Interested in Finding Your Next (Elevated) Beach Read?

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This story appears in the spring 2025 issue of UC San Diego Magazine as “On the Shelf.”

▶ In “Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education” (Princeton University Press, 2024), Agustina S. Paglayan challenges conventional beliefs about universal primary education in the West. The book reveals how the expansion of schooling was driven not by industrialization or democratic ideals but by elites’ desire to instill obedience in lower-class children, ensuring future citizens would conform to state authority. Paglayan is an assistant professor of political science at the School of Social Sciences and School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego.

▶ In “Alternative Facts: Stories” (Kallisto Gaia Press, 2025), Emily Greenberg, MFA ’24 crafts an absurd and incisive debut exploring the blurred lines between fact and fiction, public and private, in the lives of figures shaping America’s post-truth era. Greenberg graduated with a master’s degree in visual arts from the School of Arts and Humanities.

▶ In “ChatGPT and the Future of AI” (MIT Press, 2024), Terrence J. Sejnowski delves into large language models such as ChatGPT, exploring their capabilities and the profound questions they raise. Do these models truly understand language, or do they simply mirror the intelligence of their users? A sequel to “The Deep Learning Revolution,” this book provides a guide to navigating the intersection of AI and human cognition. Sejnowski is a distinguished professor in the Department of Neurobiology.

▶ In “Egyptian Things: Translating Egypt to Early Imperial Rome” (University of California Press, 2024), Edward William Kelting explores the literary tradition of “Aegyptiaca,” where multicultural authors wrote about Egypt for Greek and Roman audiences. Set against the backdrop of Rome’s occupation of Egypt, the book examines how this exchange of ideas shaped the empire’s cultural landscape. Kelting is an assistant professor in the Department of Literature.

▶ In “Elements of Deterrence: Strategy, Technology, and Complexity in Global Politics” (Oxford University Press, 2024), Erik Gartzke and Jon R. Lindsay examine how modern technologies such as cyberattacks, drones and space weapons are reshaping deterrence theory. Addressing the challenges of integrating deterrence into a complex, interdependent global economy, the authors explore its limits and trade-offs in achieving political and military goals. Gartzke is a professor in UC San Diego’s Department of Political Science. Lindsay was recently a visiting associate professor in the School of Global Policy and Strategy.

▶ In “Go Figure”(Wesleyan University Press, 2024), Pulitzer Prize-winner Rae Armantrout offers poems that explore the unexpected and the strange, cataloging the world amid escalating disasters. The collection reflects her signature blend of visual and psychological insight. Armantrout is a professor emerita of writing in the Department of Literature.

▶ In “Indian Winter” (Coach House Books, 2024), Kazim Ali weaves a poignant tale of a queer writer journeying through India while grappling with past regrets and a faltering present. As he reflects on a lost lover and seeks new connections, the narrative explores memory, intimacy and self-discovery. Ali is a professor of literature and creative writing in the Department of Literature.

▶ In “Sons, Daughters and Sidewalk Psychotics: Mental Illness and Homelessness in Los Angeles” (University of Chicago Press, 2024), sociologist Neil Gong examines the response to the psychiatric crisis for Los Angeles’ affluent versus its growing unhoused population. Gong explores how mental health services — and the personhood they affirm — differs drastically between the wealthy and the poor. Gong is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology.

▶ In “Why Ecosystems Matter: Preserving the Key to Our Survival” (Oxford University Press, 2024), Christopher Wills explores how ecosystems adapt and develop complexity, offering hope for restoring our damaged natural world. Highlighting the powerful role of species interactions in evolution, Wills shows how new genetic insights can foster biodiversity and support ecological healing and human survival. Wills is a professor emeritus in the Department of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution.