There’s been a lot of discussion recently about Sarah Palin’s broad-based job approval as governor of Alaska as an indicator of her political skills and a rationale for her selection as vice presidential nominee.  Yes, Sarah Palin is very popular, but it’s not so exceptional for the governor of a small state to be popular.  The most popular governors in America are from small states.

Indeed, at the time of her selection Palin was the fifth most popular governor in America, behind the governors of Nebraska, Utah, Arkansas, and North Dakota–all states with small populations.  It appears that it’s easier to be a popular governor when your state has fewer people.  The governors of South Dakota and Montana are also remarkably popular, while on the other side, the leaders of fourteen of the fifteen largest states have job approval ratings less than 50%. [...]

Economist Russ Roberts was interviewed for Reason TV about his new book The Price of Everything.  Check out the video.

We often joke that our seasonal book catalogs are not complete unless they contain at least one book about Princeton’s most famous resident, Albert Einstein. Well, apparently this holds true for our blog, as well. We’re thrilled to announce the launch of a new Albert Einstein Web site that gathers the myriad publishing efforts of Princeton University Press and its partners in one place.

WNYC has posted The Toni Morrison Lectures with Newark Mayor Cory Booker on their site.

Princeton University Press and the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University co-sponsored the lectures, titled “The Unfinished Journey of America’s Spirit The Past“. Conducted over three consecutive nights, the lectures include: “The Past: A Testimony to the Impossible,” on Oct. 1; “The Present: Through Cynicism, Negativity and Self-doubt,” on Oct. 2; and “The Future: Humble Hopes and Insane Idealism,” on Oct. 3.

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a terrific piece regarding the life cycle of genius in a recent issue of The New Yorker .  Our book and author David Galenson is at the forefront of this research and his written about it in his Fall 2005 book OLD MASTERS AND YOUNG GENIUSES: The Two Life Cycles of Artistic Creativity, which looks at when creativity happens in the life periods of artists.  This brings up a very interesting question:  are you more creative when you’re younger or older?

David Archer, a leading climatologist and contributor to the blog RealClimate, offers solutions for reducing our impact on the Earth’s climate. In his book,The Long Thaw: How Humans Are Changing the Next 100,000 Years of Earth’s Climate, he tackles the growing problem of the buildup of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere and what we can do about it.

According to Archer, there are many possible strategies for making significant cuts in CO2 emission, each of which are based on technology and methods that already exist. Each of the following examples could cut CO2 emission by a billion metric tons per year, and a portfolio of several of these changes could significantly slow the growth of atmospheric CO2.

While on book tour this October, British food columnist Bee Wilson took time out to speak with Princeton University Press about the history of food fraud. In this segment, Bee discusses the recent news out of China about milk tainted with melamine and the earlier swill milk fraud of New York City–a scandal she recently wrote about in the NY Times.

Click through to the extended version of the interview to see some great demonstrations of common food frauds–historical (faked arrowroot cream) and contemporary (fake saffron)–as well as some suggestions of simple steps we can take to protect ourselves from being the victims of food fraud. Short of growing all our own food, Bee encourages us all to enjoy food and to reacquaint ourselves with how good food is really supposed to look, smell, and taste.

Our subprime guru Bob Shiller was interviewed by Robert Wright on his very popular video blog.  Check it out.

In a recent Christian Science Monitor article, Larry Bartels, author of Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age, discusses why our economy does historically better under Democratic presidents.

Why the economy fares much better under Democrats

On job and income growth, the record couldn’t be clearer.

Princeton, N.J. - John McCain is a maverick and Barack Obama is a postpartisan problem-solver. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at their economic plans. Both candidates’ proposals faithfully reflect the traditional economic priorities of their respective parties. That makes the track records of past Democratic and Republican administrations a very useful benchmark for assessing how the economy might perform under a President McCain or a President Obama. The bottom line: During the past 60 years, Democrats have presided over much less unemployment and much more robust income growth.

Seth Ditchik, Economics Editor, puts the current financial crisis in perspective with 4 quick lessons gleaned from Princeton University Press’s impressive, and remarkably prescient, roster of economics titles.

Hey Kids! Enjoying the rollercoaster yet? It’s been a rocky road so far, and if history is any guide, there are still a few stomach-turning churns left in the ride. As I tell anyone who asks, I’m not an economist, but I play one at the office; having spent a good chunk of my adult life talking to (some might say stalking) economists, though, I’ve picked up a few pointers as to how they think, and why it matters.

One thing I’ve learned is to take the long view; trying to predict for the short term is often a fool’s errand. (Of course, it was an economist who made the point that “in the long run, we’re all dead.”) Not surprisingly (says the editor), there are a few books that my esteemed employer has published which have some lessons to impart on our current economic crisis; allow me to drop some knowledge on you, Princeton-style.

Princeton University Press is proud to offer an online sale catalog featuring books that were all well received and reviewed when they were published. However, our print quantity projections are not always precise. Our overstock gives you an opportunity to purchase outstanding titles at enormous
savings.

The sale is only available in the United States and Canada and ends February 28, 2009.

I Sing the Candidate Electric

By Michael Robertson

Worshipping Walt: The Whitman Disciples

By now, the comparisons of Barack Obama to John F. Kennedy have become routine: the youth, the charisma, the idealism, the eloquence. But there is another great American small-d democrat with whom Obama shares even more resemblances: Walt Whitman.

The Walt Whitman most Americans are familiar with may not seem to have much in common with a youthful African-American politician. In the popular imagination Whitman is the Good Gray Poet, a benign figure with one of those big only-in-the-19^th-century beards, author of the tamely patriotic verses “I Hear America Singing” and “O Captain! My Captain!”