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June 16, 2009

Dads in scrubs: now assisting in a delivery room near you!

Today’s guest post is from Judith Walzer Leavitt, author of the recently released Make Room for Daddy: The Journey from Waiting Room to Birthing Room. In her book, Leavitt follows the history of how expectant fathers, over the course of the twentieth century, gradually shifted from twiddling their thumbs in the waiting room to coaching breathing exercises in the birthing… Continue Reading Dads in scrubs: now assisting in a delivery room near you!

Categories American History/American Studies/Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/Health / Medicine
May 15, 2009

I would do aaaanything for you

. . . but I won’t do that. So, maybe (?) you’ve never greeted your spouse at the door wearing nothing but Saran Wrap. But what would you do if you thought it would help your relationship? What would you expect your partner to do to keep you around? Kristin Celello, author of Making Marriage Work and a guest blogger… Continue Reading I would do aaaanything for you

Categories American History/American Studies/Gender Studies/Interviews/Podcasts/UNC Press Authors/Women's Studies
April 2, 2009

In memoriam, Archie Green (1917-2009)

I wrote briefly last week (in rather vague terms) about some of Archie Green’s accomplishments. Over the weekend, the New York Times and Los Angeles Times both published lengthy obituaries. I wanted to offer a more personal glimpse of him here from a longtime friend and colleague of Green’s, Robert Cantwell. In 2001 UNC Press published Green’s collection Torching the… Continue Reading In memoriam, Archie Green (1917-2009)

Categories American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/folklore/Guest Bloggers/Labor Studies/UNC Press News
March 31, 2009

Robert McElvaine on The News Hour: reconsidering consumption

I’ve posted a couple of items recently (here and here) about the renewed relevance in these painful economic times of Robert McElvaine’s classic collection of letters written to FDR, Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man. On Friday, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer aired a wonderful segment featuring McElvaine and his book,  incorporating some… Continue Reading Robert McElvaine on The News Hour: reconsidering consumption

Categories American History/American Studies/Current Events/Economics/Interviews/Podcasts/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
March 25, 2009

Sad news: we’ve lost 2 giants

We’re mourning two great losses over here at the Press this afternoon. In addition to being UNC Press authors, both men were giants in their fields, and indeed helped establish and define new fields of scholarship. Both lived long, fulfilling lives in which their pioneering intellectual pursuits served the public good. Both gave of themselves tirelessly, mentoring and inspiring multiple… Continue Reading Sad news: we’ve lost 2 giants

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/American Studies/Appalachian Studies/Civil Rights/Labor Studies/North Carolina/Podcasts/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
March 23, 2009

The Obamas’ Working Marriage

  Kristin Celello, author of Making Marriage Work: A History of Marriage and Divorce in the Twentieth-Century United States, responds to Michelle Obama’s interview with People magazine regarding her marriage to the President. In a recent issue of People magazine, Michelle Obama does her best to dispel any notions that she and the President have a “perfect” marriage.  Rather, she… Continue Reading The Obamas’ Working Marriage

Categories American History/American Studies/Gender Studies/UNC Press News
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 20, 2009

A Stimulus Proposal: Invest in Books

One of the great things about Citizen Journalism is that all of us can take what we think is a Good Idea and put it out into the blogosphere and see if it takes wings. One such idea was forwarded to me by my wonderful wife with the subject line “now this would be a good blog entry for the… Continue Reading A Stimulus Proposal: Invest in Books

Categories American Studies/Business/Economics/Local Indy Booksellers/The Book Biz
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
February 3, 2009

Leslie Brown and “Upbuilding Black Durham”

This is quite the week for Leslie Brown, author of “Upbuilding Black Durham.” On February 1st it was announced that Ms. Brown book on the history of the black community in Durham, North Carolina had won the 2009 Frederick Jackson Turner Award. This award, first given in 1959 as the Prize Studies Award of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, has… Continue Reading Leslie Brown and “Upbuilding Black Durham”

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American Studies/History/Interviews/North Carolina/TSoT/UNC Press Authors/Women's Studies
January 26, 2009

Dorothy Spruill Redford on WUNC’s “The State of Things”

In 1860 one of the largest and most successful plantations in North Carolina was Somerset Place. In the course of becoming one of the state’s most prosperous rice, corn, and wheat plantations, the plantation’s owner, Josiah Collins, became one of the largest slaveholders in the state. Somerset Place covered as many as 100,000 acres and was home to more than… Continue Reading Dorothy Spruill Redford on WUNC’s “The State of Things”

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/American Studies/History/North Carolina/TSoT/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
December 10, 2008

UNC Press books making headlines (and airwaves)

We’ve got lots going on around here! Here’s a quick roundup of ways in which UNC Press books are making waves right now. . . . Patrick Huber’s Linthead Stomp: The Creation of Country Music in the Piedmont South has just earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. The review states, “With respect and passion, Huber puts these pioneering artists… Continue Reading UNC Press books making headlines (and airwaves)

Categories American History/American Studies/Environmental Studies/Events/History/Interviews/Juvenile/Music/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/Nature/North Carolina/Podcasts/Reviews/Science/UNC Press News
December 2, 2008

Major college football: more competitive and cut-throat than the NFL?

Michael Oriard, author of three books on football published by UNC Press (Reading Football: How the Popular Press Created an American Spectacle [1998], King Football: Sport and Spectacle in the Golden Age of Radio and Newsreels, Movies and Magazines, the Weekly and the Daily Press [2001], and Brand NFL: Making and Selling America’s Favorite Sport [2006]), has a fourth book… Continue Reading Major college football: more competitive and cut-throat than the NFL?

Categories American History/American Studies/Current Events/Economics/Sports
November 11, 2008

In honor of their service

In addition to the many outstanding books UNC Press has published on Civil War battles, World War II military tactics, Cold War strategy, war heroes, and other military history, we have also brought to print stories of veterans sometimes left out of traditional American military narratives. In honor of all those who serve our country, here are three books that… Continue Reading In honor of their service

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Gay / Lesbian Studies/History/Military History/Military Studies/North Carolina
October 24, 2008

BookTV airs “2008 Best of the Best from University Presses”

If you’re not on your way to the Lexington Barbecue Festival Saturday morning around 10 a.m., tune in to C-SPAN2 for BookTV’s presentation of the 2008 Best of the Best from University Presses. The program consists of a panel of 5 librarians discussing their favorite university press books of the year, one of which is Jeff Wiltse’s book Contested Waters:… Continue Reading BookTV airs “2008 Best of the Best from University Presses”

Categories African American Studies/American History/American Studies/Civil Rights/Gender Studies/History
October 15, 2008

Guest Blogger Laura Browder: Sarah Palin: A “Pioneer Mother” in Hockey Mom’s Clothes?

Since her first appearance at the Republican National Convention, where she was greeted with rapturous applause by her fans and with astonishment by journalists — she’s a mother of five, and she hunts! — Sarah Palin has seemed to many like a brand-new phenomenon. Actually, she’s not. Sarah Palin is following in a long tradition of women who used their… Continue Reading Guest Blogger Laura Browder: Sarah Palin: A “Pioneer Mother” in Hockey Mom’s Clothes?

Categories American History/American Studies/Current Events/Guest Bloggers/Politics/Women's Studies
September 10, 2008

Today in History: Gunsmoke Premiers on Television

It’s a Saturday night in mid-September, 1955. Dinner dishes have been cleared away, people in their comfortable homes are settling in for the evening. For entertainment, some turn to their trusty radio, still not sure about that expensive picture-box, the television. Those with television sets aren’t too sure this new-fangled thing is all that great, either. Skeptically, many of them… Continue Reading Today in History: Gunsmoke Premiers on Television

Categories American History/American Studies/Women's Studies
September 9, 2008

Guest Blogger Catherine Rymph on Sarah Palin and Her Role in History

Because I teach a course on U.S. Women’s Political History and wrote a book about women in the Republican Party, a lot of people these days have been popping into my office or popping up on email to ask what I think of Sarah Palin‘s nomination for vice-president. As a citizen, I have my opinions (as, it seems, does everyone).… Continue Reading Guest Blogger Catherine Rymph on Sarah Palin and Her Role in History

Categories American History/American Studies/Current Events/Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/Politics/Women's Studies
September 4, 2008

Political Conventions: Part II

In some ways it seems difficult to believe that it was only a week ago that the Democratic Convention was taking place. Since then we’ve had a major hurricane seriously threaten New Orleans and the entire Gulf region, a second hurricane forming (one that’s taking aim at our own Carolina coastline) and the start of the Republican Convention. With the… Continue Reading Political Conventions: Part II

Categories American Studies/Current Events/Politics/Women's Studies
August 28, 2008

Political Conventions: Part I

Perhaps you’ve noticed there’s been some politicking going on lately? It may have been too subtle for you to have noticed, especially if you live somewhere without radio, television or internet access (although, come to think of it, that would make reading this blog a bit difficult), but, indeed, it’s been going on for months (and months and months). But… Continue Reading Political Conventions: Part I

Categories African American History/American History/American Studies/History/Politics