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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

In 1950, only 22% of adults were single. Today, more than 50% of adults are. Though conventional wisdom tells us that living by oneself leads to loneliness and isolation, most solo dwellers - compared with their married counterparts - are more likely to eat out and exercise, sign up for art and music classes, attend public events and lectures, and volunteer.Drawing on over three hundred in-depth interviews with men and women of all ages and from across every class, Eric Klinenberg ...

In this landmark book, Scott Page redefines the way we understand ourselves in relation to one another. The Difference is about how we think in groups—and how our collective wisdom exceeds the sum of its parts. Why can teams of people find better solutions than brilliant individuals working alone? And why are the best group decisions and predictions those that draw upon the very qualities that make each of us unique? The answers lie in diversity—not what we look like outside, but ...

A distinguished Stanford law professor examines the steep decline in marriage rates among the African American middle class, and offers a paradoxical-nearly incendiary-solution.Black women are three times as likely as white women to never marry.That sobering statistic reflects a broader reality: African Americans are the most unmarried people in our nation, and contrary to public perception the racial gap in marriage is not confined to women or the ...

Bestselling author and Toronto Sun sportswriter Al Strachan shares more insider stories from his more-than-forty-year career covering pro hockey.Bestselling author and Toronto Sun sportswriter Al Strachan is a permanent fixture in the illustrious world of professional ice hockey. His opinion, backed by an extensive knowledge of the game and his sharp sense of humour, is read and enjoyed by millions of fans internationally. He has established uniqu...

Identity Economics provides an important and compelling new way to understand human behavior, revealing how our identities--and not just economic incentives--influence our decisions. In 1995, economist Rachel Kranton wrote future Nobel Prize-winner George Akerlof a letter insisting that his most recent paper was wrong. Identity, she argued, was the missing element that would help to explain why people--facing the same economic circumstances--would make different choices. This was ...

John Allen Paulos is a master at shedding mathematical lights on our everyday world:What exactly did Lani Guinier say about quotas?What is the probability of identifying a murderer through DNA testing?Which are the real risks to our health and which the phony ones?Employing the same fun-filled, user-friendly, and quirkily insightful approach that put Innumeracy on best-seller lists, Paulos now leads us through the pages of the daily newspaper, revealing the hidden mathematical ang...