Motohiro Yogo is the Hughes-Rogers Professor of Economics at Princeton University. 

“Since this is Princeton pre-read, I’m sure everyone is reading it, but “The Worlds I See” by Fei Fei Li is the best book I’ve read in recent memory. The book is a very accessible history of AI for non-experts, intertwined with a powerful and hopeful narrative of an immigrant family. There are some parallels to my life. I immigrated to the US at age 9, not speaking the language. And receiving the ‘Yes’ letter from Princeton (as an undergraduate applicant) was the luckiest break of my life.” 

Stephen J. Redding is the Harold T. Shapiro '64 Professor in Economics and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

“I recently read two books related to globalization in world history. The first is “Unlocking the World: Port Cities and Globalization in the Age of Steam 1830-1930” by John Darwin, which offers new insights into how steam technology transformed the degree of integration in the world economy, and the role of port cities in mediating that impact in different places. The second is “One from the Many: The Global Economy Since 1850” by Christopher Meissner, which provides a state-of-the-art textbook treatment of our understanding of the determinants and effects of the integration of world markets for goods and factors of production since the mid-19^th century.”

Leonard Wantchekon is the James Madison Professor of Political Economy and professor of politics and international affairs.

Tell us about a particular book on your shelf.  My favorite book is ”Ambiguous Adventure" by Cheikh Hamidou Kane, a classic of African literature. It is the captivating story of the Diallobe community addressing the challenge of preserving their cultural identity in the face of educational opportunities brought by the French colonial rule. The central character, Samba Diallo, becomes a brilliant college student in France while remaining deeply rooted in his local traditions. The question is how to remain true to the “ultimate values” of the past while embracing modern education.

What’s on your summer reading list? I am re-reading two novels related to my work. "Homegoing" is a historical fiction novel by Yaa Gyasi. It follows the family history of a woman from the Asante ethnic group in Ghana during the transatlantic slave trade. Her two daughters are separated by life circumstances — one marries a British governor running the slave trade and the other is an enslaved captive of the same man. The book covers the lives of their descendants over several generations. It parallels my research on the intergenerational trauma of the transatlantic slave trade and the social mobility of students from the first colonial schools in Benin, my home country, and Nigeria.

“Burger’s Daughter” is a political and historical novel by the Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer. It covers the emergence of a group of white political activists working alongside the African National Congress of Nelson Mandela to end the Apartheid regime. The novel is a direct and vivid account of the struggle against Apartheid in the 1970s, which inspired my own involvement in the pro-democracy movement in Benin in the early ’80s, as well as my 2012 autobiography, “Rêver à contre-courant.”

Also on my list is ”Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, on the lives of two siblings from an upper-class family in Eastern Nigeria during the Civil War. It is a fascinating account of a wealthy Nigerian authoritarian family, the emotional turmoil of the children, and the powerful bonds that emerge from it.

And three books to read ahead of the 2024 presidential election:

• The most interesting read is “Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action and Make Real Change” by Eitan Hersh. The book describes the way contemporary American politics has become more of a hobby, an entertainment, or a spectator sport, with strong emotional attachments to candidates and dinner table arguments triggered by sound bites from campaign ads or provocative social media posts by politicians. It calls for a shift in political culture with more constructive dialogue between informed citizens as well as effective collective action for meaningful social change. It is also a call for us to be more involved in local politics.
• A great complementary reading is “Reclaiming Participatory Governance: Social Movements and the Reinvention of Democratic Innovation,” a collection of essays by Adrian Bua and Sonia Bussu. The book explores the challenges of bottom-up democracy, in which citizens play a prominent role in policy formulation and implementation. Participatory governance requires electoral campaigns that are deliberative, with more town hall meeting-style interactions between candidates and voters, as opposed to campaign ads and rallies. This is consistent with evidence from my research on deliberative political communication, indicating that these strategies promote ethical voting and informed citizenry.  
• For an in-depth history of town meetings in American democracy, I would suggest Frank M. Bryan’s “Real Democracy: The New England Town Meeting and How It Works.” The bottom line is that “Citizens are not born, they are raised.” In 19th-century New England, town halls were widely perceived as training grounds for citizenship.