Bruce Mazlish (1923–2016)

Bruce Mazlish published one article in Society, “Psychohistory and Classical Liberalism,” in 1988 (Vol. 26, No. 1 November/December). It was a brief of sorts arguing for the relevance of the psycho-historical perspective in intellectual history. (See: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/books/bruce-mazlish-richard-nixon.html?_r=0)

Charles Wolf, Jr. (1924–2016)

Charles Wolf published one article in Society, “Financial Crises and the Challenge of ‘Moral Hazard’” in 1999 (Vol. 37, No. 5, July/August). A decade before the Great Recession of 2008, Wolf described presciently its deeper causes. (See: http://www.rand.org/news/press/2016/10/25.html)

Jacob Neusner (1932–2016)

Jacob Neusner published one article in Society, “Dissent from the Right” in 1994 (Vol. 31, No. 6 September/October). Weighing in during a contentious period between Blacks and Jews, Neusner gave an account of the reasons for the breakdown in their once historic alliance. He also published a review of Yoram Hazony’s The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel’s Soul in 2001 (Vol. 38, No. 6, September/October). See: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/11/us/jacob-neusner-judaic-scholar-who-forged-interfaith-bonds-dies-at-84.html

Editorial: The Sale of Transaction Publishers to Taylor & Francis

Mary E. Curtis, President and Publisher of Transaction Publishers announced the sale of the enterprise to Taylor & Francis Publishers. In 2007, Transaction divested its journals (including this journal) to Springer. When Irving Louis Horowitz, the founder of the firm died in 2012, Mary Curtis who had run operations as President since 1997 began the process of preparing for the future. As she writes: “Irving’s passing, as well as the loss of friends, board members, and authors, has made me keenly aware that for all of us, our time on this earth is finite. With that in mind, it has been my goal to stabilize Transaction and prepare for a future when I am no longer able to sustain the organization. I have also been intent on fulfilling our commitments to the many authors Transaction has published over the years, many of whom have entrusted us with the body of their life’s work, and whose books have been the wellspring of social science thinking. The task has become more challenging in recent years, as academic life and publishing itself have become embroiled in technological and industry change. For all these reasons, after great deliberation and in consultation with our Board of Directors, I have determined that it is time to place Transaction in other hands. I believe the best way of protecting this company’s legacy, and your own, is to pass along what we have built to another publisher, one that has the resources to continue the tradition while taking advantage of new opportunities afforded by changes in the marketplace.” We wish Mary well and applaud the legacy of Transaction that she will have ensured.