Books published by Princeton University Press

When the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957, thousands of ordinary people across the globe seized the opportunity to participate in the start of the Space Age. This book tells the story of this network of pioneers who, fueled by civic pride and exhilarated by space exploration, took part in the scientific endeavor.

Looking at the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century people who wrote about the Andean region that became Peru, this work shows how the lens of Rome had a profound influence on Spanish understanding of the Incan empire. It focuses on issues such as the role of language in conquest, the interpretation of civil war, and the founding of cities.

The American welfare state is supposed to be a pale imitation of 'true' welfare states in Europe and Canada. This book argues that the American welfare state is in fact larger, more popular, and more dynamic than commonly believed.

What adventure novelist could have invented the life of Giuseppe Garibaldi? This title tells the story of Garibaldi's public and private life, separating its myth-like reality from the outright myths that have surrounded Garibaldi since his own day.

"If you go out and simply look up, everything - from the Moon to the planets to the stars to the band of the Milky Way - appears to be pasted on the two-dimensional surface of the dome of the sky. Yet, the story of astronomy as a science is how, over time, astronomers have discovered the cosmos in depth. It is the story of the measurement of position and distance, and how our 2D view of the sky above us evolved into a more sophisticated comprehension of the real 3D depths of space. The distances to the stars were first measured using the parallax effect - that is, by comparing the view from opposite sides of the Earth's orbit. This is the same effect that your brain uses (comparing the views from your left and right eyes) to effortlessly give you depth perception. In this book, the authors present the most spectacular stereo images available in astronomy. (Stereo images are pairs of images of the same object, taken 6 months apart - which, as the Earth turns, means viewed from opposite sides of the Earth's orbit.) Each pair of stereo images, when viewed with a special stereo viewer (to be contained in the book itself), portrays the object in 3D. Each striking 3D picture is accompanied by a caption on the facing page, which tells the story and significance of the image in a mini-essay and points out its interesting features. Rather than a random assortment of astronomical wonders, the pictures are arranged in order of their distance from Earth. The book starts out with the Moon and moves outward through planets, stars, and galaxies, finally reaching the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB), the most distant thing we can see. The distances of objects are given in light travel times - from 1.3 light-seconds for the Moon to 13.8 billion light-years for the CMB. These distances, along with highlights of how each object was discovered and measured by astronomers, provide a framework and narrative thread for the book, which is carried forward from one caption to the next. At each stage of this outward journey, the reader will learn new and surprising facts about fascinating objects in the depths of space. The book also features an introductory Preface that outlines the story of the discovery of the universe in depth, describes the parallax effect, and provides the background and context for the forthcoming visual tour of the observable universe in 3D"--

Democracy is not naturally plausible. Why turn such important matters over to masses of people who have no expertise? Many theories of democracy answer by appealing to the intrinsic value of democratic procedure, leaving aside whether it makes good decisions. In Democratic Authority, David Estlund offers a groundbreaking alternative based on the idea that democratic authority and legitimacy must depend partly on democracy's tendency to make good decisions. Just as with verdicts in jury trials, Estlund argues, the authority and legitimacy of a political decision does not depend on the particular decision being good or correct. But the "e;epistemic value"e; of the procedure--the degree to which it can generally be accepted as tending toward a good decision--is nevertheless crucial. Yet if good decisions were all that mattered, one might wonder why those who know best shouldn't simply rule. Estlund's theory--which he calls "e;epistemic proceduralism"e;--avoids epistocracy, or the rule of those who know. He argues that while some few people probably do know best, this can be used in political justification only if their expertise is acceptable from all reasonable points of view. If we seek the best epistemic arrangement in this respect, it will be recognizably democratic--with laws and policies actually authorized by the people subject to them.

Central to current understandings of medieval history is the concept of political ritual, encompassing events from coronations to funerals, entries into cities, civic games, banquets, hunting, acts of submission or commendation, and more. This book argues that the concept shouldn't be so central after all.

Presents a study which represents an example of an approach to political theory that stresses the importance of authorial intentions and of the political, social, and economic influences that structure a particular political debate. This book also provides historical evidence on the political life of Restoration England.

Re-creates that unhappily memorable story - the arrival of British marines at Murmansk, the diplomatic maneuvering, the growing Russian hostility, the uprising of Czechoslovak troops in central Siberia which threatened to overturn the Bolsheviks, and the acquisitive ambitions of the Japanese in Manchuria.

Examines the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, especially from 1953 to 1979, in the context of his regime's dependence on the United States and his dreams of transforming Iran into a world power. This book argues that, despite the Shah's early achievements, his goals and policies were full of inherent contradictions and weaknesses.

The only graduate-level textbook on quantum field theory that fully integrates perspectives from high-energy, condensed-matter, and statistical physicsQuantum field theory was originally developed to describe quantum electrodynamics and other fundamental problems in high-energy physics, but today has become an invaluable conceptual and mathematical framework for addressing problems across physics, including in condensed-matter and statistical physics. With this expansion of applications has come a new and deeper understanding of quantum field theory-yet this perspective is still rarely reflected in teaching and textbooks on the subject. Developed from a year-long graduate course Eduardo Fradkin has taught for years to students of high-energy, condensed-matter, and statistical physics, this comprehensive textbook provides a fully "e;multicultural"e; approach to quantum field theory, covering the full breadth of its applications in one volume.Brings together perspectives from high-energy, condensed-matter, and statistical physics in both the main text and exercisesTakes students from basic techniques to the frontiers of physicsPays special attention to the relation between measurements and propagators and the computation of cross sections and response functionsFocuses on renormalization and the renormalization group, with an emphasis on fixed points, scale invariance, and their role in quantum field theory and phase transitionsOther topics include non-perturbative phenomena, anomalies, and conformal invarianceFeatures numerous examples and extensive problem setsAlso serves as an invaluable resource for researchers

Explores how women who give birth at home use religion to make sense of their births. This book investigates why women whose religious affiliations range from Old Order Amish to Reform Judaism defy the medical establishment, and sometimes the law to have their babies at home. It challenges both feminist and traditionalist accounts of childbearing.

Treating Vergil's poetry as a foundation of Latin European identity, this title seeks to give a complete history of the medieval conception of the preeminent poet.

In ancient Athens, where freedom of speech derived from the power of male citizenship, women's voices were seldom heard in public. Female speech was more often represented in theatrical productions through women characters written and enacted by men. This book studies women's speech in classical drama.

Exploring links between ritual and reading, focusing on commentaries about the seclusion of menstruating women in Native American culture, trance dances in Bali, and circumcision (or lack of it) in contrasting religions, this work considers the ironies of "first-person ethnography" by telling stories from the author's own fieldwork.

At the turn of the twentieth century, William James was America's most widely read philosopher. This title details James' contributions to experimental psychopathology, psychical research, and the psychology of religion.

Guides Western readers in appreciating some of the more elusive aspects of the Chinese tradition of Chan Buddhism and its outgrowth, Japanese Zen. This title focuses on Chan's insistence on 'immediacy' - its denial of all traditional mediations, including scripture, ritual, good works.

Describes how blacks, Africans, and Afro-Americans, deeply influenced white's perceptions, values, and identity, and that although two world views existed, there was a deep symbiotic relatedness that must be explored if we are to understand either or both of them.

"The Golden Ass" tells of a young man changed into an ass by magic. This book follows Apuleius' tale from antiquity through the sixteenth century, tracing its journey from roll to codex in fourth-century Rome, into the medieval library of Monte Cassino, into the hands of Italian humanists, into print, and, finally, over the Alps.

Has globalization the phenomenon outgrown 'globalization' the concept? This book presents a work of vision that addresses the dizzying anxieties of the post-Cold War, post-September 11 world. It analyses just how complex these profound global changes have become.

Reconstructs London's Victorian and Edwardian West End as an entertainment and retail center. This work illuminates the various forces of the period that encouraged and discouraged women's enjoyment of public life and particularly shows how shopping came to be seen as the quintessential leisure activity for middle- and upper-class women.

Re-creates the story of Europe's indigenous people who were nearly stricken from historical memory even as they adopted and transformed aspects of Roman culture. This book shows that these societies did grow more cosmopolitan under Roman occupation, but that the people were much more than passive beneficiaries.

Offers a sampling of Coleridge's encyclopedic marginalia. This book also offers an introduction to Coleridge's life, the intellectual issues and concerns that held his attention, and the workings of his mind. It features brief headnotes that outline Coleridge's circumstances year by year and provide historical information.