Bookshelf

Recent Faculty Books and Productions

The research of this School appears principally in the form of books, and music and theater productions. These gems of the School provide new knowledge and analysis, innovation and insight, guidance for policy, and nourishment for lives.

Take a look —

2012

Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson

Why Nations Fail
Random House, 2012

Daron Acemoglu is the Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics

It is among the most significant questions in history: Why do some nations, become wealthy and powerful, while others remain mired in poverty? In an acclaimed, highly readable new book, economists Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson assert that above all else, political institutions—not culture, georgraphy, or natural resources—determine the wealth of nations. Info, videos, reviews

Amaranth Borsuk and Brad Bouse
Between Page and Screen
Siglio Press, 2012

Amaranth Borsuk is Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities, WHS, and CMS.

Amaranth Borsuk
Handiwork
Slope Editions, 2012

Amaranth Borsuk is Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities, WHS, and CMS.

Robert Kanigel
On An Irish Island
Knopf, 2012

Robert Kangiel is Professor of Science Writing.

On an Irish Island is a love letter to a vanished way of life, in which Kanigel, the highly praised author of The Man Who Knew Infinity, tells the story of the Great Blasket, a wild, beautiful island off the west coast of Ireland, renowned during the early 20th century for the rich communal life of its residents and the unadulterated Irish they spoke. With the Irish language vanishing elsewhere, the island became a magnet for scholars and writers during the Gaelic renaissance.

Samuel Jay Keyser
I Married a Travel Junkie
GemmaMedia Books, 2012

Samuel Jay Keyser is de Florez Professor Emeritus and Special Assistant to the Chancellor.

Alan Lightman
Mr. g
Pantheon, 2012

"With echoes of Calvino and Saramago, Mr. g celebrates the tragic and joyous nature of existence on the grandest possible scale."

Alan Lightman is Adjunct Professor in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, and an active research scientist in astronomy and physics for two decades. Lightman’s earlier novels include Einstein’s Dreams, an international best seller; Good Benito; and The Diagnosis, a finalist for the National Book Award; and Reunion. interview in The Atlantic; reviews

Bruno Perreau
Penser l'adoption. La gouvernance pastorale du genre
(Rethinking Adoption. The Pastoral Governance of Gender)
Presses Universitaires de France, 2012

Bruno Perreau is Assistant Professor of French Studies.

Robert Stalnaker
Mere Possibilities: Metaphysical Foundations of Modal Semantics
Princeton University Press, 2012

Robert Stalnaker is Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy.

Oxford Handbook of the Indian Economy book cover

Robert Townsend, Xavier Gines, James Vickrey, and Lev Menand
"Micro-insurance: A Case Study of the Indian Rainfall Insurance Market," in The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Economy; Chetan Ghate (ed.)

Robert Townsend is Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics.

2011

Philip N. Alexander
A Widening Sphere: Evolving Cultures at MIT
MIT Press, 2011

Philip N. Alexander is Research Associate in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies.

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo
Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty
Public Affairs, 2011

Abhijit Banerjee is Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics.
Esther Duflo is Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics.

Edward C. Barrett
Down New Utrecht Avenue
Press Wafer, 2011

Edward Barrett is Senior Lecturer in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies.

Andrea Louise Campbell and Kimberly J. Morgan
The Delegated Welfare State: Medicare, Markets, and the Governance of Social Policy
Oxford University Press, 2011

Andrea Louise Campbell is Associate Professor of Political Science.

Howard Eiland
Editor, Early Writings (1910-1917) Walter Benjamin
Belknap Press, Harvard U.P., 2011

Howard Eiland is Lecturer in Literature.

Jeanne Guillemin
American Anthrax: Fear, Crime, and the
Investigation of the Nation's Deadliest Bioterror Attack
Macmillan, 2011

Jeanne Guillemin is Research Affiliate in the Center for International Studies.

Laura Harrington
Alice Bliss
Penguin, 2011

Laura Harrington is Lecturer of Theater Arts.

Frederick Harris Jr.
Seeking the Infinite: The Musical Life of Stanisław Skrowaczewski
createspace, 2011

Frederick Harris Jr. is Director of the MIT Wind and Festival Jazz ensembles and Lecturer in Music.

Mark Harvey
The Golden West
Film Score and Performance
National Film Preservation Foundation, 2011

Mark Harvey is Lecturer in Music.

Graham M. Jones
Trade of the Tricks: Inside the Magician's Craft
University of California Press, 2011

Graham M. Jones is Assistant Professor of Anthropology.

David Kaiser
How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival
W. W. Norton, 2011

David Kaiser is Professor of Science, Technology, and Society.

Arthur Kaledin
Tocqueville and His America: A Darker Horizon
Yale University Press, 2011

Arthur Kaledin is Professor of History Emeritus.

Samuel Jay Keyser
Mens et Mania: The MIT Nobody Knows
The MIT Press, 2011

Samuel Jay Keyser is Professor Emeritus in Linguistics, and continues to serve the Institute as Special Assistant to the Chancellor.

Ina Lipkowitz
Words to Eat By: Five Foods and the Culinary History of the English Language
St. Martin's Press, 2011

Ina Lipkowitz is Lecturer in Literature.

Keeril Makan
Target
Starkland, 2011

Keeril Makan is Lister Brothers Career Development Associate Professor of Music.

Martin M. Marks
Treasures 5: The West, 1898-1938, DVD set
National Film Preservation Foundation, 2011

Martin M. Marks is Senior Lecturer in Music.

Western Intervention in the Balkans book cover

Roger D. Petersen
Western Intervention in the Balkans: The Strategic Use of Emotion in Conflict
Cambridge University Press, 2011

Roger D. Petersen is Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science.

Shankar Raman
Renaissance Literature and Postcolonial Studies
Edinburgh University Press, 2011

Shankar Raman is Associate Professor of Literature.

Irving Singer
Modes of Creativity
MIT Press, 2011

Irving Singer is Professor of Philosophy.

Abha Sur
Dispersed Radiance: Caste, Gender, and Modern Science in India
South Asia Books, 2011

Abha Sur is Lecturer in Women's and Gender Studies.

Stephen Tapscott
Editor and Translator, Poems, by Georg Trakl
Field Poetry series, 2011

Stephen Tapscott is Professor of Literature.

John Tirman
The Deaths of Others: The Fate of Civilians in America's Wars
Oxford University Press, 2011

John Tirman is Principal Research Scientist and Executive Director of the Center for International Studies.

Book Cover - Financial Systems in Developing Economies

Robert Townsend
Financial Systems in Developing Economies
Oxford University Press, 2011

Robert Townsend is Elizabeth & James Killian Professor of Economics.

Edward Baron Turk
French Theatre Today: The View from New York, Paris, and Avignon
University of Iowa Press, 2011

Edward Baron Turk is John E. Burchard Professor of the Humanities and Professor of French and Film Studies.

Sherry Turkle
Alone Together
Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other
Basic Books, 2011

Sherry Turkle is Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology.

2010

David Kaiser
Editor, Becoming MIT: Moments of Decision
MIT Press, 2010

David Kaiser is Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society.

Pauline Maier
Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788
Simon & Schuster, 2010

Related story

Pauline Maier is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of American History.

John Dower
Cultures of War: Pearl Harbor / Hiroshima / 9-11 / Iraq
The New Press, 2010

John Dower is Professor Emeritus of History.

Peter Child
Pantomime: Chamber Music of Peter Child
Lorelt (LNT 131), 2010

Peter Child is Professor of Music.

Evelyn Fox Keller
The Mirage of a Space between Nature and Nurture
Duke University Press, 2010

Evelyn Fox Keller is Emerita Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science.

Esther Duflo
La Politique de l'autonomie (French)
Le Seuil, 2010

Esther Duflo is Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics.

A Reader in Medical Anthropology book cover

Michael M.J. Fischer
Editor, A Reader in Medical Anthropology: Theoretical Trajectories and Emergent Realities
Byron Good, Sarah Willen, and Mary Jo DelVecchio Good (eds.)
Wiley-Blackwell, 2010

Michael M.J. Fischer is Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Anthropology and Science and Technology Studies.

Bengt Holmström
Nordics in Global Crisis: Vulnerability and Resilience
Taloustieto Oy, 2010

Bengt Holmström is Paul A. Samuelson Professor of Economics.

Meg Jacobs and Julian E. Zelizer
Conservatives in Power: The Reagan Years, 1981-1989
Bedford / St. Martin's, 2010

Meg Jacobs is Associate Professor of History.

Erica Caple James
"The Political Economy of 'Trauma' in Haiti in the Democratic Era of Insecurity," in A Reader in Medical Anthropology: Theoretical Trajectories, Emergent Realities; Byron J. Good, Michael M.J. Fischer, Sarah S. Willen, and Mary-Jo DelVecchio Good (eds.)
Wiley-Blackwell, 2010

Erica Caple James is Associate Professor of Anthropology.

Erica Caple James
Democratic Insecurities: Violence, Trauma, and Intervention in Haiti
University of California Press, 2010

Erica Caple James is Associate Professor of Anthropology.

David Jones and Ian Whitmarsh
Editors, What's the Use of Race? Modern Governance and the Biology of Difference
MIT Press, 2010

David Jones is Associate Professor of the History and Culture of Science and Technology.

Robert Kanigel
Faux Real: Genuine Leather and 200 Years of Inspired Fakes
Paperback Edition, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010

Robert Kanigel is Professor of Science Writing.

Nick Montfort
Riddle & Bind
Spineless Books, 2010

Nick Montfort is Associate Professor of Digital Media.

Shankar Raman and Lowell Gallagher
Editors, Knowing Shakespeare: Senses, Embodiment and Cognition
Palgrave Macmillan, 2010

Shankar Raman is Associate Professor of Literature.

Norvin Richards
Uttering Trees
The MIT Press, 2010

Norvin Richards is Professor of Linguistics.

Harriet Ritvo
Noble Cows and Hybrid Zebras: Essays on Animals and History
University of Virginia Press, 2010

Harriet Ritvo is Arthur J. Conner Professor of History.

Elena Ruehr
How She Danced: String Quartets of Elena Ruehr
Cypress String Quartet, 2010

Elena Ruehr is Lecturer of Music and Theater Arts.

Edward Steinfeld
Playing Our Game: Why China's Rise Doesn't Threaten the West
Oxford University Press, 2010

Edward Steinfeld is Associate Professor of Political Science.

Committees in the U.S. Congress book cover

Charles Stewart and Garrison Nelson
Committees in the U.S. Congress, 1993-2010
CQ Press, 2010

Charles Stewart is Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science.

Merritt Roe Smith, Leonard Rosenband, and Jeff Horn
Editors, Reconceptualizing the Industrial Revolution: A Global Perspective
MIT Press, 2010

Merritt Roe Smith is Cutten Professor of the History of Technology.

Stephen Yablo
Things: Papers on Objects, Events, and Properties
Oxford University Press, 2010

Stephen Yablo is Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy.