Hacker, Andrew 1929–

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Hacker, Andrew 1929–

PERSONAL: Born August 30, 1929, in New York, NY; son of Louis Morton (a professor) and Lillian (Lewis) Hacker; married Lois Sheffield Wetherell (a librarian; deceased), June 17, 1955; children: Ann. Education: Amherst College, B.A., 1951; Oxford University, A.M., 1953; Princeton University, Ph.D., 1955. Politics: Republican. Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES: Home—20 W. 64th St., Apt. 16-K, New York, NY 10023. Office—Department of Political Science, Queens College, Powdermaker 200K, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and educator. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, instructor, 1955–56, assistant professor, 1956–61, associate professor, 1961–66, professor of government, 1966–71; Queens College of the City University of New York, Flushing, NY, professor, then professor emeritus, 1971–. Visiting professor, Salzburg Seminar in American Studies, Salzburg, Austria. Consultant, Fund for the Republic, National Industrial Conference Board, National Broadcasting Company, Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

MEMBER: American Political Science Association, American Society for Legal and Political Philosophy, Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fellowships from Social Science Research Council, 1954–55, and Ford Foundation, 1962–63.

WRITINGS:

Politics and the Corporation: An Occasional Paper on the Role of the Corporation in the Free Society, Fund for the Republic (New York, NY), 1958.

Political Theory: Philosophy, Ideology, Science, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1961.

(Coauthor) Social Theories of Talcott Parsons, Prentice Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1961.

(Coauthor) The Uses of Power, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1962.

The Study of Politics, McGraw (New York, NY), 1963.

Congressional Districting: The Issue of Equal Representation, Brookings Institution (Washington, DC), 1964.

(Editor) The Corporation Take-Over, Harper (New York, NY), 1964.

Politics and Government in the United States, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1965.

The End of the American Era, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1970.

The New Yorkers: A Profile of an American Metropolis, Mason/Charter (New York, NY), 1975.

Free Enterprise in America, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1977.

(Editor, with Lorrie Millman) U.S.: A Statistical Portrait of the American People, Viking (New York, NY), 1983.

Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal, Scribner (New York, NY), 1992.

Money: Who Has How Much and Why, Scribner (New York, NY), 1997.

Mismatch: The Growing Gulf between Women and Men, Scribner (New York, NY), 2003.

Also contributor to numerous periodicals, including Atlantic, Harper's, and the New York Times Magazine.

ADAPTATIONS: Money has been made into an audiobook, Simon & Schuster Audio, 1997.

SIDELIGHTS: Political scientist Andrew Hacker is best known for a series of books that make the study of statistics both accessible and interesting. Whether examining political redistricting, statistical analysis, or race relations, Hacker imaginatively uses numbers to illustrate complex themes. In Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal, the author uses numbers to help define modern race relations. While some of the examples presented in Two Nations have been criticized by some reviewers as being too simplistic, the book generally fares well with critics. "Andrew Hacker is a political scientist known for doing with statistics what Fred Astaire did with hats, canes, and chairs," wrote David Gates in Newsweek. The reviewer added: "In … [Hacker's] new book on race relations in America, he doesn't crunch numbers: he makes them live and breathe." "The real value of his book … is in Mr. Hacker's calm, analytical eye, his unblinking view of American history and his unwillingness to accept can't and 'common sense' as facts," noted Tom Wicker in the New York Times Book Review, adding that "equally important is his compassion for the plight and sensibilities of those from whom white Americans ask 'an extra patience and perseverance' that the same whites have never required of themselves."

In Money: Who Has How Much and Why, the author examines the working wealthy, from television comedians to high-paid CEOs. In his analysis of the statistics, Hacker describes the various income groups in America and teases out why significant gaps occur in the distribution of income. Writing in London's Guardian, Joanna Coles commented that "Hacker is at his best exploding the myth that ordinary American pockets are currently throbbing with dollars." A Publishers Weekly contributor called the book "intriguing." Ali Abdulla, writing in the Library Journal, commented: "His well-researched work will interest scholars and students."

Mismatch: The Growing Gulf between Women and Men is the author's statistical documentation of the increasing divide between the sexes in America. Relying on statistics such as divorce rates, income ratios between the sexes, college graduation rates, husbands who fail to support their families, and others, the author paints a picture of women who are better educated and more confident. On the other hand, Hacker also writes that some men have chosen the path of least responsibility. Nevertheless, as pointed out by a Publishers Weekly contributor, "Hacker wisely refrains from pointing fingers at guilty parties and offers no solutions." Writing in the New York Times, Carol Tavris noted: "Ultimately, Mismatch invites readers to consider the great question: which differences between the sexes are trivial or transitory, and which are sources of a true gulf—a separation of experience and perception so wide that the sexes see each other as aliens and opposites." Los Angeles Times contributor Merle Rubin noted that "Hacker offers a readily recognizable snapshot of the way we live now."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, May 1, 2003, review of Mismatch: The Growing Gulf between Women and Men.

Chronicle of Higher Education, August 1, 1997, Mark Fiore, review of Money, p. 16.

Commentary, January, 1998, David Frum, review of Money: Who Has How Much and Why, p. 60.

Commonweal, August 15, 1997, Alan Wolfe, review of Money, p. 28.

Forbes, September 22, 1997, Tim W. Ferguson, review of Money, p. 280.

Guardian (London, England), July 17, 1997, Joanna Coles, review of Money, p. 8.

Houston Chronicle, March 13, 2003, Craig Nova, review of Mismatch.

Library Journal, July, 1997, Ali Abdulla, review of Money, p. 98.

Los Angeles Times, February 7, 1983, Carolyn See, review of U.S.: A Statistical Portrait of the American People, p. 8; April 21, 2003, Merle Rubin, review of Mismatch, p. E11.

National Review, July 28, 1970, review of The End of the American Era, p. 793.

Newsweek, June 8, 1970, review of The End of the American Era, p. 100; March 23, 1992, David Gates, review of Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal, p. 61.

New York Times, July 6, 1997, Robert B. Reich, review of Money, p. 11; March 4, 2003, Michiko Kakutani, review of Mismatch, p. E10; March 30, 2003, Carol Tavris, review of Mismatch, p. 10.

New York Times Book Review, April 10, 1983, review of U.S.: A Statistical Portrait of the American People, p. 7; March 8, 1992, Tom Wicker, review of Two Nations, p. 1; March 30, 2003, Carol Tavris, review of Mismatch, p. 10.

Publishers Weekly, May 12, 1997, review of Money, p. 69; January 27, 2003, review of Mismatch, pp. 247-248.

Time, June 1, 1970, review of The End of the American Era, p. 86.

Washington Monthly, September, 1997, Isabel V. Sawhill, review of Money, p. 52.