Comments on: St. Martin’s Press, at War and Looking in Your Window

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:04:46 +0000

I took another peek – the study covered state
governments. His case might have been more
compelling if he were able to isolate the effects
using only the data from the few states that
enfranchised women before the end of WW1,
but he pools all the data together. Since most
states gave the vote at about the same time, I
would say the argument becomes less strong, it
could be tied to the zeitgeist.

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 22:14:17 +0000

I expect the 16th amendment had a big impact on
the size of the federal government. I’m sure the idea
was to make possible large federal allocations, if
necessary (and to decrease reliance on duties – which
could dry up)

By: Todd Seavey

Todd Seavey — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:25:27 +0000

Nope, further investigation reveals they’re two different guys with the same name — one now a mega-powerful London literary agent who helped give the world _Bridget Jones’s Diary_, the other _literally_ a clown…which _probably_ explains why his co-hostess was inspired to make a short film about a woman who has sex with a clown.

OK, now everything makes sense.

By: Todd Seavey

Todd Seavey — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:17:28 +0000

And, you know, I only just realized I’m supposed to attend a party tonight co-hosted by a man named Peter Straus, which just happens to be the name of the former head of Picador, the company that I couldn’t be bothered to distinguish from St. Martin’s above.

It _may_ in fact be him, in which case it is lucky that I will now be on my toes to avoid repeating my prior sloppy indifference to corporate hierarchy.

Or it could just be a guy with the same name — but in this crazy town, it’s never safe to assume.

By: Todd Seavey

Todd Seavey — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:02:36 +0000

Ah, that would be _Freedomnomics_, which as it happens was one of the ToddSeavey.com Book Selections for March (time flies):

http://toddseavey.com/2008/03/23/book-selections-of-the-month-popery-politics-and-panama/

By: Gerard

Gerard — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 06:24:26 +0000

He’s actually incorporated that into a much broader, Freakonomics-type book. Although I don’t recall the title, it sounded very interesting based upon an interview he did with Steve Malzberg where they touched upon its central theses.

Charles Murray also has a great new book out, which refutes the conventional wisdom about mass public education.

By: Russell Hanneken

Russell Hanneken — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:17:06 +0000

Todd, I assume you've read John Lott's paper on how women's suffrage contributed to the growth of government in the U.S.?

By: katherine

katherine — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:45:50 +0000

I see now that you were just conserving words, and I applaud you.

By: Todd Seavey

Todd Seavey — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:50:56 +0000

Both are subsets of/affiliated with Pan Macmillan, sharing offices in that very space — thus our whole original conversation about it. Be careful you don’t give unknowing readers the impression I’d make up a publishing company or something.

By: katherine

katherine — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:33:12 +0000

It’s Picador, not St. Martin’s. Todd, you’ll do anything to tie in a story! And naturally I didn’t volunteer that I wasn’t wearing any clothes. They saw me. That’s not exploitation, that’s coincidence.