Congratulations to Jean Yarbrough

When a left-wing academic wins the recognition of the American Political Science Association, it is at best an event full of sound and fury signifying nothing but the left-wing tilt of academia and the left’s domination of the institutions conferring honors and renown. When a conservative of some stripe achieves such recognition, it suggests (to me) that his or her undeniable excellence has overcome the resistance of the judges.

Such is the case with Theodore Roosevelt and the American Political Tradition by our friend Jean Yarbrough, professor of government and Gary M. Pendy Sr. Professor of Social Sciences at Bowdoin College. We are gratified to note that Professor Yarbrough’s book has won the American Political Science Association’s Richard E. Neustadt Award for the best book published on the U.S. presidency in 2012. As they say at the link: “The Richard E. Neustadt Award For the Best Book on the Presidency is among the most prestigious awards recognizing scholarly contributions to political science in the nation.”

“I was thrilled that the awards committee chose a book that examines the political thought of one of our most iconic presidents,” says Professor Yarbrough. “For anyone wishing to understand how the American political tradition has unfolded over the past hundred years, Theodore Roosevelt is a good place to start.”

It is an important and, in the fairness of the judgment it renders on Roosevelt, an exemplary, even moving, book. Like Professor Yarbrough, we are thrilled that her book has been honored with the award given by the APSA. The publisher has more on the book here, and our own Steve Hayward profiled Professor Yarbrough upon her induction into the Power Line 100 just last month.

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