A New York Times–bestselling author looks at mathematics education in America—when it's worthwhile, and when it's not.Why do we inflict a full menu of mathematics—algebra, geometry, trigonometry, even calculus—on all young Americans, regardless of their interests or aptitudes? While Andrew Hacker has been a professor of mathematics himself, and extols the glories of the subject, he also questions some widely held assumptions in this thought-provoking and p...

THE SUPREME COURT'S decision in the case of Baker v. Carr, handed down in the spring of 1962, opened the way for reform of antiquated and inequitable patterns of representation in state legislatures. Over the ensuing twelve months, districting arrangements have been challenged in many states, and in several of them the legislatures have convened to draw up new districts which better reflect their actual population distribution.The Court's decision has raised a number of issues, incl...

In this groundbreaking study, Andrew Hacker offers a fresh and disturbing examination of the divisions of color and class in present-day America, analyzing the conditions that keep black and white Americans dangerously far apart in their ability to achieve the American dream.Why, despite continued efforts to increase understanding and expand opportunities, do black and white Americans still lead se...

Previously published as part of Higher Education?In this provocative work, the renowned sociologist Andrew Hacker and New York Times writer Claudia Dreifus make an incisive case that American college athletics—which originally came into the campus as an innocent form of recreation—have overtaken academic pursuits, compromised the moral authority of educators, and gobbled up resources that should have gone to their basic missions. In other words, t...

What's gone wrong at our colleges and universities—and how to get American higher education back on trackA quarter of a million dollars. It's the going tab for four years at most top-tier universities. Why does it cost so much and is it worth it?Renowned sociologist Andrew Hacker and New York Times writer Claudia Dreifus make an incisive case that the American way of higher education, now a $420 billion-per-year business, has lost sight of its primar...

Take a tour through the elections since 2016 and the Republican Party’s strongest stances to understand the impending defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential election.Downfall does not offer a prediction or wishful thinking—it affirms a certainty. Veteran political scientist Andrew Hacker’s vast array of evidence points to the conclusion that Donald Trump will not be reelected, regardless of which Democratic candidate opposes him. Based on a close ...

Described by Newsweek as "a political scientist doing with statistics what Fred Astaire did with hats, canes, and chairs...he makes them live and breathe," Andrew Hacker provides a comprehensive protrayal of income and wealth in American society.Combining keen insight with a flair for bringing a human dimension to facts and figures, bestselling author Andrew Hacker shows how the changing economy affects our lives. His clear-eyed analysis illuminates the real results of women's fight...

Previously published as part of Higher Education?A quarter of a million dollars. It's the going tab for four years at most top-tier colleges. But is it worth it?In this provocative work, the renowned sociologist Andrew Hacker and New York Times writer Claudia Dreifus investigate whether the most high-ranking and sought-after American colleges and universities are worth their haloed reputations. Hacker and Dreifus refer to this top-tier gro...

On the publication of Andrew Hacker's instant classic and bestselling Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal, Newsweek described him as a "political scientist doing with statistics what Fred Astaire did with hats, canes, and chairs. he doesn't crunch numbers: he makes them live and breathe." Now, with the same keen, objective insight and wizardry with numbers, Hacker tackles the other emotionally charged issue that most preoccupies us, wealth and its distribution...

Andrew Hacker's 2012 New York Times op-ed questioning the requirement of advanced mathematics in our schools instantly became one of the paper's most widely circulated articles. Why, he wondered, do we inflict a full menu of mathematics on all young Americans, regardless of their interests or aptitudes?The Math Myth expands Hacker's scrutiny of many widely held assumptions, like the notions that mathematics broadens our minds and that the entire Common Core syllab...

By understanding how and when common sense fails, we can improve our understanding of the present and better plan for the future.Drawing on the latest scientific research, along with a wealth of historical and contemporary examples, Watts shows how common sense reasoning and history conspire to mislead us into believing that we understand more about the world of human behavior than we do; and in turn, why attempts to predict, manage, or manipulate social and econom...

To "fight for your rights," or anyone else's, is not just to debate principles but to haggle over budgets.The simple insight that all legally enforceable rights cost money reminds us that freedom is not violated by a government that taxes and spends, but requires it—and requires a citizenry vigilant about how money is allocated. Drawing from these practical, commonsense notions, The Cost of Rights provides a useful corrective to the all-or-nothing feel of ...