Four months ago, the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization did not exist. But now Basic Books is hoping people will value the new center’s name and expertise enough to buy 100,000 copies of a hardcover book published by the Yale center.
The globalization center and Basic Books will co-publish a book called “The Age of Terror: America and the World After September 11.” The volume will feature essays by eight noted scholars, most of whom work at Yale, and will be edited by Strobe Talbott and Nayan Chanda. It will be published on Jan. 2, 2002, by Basic Books in New York and by affiliate Perseus Press in London.
Former Deputy Secretary of State Talbott is the head of the globalization center, and Chanda is the publications director.
The authors of the book include Yale professors Abbas Amanat, Paul Bracken, John Gaddis, Charles Hill, Paul Kennedy and Harold Koh. Also contributing are Oxford University economist Niall Ferguson and distinguished scientist Maxine Singer. Talbott and Chanda will write an introduction to the book.
“People are looking for something to read that is more carefully thought-out than a sound bite or a daily news story,” said Koh, a Law School professor and former assistant secretary of state.
The professors will write about their particular areas of expertise. Singer, for example, will discuss the role of science and technology, and Middle East expert Amanat will talk about the role of Islam in the world.
Hill, a former assistant secretary-general of the United Nations, will write about diplomacy before and after the terrorist attacks.
“I think it’s pretty critical for the first half and more optimistic for the second half,” Hill said.
Security expert Bracken said the book will provide a good opportunity to take stock of the current situation.
“I think it’s important to have a synthetic overview of what has changed and what has stayed the same,” Bracken said. “I think there will be a major reaction to the book.”
Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead said the book is a good example of how academia can respond to the outside world.
“It creates a kind of bridge between worldly issues and academic intelligence,” Brodhead said. “It helps to show the kind of value that the Center for Globalization Study will have for us.”
Chanda said many academic books receive a printing of only about 3,000 to 5,000 copies.
“One hundred thousand copies for a hardcover serious book is a very, very large number,” Chanda said.
The globalization center’s publishing partner praised the scholarly firepower behind the volume.
“It’s just really high-voltage contributors,” said Don Fehr, executive editor of Basic Books.
And Fehr said he hopes to continue a good relationship with the globalization center.
“It’s the center’s first publication and we’re delighted to be partnering with them,” Fehr said.