home
Marlene B. Schwartz, associate research scientist and lecturer in psychology; Bonnie S. Gordic, administrative assistant at the Child Study Center; Brenda S. Coyle, clinical director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders; and Bethany A. Teachman
(New Harbinger Publications)
Stalin's Last Crime: The Definitive Account of Stalin's Plot Against the Jewish Doctors, 1948-1953
Jonathan Brent, associate director and editorial director of Yale University Press, and Vladimir Naumov
(HarperCollins)
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Message to the Yale community about the U.S. war with Iraq
Remembrances of Things PastEire recalls boyhood during Cuban turmoil
Nuland revisits life with a difficult father
Stankiewicz tells tale of survival in WWII
'Oldest College Daily' marking 125th year with panels, exhibit
Kumpati Narendra named as Cheel Professor
Christopher Udry appointed to Heinz chair
Actor Christopher Reeve to talk about stem cell research
Historian will compare Bible, Constitution
Illuminated manuscripts on view in Beinecke exhibit
The success of NAFTA to be debated at conference
Lectures focus on ethical issues posed by language
Program teams Yale scientists, middle school students
Study: Gender gap in smile rates likely not 'hard-wired'
Exhibition highlights drawings of ancient Pergamon Altar
'What Ever' takes audience on American odyssey
Symposium explores architectural dilemmas in the Middle East
Event showcases academic careers awaiting in university libraries
Yale Rep's Audio Description performances open window . . .
Architects chosen for renovations of Trumbull and Silliman colleges
The art around us
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
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