Minds on Fire: Conversations with UC Press Authors presents public policy analyst Mark Baldassare on Thursday, October 16, at 7 PM. Baldassare will examine the choices California voters made at the recall election and discuss issues they face in the November election. The event will be held the offices of University of California Press, 2120 Berkeley Way, and is free and open to the public.
In his most recent book, A California State of Mind: The Conflicted Voter in a Changing World, Baldassare gives an authoritative and highly informative view of the state during its recent years of prosperity and more recent economic insecurity. Based on findings of the most comprehensive public opinion survey in the state, this book examines the beliefs, concerns, and public policy preferences of Californians during the 1990s, focusing in particular on Californians' deep and ongoing distrust of government and the way this distrust has shaped the recent political climate. A California State of Mind combines an incisive analysis of long-term trends—such as population growth and changing demography—with up-to-date discussions of how the recent electricity crisis and the September 11 terrorist attacks have affected residents' distrust of government, making this book a key source for Californians as they consider the future.
Baldassare is Program Director in Governance, Survey Director, Senior Fellow, and Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Chair in Public Policy at the Public Policy Institute of California. He is the author of eight previous books including California in the New Millennium (California, 2000), When Government Fails: The Orange Country Bankruptcy (California, 1998), and The Los Angeles Riots: Lessons for the Urban Future (1994).
Minds on Fire: Conversations with UC Press Authors is a new series of public programs sponsored by University of California Press. Several events each year will feature authors discussing their recent work. Minds on Fire events will be held at the Press offices on Berkeley Way or in collaboration with other nonprofit organizations. For more information, please contact Camille Crittenden at 510-642-9828 or camille.crittenden@ucpress.edu.