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Tag: barack obama

June 9, 2010

The Obama National Security Strategy: “Mush” Ado about Nothing?

In the world of U.S. foreign policy, the release of a new National Security Strategy is a big deal. This congressionally mandated exercise offers an opportunity for the executive to grapple with basic issues, and it may even herald the birth of a “doctrine” (as it did for George W. Bush in 2002). The Obama administration rolled out its NSS… Continue Reading The Obama National Security Strategy: “Mush” Ado about Nothing?

Categories American History/Current Events/Guest Bloggers/Michael H. Hunt/Politics
April 16, 2010

Obama’s Nuclear Initiatives: Neither “Sufficient” Nor “Bold”

From Shane J. Maddock, author of Nuclear Apartheid: The Quest for American Atomic Supremacy from World War II to the Present, we welcome this guest post addressing Barack Obama’s most recent nuclear initiatives. If you missed Maddock’s January guest post, “The Delicate Art of Nuclear Jujutsu,” go back and take a look.–ellen President Barack Obama renewed the U.S. commitment to… Continue Reading Obama’s Nuclear Initiatives: Neither “Sufficient” Nor “Bold”

Categories Current Events/Guest Bloggers/Military Studies/Politics/Public Policy/UNC Press Authors
April 6, 2010

Karzai and the Shadow of Diem

“We’re frustrated,” conceded President Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs, on Monday. The U.S. relationship with Afghan president Hamid Karzai is currently strained, to say the least. Offering some historical perspective on the situation, we welcome a guest post today from Michael H. Hunt, whose most recent book, A Vietnam War Reader: A Documentary History from American and Vietnamese Perspectives, was… Continue Reading Karzai and the Shadow of Diem

Categories American History/Current Events/Guest Bloggers/History/Michael H. Hunt/Middle Eastern Studies/Military History/Politics/Public Policy
January 28, 2010

Andrew Finstuen on Obama’s Civil Faith

Over at Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, Andrew Finstuen offers a response to the spiritual tones within President Obama’s State of the Union address last night, noting that the president summoned a unifying “civil faith” to lead the country through challenging times. Finstuen is author of Original Sin and Everyday Protestants: The Theology of Reinhold Niebuhr, Billy Graham, and Paul Tillich… Continue Reading Andrew Finstuen on Obama’s Civil Faith

Categories American Studies/Current Events/Politics/UNC Press Authors
January 6, 2010

The Delicate Art of Nuclear Jujutsu

In this first post of the new year, new decade, as concerns over the nuclear programs of countries such as Iran and North Korea continue to make headlines, we welcome the following commentary from Shane J. Maddock, author of Nuclear Apartheid: The Quest for American Atomic Supremacy from World War II to the Present (forthcoming March 2010).  In his book,… Continue Reading The Delicate Art of Nuclear Jujutsu

Categories Asian Studies/Current Events/Guest Bloggers/History/Middle Eastern Studies/Military Studies
December 2, 2009

Obama Pronounces on Afghanistan: Deja Vu All Over Again!

In a follow-up to his article on Obama and Afghanistan, Michael Hunt responds to President Obama’s speech at West Point last night, in which the President laid out his plan for additional troops and a timeline for withdrawal.–ellen  [author photo by Dan Sears] Barack Obama has an impressive intellect, and he has given the decision on Afghanistan policy the careful,… Continue Reading Obama Pronounces on Afghanistan: Deja Vu All Over Again!

Categories Current Events/Guest Bloggers/History/Michael H. Hunt/Military History/Military Studies/Politics/UNC Press Authors
November 25, 2009

Obama and Afghanistan

Before we close up shop for the Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to highlight some excellent commentary on President Obama’s impending decision about how to proceed with the war in Afghanistan. The President is scheduled to make an announcement next Tuesday, December 1, about his intentions for America’s next steps. Between now and then, we would do well to consider the… Continue Reading Obama and Afghanistan

Categories American History/Current Events/History/Military History/Military Studies/Politics/UNC Press Authors
June 24, 2009

AAUP, abc.com…

Some exciting news  regarding UNC Press… AAUP meeting: Several folks from UNC Press traveled to Philadelphia, PA last weekend for the annual AAUP meeting–Joanna Ruth Marsland, our Director of Development had this to say about the meeting: “…The sessions focused on “best practices” for the various departments and activities within university presses, and the ones I attended were very good.… Continue Reading AAUP, abc.com…

Categories Health / Medicine/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
May 21, 2009

More talk, less action: toward sensible health care reform

Today I’m pleased to have a guest post from Lois Shepherd, author of If That Ever Happens to Me: Making Life and Death Decisions after Terri Shiavo. Shepherd was a lawyer living in Tallahassee during the sensational days of the Schiavo case. Her book strips away the politics and semantics that tend to oversimplify the complex ethical issues at stake… Continue Reading More talk, less action: toward sensible health care reform

Categories Ethics/Guest Bloggers/Health / Medicine/Law / Legal History/Public Policy
May 7, 2009

Obama’s foreign policy in light of ‘The American Ascendancy’

Today we welcome a guest post from Michael H. Hunt, author of The American Ascendancy: How the United States Gained and Wielded Global Dominance, a new paperback edition of which has just been published. In the book, Hunt gives a long historical view of what factors enabled the United States to evolve from colonial outpost to global preeminence and explores… Continue Reading Obama’s foreign policy in light of ‘The American Ascendancy’

Categories American History/Current Events/Guest Bloggers/History/Michael H. Hunt/Politics/UNC Press Authors
March 18, 2009

These mad days

Just minutes from now, our Point-Guard-in-Chief ™ will be releasing his brackets for the NCAA tournament on ESPN. But we’ve already learned that he’s got our Tar Heels in his final four! Here at the Press, Joanne and I are in the home stretch, sort of . . . almost? . . . putting together the fall 2009 catalog of… Continue Reading These mad days

Categories Events/North Carolina/UNC Press Authors
March 2, 2009

Women and Obama’s First 100 Days

What does the Obama presidency mean for women, especially in a time of financial crisis?  We’re pleased to have a guest post today from Lisa Levenstein, assistant professor of history at UNC-Greensboro and author of A Movement Without Marches: African American Women and the Politics of Poverty in Postwar Philadelphia, which we will publish May 1 (we’re accepting orders now).… Continue Reading Women and Obama’s First 100 Days

Categories African American Studies/American History/Current Events/Economics/Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/Politics/Public Policy/Women's Studies
February 23, 2009

Dear Mister President

[ed. note: see updates from 2/24 and 2/25 at bottom of post] ABC reports that President Obama is reading ten letters a day from all kinds of people all across the country, “to help him get outside of the bubble,” says press secretary Robert Gibbs. Each day he is handed a purple envelope containing the day’s selection of letters. Sometimes… Continue Reading Dear Mister President

Categories American History/American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Economics/UNC Press News
February 17, 2009

Good stuff from the internet that we think you might like

Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all the good stuff going on up on the interwebs. All of these stories warrant posts here, but instead of falling way behind, I’ve decided to round ’em up and toss ’em out to you as a batch. You’ll find public history, Sidney Poitier, Catholic feminism, Civil War, black women academics, university presses,… Continue Reading Good stuff from the internet that we think you might like

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Civil War/Cooking / Food/Gender Studies/Local Indy Booksellers/Religion/Reviews/Southern Studies/The Book Biz/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
January 21, 2009

The Age of Obama

Things have been a bit on the busy side here at the Press lately. Add in our once-every-three-year dumping of snow and yesterday had all the makings of an ‘interesting’ day. Still, many of our staff took time at lunch to gather in our Boardroom, the largest room in the building, and the only room with a television set, to… Continue Reading The Age of Obama

Categories UNC Press News
November 25, 2008

Politico suggests ‘Days of Hope’ for Obama’s winter reading list

Matthew Dallek over at Politico has drawn up a suggested reading list for Barack Obama, our incoming President of Hope ™, who has not been seen carrying any books around, but apparently actually reads books about American history and absorbs them and references them in conversation(!). Says Dallek: Obama will be that rare modern president who thinks deeply about the… Continue Reading Politico suggests ‘Days of Hope’ for Obama’s winter reading list

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/History/Politics
November 17, 2008

McElvaine on election ’08

Robert S. McElvaine, editor of Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man, blogs regularly for The Huffington Post. In his latest post, he discusses the demise of Nixon’s “southern strategy” and the new challenges for the GOP. from McElvaine: “New America” = Gone OLD Party Prior to the start of the war in Iraq in… Continue Reading McElvaine on election ’08

Categories American History/Politics
November 13, 2008

Reflections on the 2008 Election

The following post is from Christopher A. Cooper and H. Gibbs Knotts, co-editors of The New Politics of North Carolina. Cooper is MPA director and assistant professor of political science and public affairs at Western Carolina University. Knotts is department head and associate professor of political science and public affairs at Western Carolina University. Every four years journalists, political commentators,… Continue Reading Reflections on the 2008 Election

Categories American History/Current Events/Guest Bloggers/North Carolina/Politics/Southern Studies
November 10, 2008

Today in history: the Wilmington Race Riot

This past Saturday Wilmington, North Carolina, dedicated a new memorial to the victims of the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898. The memorial site includes an installation of six 16-foot-high bronze paddles created by sculptor Ayokunle Odeleye. Today, November 10, is the 110th anniversary of the event. Ten years ago, UNC Press published Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898… Continue Reading Today in history: the Wilmington Race Riot

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Current Events/History/North Carolina/Politics/The Book Biz/Travel