Raeburn/Zollman: The Game Theorist’s Guide to Parenting

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover: Game Theorist’s Guide

THE GAME THEORIST’S GUIDE TO PARENTING:
HOW THE SCIENCE OF STRATEGIC THINKING
CAN HELP YOU DEAL WITH
THE TOUGHEST NEGOTIATORS YOU KNOW–YOUR KIDS
by Paul Raeburn (NASW member) and Kevin Zollman
Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, April 5, 2016, $18.18
ISBN-10: 0374160015
ISBN-13: 978-0374160012

Raeburn writes:

On July 10, 2014, the Wall Street Journal ran a short piece on such things as the pickup dilemma, the bedtime ultimatum, and, yes, the kale conundrum.

Novel investment strategies? Stock pickers’ perils? No. “Parenting secrets from the world of game theory,” as the Journal described them. Game theory — the science of strategic thinking — works for the pros in industry and geopolitics. Why not with the crafty negotiators who happen to be our kids?

When the Journal story appeared, my editor at Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Amanda Moon, immediately saw a book in game-theory parenting. She called Kevin Zollman, a game theorist and philosopher at Carnegie Mellon University who had been quoted in the article, to ask if he were interested.

Paul Raeburn

Then she came to me. What about The Game Theorist’s Guide to Parenting, she asked? Kevin was ready to go — if I was. Amanda set up a conference call. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had my doubts. A game theorist whose writings are studded with equations? A philosopher whose arguments would be as impenetrable as what I remembered from philosophy in college?

Happily, he was neither. I could tell from the first few minutes of our call that he was intelligent, articulate, and personable. We sealed the deal in a few days.

Once we had developed an outline, we decided to split the chapters between us. I wrote the first draft of half of the chapters, and Kevin wrote the drafts of the other half. Then we passed them back and forth between us until we had what we wanted.

The Game Theorist’s Guide to Parenting is a light-hearted look at some of the common problems of parenting: managing sibling conflict, getting kids to clean up their rooms, making fair decisions, and others. We hope readers will learn something about dealing with their kids, get a dollop of game theory, and chuckle as they make their way through the book.

My advice for others thinking about writing a book with an academic? If you can find somebody like Kevin, do it.

Contact info:

Paul Raeburn: 917 686 3564; paulraeburn@nasw.org; www.paulraeburn.com
Publicist: Lottchen Shivers, 212-206-5324, Lottchen.Shivers@fsgbooks.com
Agent: Beth Vesel, 212-604-0330, beth@irenegoodman.com
Book website: http://us.macmillan.com/thegametheoristsguidetoparenting/paulraeburn

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

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