AEI Press
Pages: 250
Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-8447-4319-6 • Hardback • June 2010 • $29.95 • (£22.99)
978-0-8447-4330-1 • eBook • June 2010 • $28.50 • (£21.99)
James Q. Wilson lectures at Pepperdine University and Boston College. Wilson received a lifetime achievement award from the American Political Science Association and the Bradley Prize from the Bradley Foundation. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. Wilson is the chairman of the council of Academic Advisers of the American Enterprise Institute.
Part 1 Acknowlegements
Part 2 Preface
Part 3 Part 1: The Changing Nature of American Politics
Chapter 4 1: American Politics Then and Now
Chapter 5 2: "Public Intelectuals" and Public Policy
Chapter 6 3: The Rediscovery of Charcter: Private Virtue and Public Policy
Chapter 7 4: The Press at War
Chapter 8 5: Defining the "Peace Party"
Chapter 9 6: Bowling with Others
Chapter 10 7: How Divided Are We?
Part 11 Part 2: Religion and Politics
Chapter 12 8: Religion and Polarization
Chapter 13 9: Why Don't Jews Like Christians Who Like Them?
Chapter 14 10: What Makes a Terrorist?
Chapter 15 11: The Reform Islam Needs
Chapter 16 12: Islam and Freedom
Chapter 17 13: Democracy for All?
Part 18 Part 3: Heredity and Politics
Chapter 19 14: The DNA of Politics: Genes Shape Our Beliefs, Our Values, and Even Our Votes
Chapter 20 15: The Future of Blame
Part 21 Conclusion: America Versus the World
Part 22 Index
Part 23 About the Author
All of us who write about politics today know this: To be a political commentator in James Q. Wilson's era is to know how Mel Torme must have felt being a singer in Frank Sinatra's era. We are all competing for the silver medal. Wilson has won the gold. These essays show why.
— George F. Will
For over forty years, James Q. Wilson has been America's leading public intellectual—and perhaps the world's. Touching on almost every important aspect of our politics, public policy, national character, morality, and culture, these masterful essays draw together his own encyclopaedic command of the social facts, the imperishable political wisdom of Aristotle, and the felicitous wit and concision of Dr. Johnson. They will reward thoughtful readers generations after today's pompous pundits are long forgotten.
— Peter H. Schuck, Yale University
The publication of these essays—including the classic ‘The Rediscovery of Character'—is an event to be celebrated. Whether you agree or disagree with his interpretation of American politics, James Q. Wilson never fails to illuminate and provoke.
— William A. Galston, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Wilson is at his best when he argues from close readings of historical evidence and social science data, which often yield trenchant insights—on the growth and solidification of federal programs, the unimportance of school spending and class size to educational outcomes compared with intangibles like academic expectations and discipline.
— Publishers Weekly, April 2010
Wilson's latest book collects 15 essays....They are written for a general audience, not in the sense of being dumbed-down, but of addressing questions of concern to the educated public in a manner free from academic jargon and pretense. Those not familiar with Wilson's work will discover what it means to bring social-science evidence to bear on important contemporary problems....Wilson is a master at making complex issues understandable....In a world filled with so many smart-alec political analysts, sober teachers like James Q. Wilson are in exceedingly short supply.
— Claremont Review of Books