Russell Jacoby’s books range in topic from the place of psychology in American society (Social Amnesia: A Critique of Conformist Psychology) to the role of utopian thought (The End of Utopia: Politics and Culture in the Age of Apathy) and the origins of violence (Bloodlust: On the Roots of Violence from Cain and Abel to the Present). His The Last Intellectuals: American Culture in the Age of Academe introduced a term that has been picked up everywhere—“public intellectual”—and is considered an essential text in American letters. Originally from New York, he has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Rochester, where he worked with Christopher Lasch. He lives in Los Angeles and teaches history at UCLA. In 2017 Jacoby was short-listed for the Times Literary Supplement’s All Authors Must Have Prizes Prize.