"The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution"

New from Princeton University Press: The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution: A Thousand-Year History by Mark Peterson.

About the book, from the publisher:

A provocative new history of America’s constitution and an urgent call to action for a nation confronted by challenges its founders could never have imagined

The American Revolution occurred at a time when Britain’s constitutional order failed to adapt to the extraordinary growth of its colonies. The framers designed an American constitution to succeed where Britain’s had faltered, planning for continuous population and territorial expansion that would eventually cross the continent. Yet by the end of the nineteenth century, it was already ill-suited for an increasingly urban, industrialized society, and the transformations of the twentieth century have pushed it to a breaking point. This book charts the history and aims of the American constitution from its origins in an agrarian past to the grave crisis we face today.

Mark Peterson traces the American constitutional tradition to the control of land in medieval England, showing how the founders incorporated the aspirations of Magna Carta with the administrative principles of the Domesday Book, a meticulous survey and valuation of landed property commissioned by William the Conqueror. This framework encouraged the growth of democratic self-government in a young nation. It also institutionalized the colonization of territory and the expulsion of Indigenous peoples, establishing a legal blueprint for transforming tribal lands into revenue-yielding real estate for settlers. Peterson’s riveting narrative paints an arresting picture of a dynamic republic whose frame of government has changed enormously to meet the challenges of the modern age but whose written constitution has changed very little.

Marking the 250th anniversary of American independence, The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution reveals how this widening disconnect threatens the very existence of our democracy. It calls for a constitution that sustains the ideals developed over the past thousand years while meeting the challenges of the future.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Rogue States"

New from Cornell University Press: Rogue States: The Making of America's Global War on Terror by Matthew A. Frakes.

About the book, from the publisher:

In Rogue States, Matthew A. Frakes reveals the connection between US national security strategy at the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the War on Terror. Throughout a series of crises from 1981 to 1991, the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush recognized that emerging threats to global security―terrorism, regional aggression, weapons of mass destruction, and narcotics trafficking―converged into a single growing phenomenon that they eventually called "rogue states." In confronting Libya, Panama, and Iraq, Reagan and Bush created the strategies that drove US national security after 9/11.

Frakes argues that Reagan and Bush's improvised responses to crises of terrorism, aggression, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction―culminating in the Gulf War of 1991―established a lasting enforcement role for the United States against rogue states in the post–Cold War world. The effort to redefine US national security around this threat created a new framework to guide the country's approach to global security after the Cold War―one that ensured after 9/11 that the War on Terror became a war on rogue states.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Gems and the New Science"

New from the University of Chicago Press: Gems and the New Science: Matter and Value in the Scientific Revolution by Michael Bycroft.

About the book, from the publisher:

The first book-length history of gems in early modern science offers a thought-provoking new take on the Scientific Revolution.

In Gems and the New Science, Michael Bycroft argues that gems were connected to major developments in the “new science” between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. As he explains, precious and semiprecious stones were at the center of dramatic shifts in natural knowledge in early modern Europe. They were used to investigate luminescence, electricity, combustion, chemical composition, and more. They were collected by naturalists; measured by mathematicians; and rubbed, burned, and dissolved by experimental philosophers. This led to the demise of the traditional way of classifying gems—which grouped them by transparency, color, and locality—and the turn to density, refraction, chemistry, and crystallography as more reliable guides for sorting these substances.

The science of gems shows that material evaluation was as important as material production in the history of science. It also shows the value of seeing science as the product of the interaction between different material worlds. The book begins by bringing these insights to bear on five themes of the Scientific Revolution. Each of the subsequent chapters deals with a major episode in early modern science, from the expansion of natural history in the sixteenth century to the emergence of applied science early in the nineteenth century. This important work is not only the first book-length history of the science of gems but also a fresh interpretation of the Scientific Revolution and an argument for using a new form of materialism to understand the evolution of science.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Democratic Falsehoods"

New from Oxford University Press: Democratic Falsehoods: Legitimate Fictions in Public Speech by Maxime Lepoutre.

About the book, from the publisher:

Falsehoods can gravely endanger democratic societies. When disinformation circulates widely, it can alter the outcome of elections, erode trust in democratic institutions, undermine support for critically important policies, or even incite violence. It is therefore natural to conclude that falsehoods should have no place whatsoever in democratic life.

Democratic Falsehoods argues that this conclusion is nevertheless too quick. Although many falsehoods pose a clear and serious democratic threat, other falsehoods are more benign, and others still can play an actively positive role within democratic public discourse. This book explores how falsehoods can contribute to performing key functions of democratic public discourse, such as countering hate speech, mobilising collective action, supporting just wars of self-defence, representing constituents, or even promoting public understanding of pressing scientific matters. Can falsehoods advance, rather than hinder, such goals? Under what conditions are they likely to do so? And when, if ever, is it permissible to deploy such falsehoods in a democratic society?

By investigating these questions, Democratic Falsehoods aims to show that falsehoods can sometimes play a legitimate role in democratic public life. It demonstrates, moreover, that some falsehoods are legitimate, not in spite of, but precisely because of our commitment to democracy. Finally, but crucially, it provides a comprehensive account of how these falsehoods differ from-and, indeed, can help to counteract-the dangerous falsehoods plaguing contemporary democracies.

Visit Maxime Lepoutre's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Answering to Us"

New from Princeton University Press: Answering to Us: Why Democracy Demands Accountability by Minh Ly.

About the book, from the publisher:

A new theory of democracy that emphasizes equal accountability and explains the crisis of democracy and authoritarianism as a misunderstanding of the popular will

Elected authoritarians lead governments that persecute minorities and attack the rule of law—and yet they claim to be democratic, because they hold elections said to represent the will of the people. In this urgent and revelatory book, Minh Ly challenges these authoritarian claims by proposing a new conception of democracy that is based not on a uniform popular will but on equal accountability: the idea that we must be equally empowered to hold our officials democratically accountable. Equal accountability requires the very rights and institutions—from freedom of the press and freedom to protest to independent courts and congressional oversight—that elected authoritarians threaten.

Drawing on political thinkers that include Herodotus, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, John Rawls, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King, Ly addresses issues that are both piercingly present and historically enduring. He challenges the widespread misconception that democracy is about carrying out the people’s will, as defined by the majority and executed by the president, arguing that this ignores the people’s diversity and enables the stigmatizing of minorities. Ly affirms that we must govern ourselves in a democracy—that we should be the ones ultimately in charge of our government. To be freely self-governing, we must be able to hold our government accountable not only in elections but also in office. Elected authoritarians, Ly contends, actively disempower us by taking away our rights and institutions to hold our government accountable. We must empower citizens with the resources and civic education to demand accountability and to exercise the vital democratic duties of oversight over our officials and solidarity with each other.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Beyond the Stadium"

New from Stanford University Press: Beyond the Stadium: How Sports Change the World by Andrew Bertoli.

About the book, from the publisher:

There are two popular and competing viewpoints on sports. Many consider them a mere distraction from important social and political problems. Others champion sports as a powerful force for good: teaching character, promoting peace, and encouraging racial and gender equality. Andrew Bertoli shows that these dominant perspectives underestimate the full extent to which sports impact modern life. Sports can worsen relations between nations, divide countries internally, and disadvantage individuals from underprivileged backgrounds. Sports can also, however, build social capital, make people feel more connected, and provide participants with physical and cognitive benefits. Much depends on how people approach sports, both at the individual and societal levels. This book highlights some of the profound and startling ways that sports and politics have interacted throughout recent history, including: how the Olympic torch relay was started by the Nazis and reflected Hitler's ambition to dominate Europe; the twentieth-century feminist movement to keep women out of the Olympics and the motivations of the female sports leaders who led it; how Michael Jordan's determination to stay out of politics during his career may have made him the most politically impactful athlete in history. Bertoli's insightful analysis challenges many conventional views while also helping readers understand how they can better utilize sports for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Visit Andrew Bertoli's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Limits of Revolution"

New from the University of Texas Press: The Limits of Revolution: Worker Citizens in a Bolivian Mining City by Elena McGrath.

About the book, from the publisher:

The role of Bolivian mining families in revolution and politics.

In 1952, Bolivia’s Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) swept into power, promising collective prosperity through class-based nationalism. The heroic symbol of the movement was the worker citizen—the formerly indigenous miner who would fuel economic development in a nationalized mining economy.

The Limits of Revolution explores this history from the worker barrios of the copper mining city of Corocoro. As the state walked back its promises of worker political power at the national level, mining men and women in Corocoro struggled—through protests, court battles, and barfights—to maintain the benefits of worker citizenship locally. After the MNR fell to a military dictatorship in 1964, however, families retreated to defending the nationalized mining company against an increasingly hostile state. In this battle to keep the revolution alive, the expansive potential of worker citizenship disappeared and old racial exclusions resurfaced. Largely forgotten today, Bolivia’s experience of revolution exposes the contradictions of postcolonial nationalism and sheds light on Latin America’s transition from Cold War–era class politics to twenty-first-century Pink Tide politics.

--Marshal Zeringue

"1968: The Year the World Shook"

New from Oxford University Press: 1968: The Year the World Shook by Alexander Bloom.

About the book, from the publisher:

It has been called the year that changed everything, the postwar watershed in which the forces that shaped public and private life erupted, everywhere and all at once--New York, Paris, Prague, Mexico City. Beginning with the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in January and continuing through the inauguration of Richard Nixon as president the following January, 1968 witnessed the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the Democratic Convention in Chicago, and the irresistible rise of a rebellious spirit that questioned every form of authority. Each month brought a fresh wave of upheaval with shared undercurrents---deep frustrations, bold aspirations, and a growing conviction that change, whether peaceful and violent, was inevitable. Political unrest, civil rights struggles, anti-war protests, generational shifts: the causes were manifold and complex, yet their convergence was unmistakable.

Alexander Bloom captures the explosive energy of a world in upheaval, illuminating how the events of 1968 were driven by youth movements, inspired by music and the subversive pull of countercultural ideals, all of which transcended borders. In Prague, young people tuned into Western radio, embracing the same sounds and messages reverberating through London and San Francisco. Styles of dress, personal expression, and radical ideals spread rapidly, fueled by an expanding media. The revolution was in fact being televised, making distant struggles immediate and personal, and turning local movements into global moments.

Together, these forces made 1968 a year unlike any before or any since. For many, it felt as if the ground beneath them had shifted. Political and social transformation seemed not just possible but imminent, across the nation and around the world. Not all the promises or expectations of that year bore fruit and the backlash it generated remains with us. Still, it marked an irrevocable turning point in world history. In 1968, the world didn't just change---it shook to its core.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Company Towns"

New from the University of Chicago Press: Company Towns: Industry Power and the Historical Foundations of Public Mistrust by Elizabeth Mitchell Elder.

About the book, from the publisher:

Reveals the deep, historical roots of public distrust in former mining areas in the US, shedding new light on the corrosive feedback loops that persist today.

In Company Towns, Elizabeth Mitchell Elder examines the long-lasting political legacies of mining-company dominance in the Midwest and Appalachia. While the economic consequences of deindustrialization are well-known, Elder shifts the focus to a more insidious problem: the political dysfunction that took root long before the mines shut down.

Drawing on historical and administrative data, Elder shows that the coal industry hindered the growth of local government capacity in the places where it was dominant. Mining companies also engaged in outright corruption to shape local governments, practices which local elites then carried forward. When mining companies withdrew, they left behind not just economic decline, but local governments ill-equipped to govern.

These patterns have had enduring consequences for public life. Elder shows how these historical experiences have fueled a broader cynicism toward government, in which citizens expect little from public institutions and doubt the usefulness of elections. Company Towns underscores the consequences of corporate dominance for state capacity, public opinion, and democratic accountability today.

Visit Elizabeth Mitchell Elder's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"No Restraint"

New from NYU Press: No Restraint: Disabled Children and Institutionalized Violence in America's Schools by Charles Bell.

About the book, from the publisher:

A wake-up call on the use and abuse of restraints against disabled children in public schools

Over 100,000 students are restrained and secluded in locked rooms throughout US public schools; the overwhelming majority are students with disabilities. Despite pleas from parents, disability rights organizations, and at least seventeen state Attorneys General, Congress has refused to pass laws to protect these students from the horrors of harmful restraint and seclusion practices. In No Restraint, Charles Bell argues that seclusion and restraint are so harmful and traumatic that they provoke night terrors, a profound aversion to school, and self-harm in children. Students reported being subjected to aggressive restraint tactics that left bruises on their arms and legs, dragged into seclusion rooms that resemble solitary confinement cells in prisons, and locked inside.

Featuring extensive interviews, ranging across fifteen states, with parents of Black and white children with disabilities as well as university teacher education program directors, Bell explores how parents of children with disabilities perceive the impact of school seclusion and restraint on their families and investigates how the training school officials receive contributes to the misuse of these practices. Among parents, the trauma associated with their child’s restraint and seclusion in school led to physical and mental health challenges, as well as long-term job loss as they advocated for their children. Additionally, as parents challenged harmful restraint and seclusion practices in legal proceedings, school officials often retaliated by filing claims with child protective services, targeting spouses employed within the district, and involving law enforcement.

A deeply moving and timely work, No Restraint exposes how schools function as structurally violent anti-disability institutions. This book will encourage school officials and policymakers to rethink harmful disciplinary strategies and craft stronger policy guidelines that protect children from these practices.

Visit Charles Bell's website.

--Marshal Zeringue