Niccolò Machiavelli, the Florentine public servant and political theorist best known for his brief yet highly influential work of political philosophy, The Prince, was born on this day in 1469. Though the man’s name may be now synonymous with cunning and deceitful political tactics, the debate as to whether Machiavelli’s
More great links this week: @jonathasmello clues us in on John Cage’s rather strange dietary habits through the video posted above. @drshow (The Diane Rehm Show) links to their interview with Taliban author Ahmed Rashid while @WashUnplugged prepares for their Monday airing. @Fictional 100 and @celticglambert both recommend Alberto Manguel’s
This week, Foreword Magazine announced the finalists for their 2009 Book of the Year Awards, which were selected from 1,400 entries in 60 categories, representing more than 360 publishers. Yale University Press picked up 10 nominations in eight categories, with two YUP titles represented in both Philosophy and History. Click
The following article was originally published by CUESA and also appeared on CivilEats.com: It's citrus season in California, and yet many of us are drinking orange juice out of cartons — juice from Florida oranges picked last spring, stored without oxygen and then flavored with synthetically produced "flavor packs." I
He may be known as the Man of Steel, but after yesterday’s record-setting sale of Action Comics #1 for $1 million, Superman has officially gone platinum. The transaction smashed the previous comic book sale record, which was set in 2009 when another, less pristine copy of Action Comics #1sold for
Tuesday’s episode of NPR’s Planet Money features an extended piece on the booming spice economy of the Middle Ages, which seems to hold some of the earliest lessons in global economics. Always in high demand in the West, spices were not only used to enliven the bland European cuisine of
Each year, Fred Shapiro, editor of The Yale Book of Quotations, compiles a list of memorable quotations from the past twelve months. An entertaining mix of political missteps, slick advertising lingo, and plain old nonsense, his 2009 list adds some levity and perspective to the year in review. Recently, Shapiro
At the close of the UN Summit on Climate Change, diplomats may have left Copenhagen frustrated by the slow pace of progress, but as Yale professor of environmental policy, risk analysis, and political science John Wargo writes in his new book, Green Intelligence, the keys to environmental safety often begin
Last week’s announcement that Dubai World, a corporation owned by the government of the Arab Emirate known for its palm tree-shaped housing developments, would restructure $26 billion in debt sent shockwaves through the financial world. Today, Dubai stocks continued to fall precipitously, indicating that the worst may not yet be
Earlier this week, Stephen Colbert tapped Yale professor and YUP author Dan Esty to discuss the latest international hot topic: global warming. As a professor of Environmental Law and Policy with appointments at both the Yale Law School and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Esty offered a