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October 1, 2024

Jimmy Carter Celebrates his 100th Birthday

Today Jimmy Carter becomes the longest-lived former US President in history as he celebrates his 100th Birthday. In honor of this we’re traveling back the 39th President’s inauguration on January 20th 1977 with this excerpt from the second edition of Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter by Randall Balmer. Refreshingly concise…. Balmer presents Carter as an icon of progressive evangelicalism.… Continue Reading Jimmy Carter Celebrates his 100th Birthday

Categories Excerpts
September 11, 2024

Memorializing 9/11: An Excerpt from “Divided by Terror”

Today, 23 years after the attacks on 9/11, we’re reflecting back to some of the earliest commemorations in New York City with this excerpt from Divided by Terror: American Patriotism after 9/11 by John Bodnar. You can also read a Q&A with John Bodnar and Executive Editor, Debbie Gershenowitz here. New York City The earliest commemorations of the terrorist attacks on… Continue Reading Memorializing 9/11: An Excerpt from “Divided by Terror”

Categories American Studies/Excerpts/Political Science
August 14, 2024

Black Women’s Humor in the Cultural Marketplace: An Excerpt from “Sass”

Black women comedians are more visible than ever, performing around the world in physical venues like comedy clubs and festivals, along with appearing in films, streaming specials, and online videos. Across these mediums, humor—and particularly sass—functions as a tool for Black women to articulate and redress cultural, social, and political marginalization. The following is an excerpt from Sass: Black Women’s… Continue Reading Black Women’s Humor in the Cultural Marketplace: An Excerpt from “Sass”

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts/Women's Studies
May 17, 2024

Can a City Be Ethical?

The following is an excerpt from The Ethics of Cities: Shaping Policy for a Sustainable and Just Future by Timothy Beatley which is available wherever books are sold. Beatley deftly tackles a wide range of contemporary issues, like privacy and technology, and perennial issues, such as equity and democratic processes, with compelling detail. In this timely and impressive book, he… Continue Reading Can a City Be Ethical?

Categories Excerpts/Sociology
May 15, 2024

Lynching and Foul Murder: An Excerpt from The Violent World of Broadus Miller

The following is an excerpt from The Violent World of Broadus Miller: A Story of Murder, Lynch Mobs, and Judicial Punishment in the Carolinas by Kevin W. Young, which is available wherever books are sold. “Young offers insight into the day-to-day racism, violence, and fear that permeated the Carolinas. Thoroughly researched and meticulously documented, this gripping narrative is a truly… Continue Reading Lynching and Foul Murder: An Excerpt from The Violent World of Broadus Miller

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts
April 11, 2024

Big Government Country: An Excerpt From “Cold War Country”

The following is an excerpt of Cold War Country: How Nashville’s Music Row and the Pentagon Created the Sound of American Patriotism by Joseph M. Thompson, which is now available wherever books are sold. Big Government CountryConnie B. Gay and the Roots of Country Music Militarization Connie B. Gay used country music to build a media empire in the 1950s. His… Continue Reading Big Government Country: An Excerpt From “Cold War Country”

Categories Excerpts
April 3, 2024

Doorway: An Excerpt from “A Question of Value”

The following is an excerpt from A Question of Value: Stories from the Life of an Auctioneer by Robert Brunk, founder of Brunk Auctions in Asheville, NC. Antiques and the Arts Weekly calls A Question of Value “one of the best books on collecting in many years.” and it’s available now wherever books are sold. DOORWAY There were hundreds, maybe… Continue Reading Doorway: An Excerpt from “A Question of Value”

Categories Creative Nonfiction/Excerpts
March 22, 2024

Lights, Camera, Biography: The Perfect Book to Read if You’re Planning to Watch Netflix’s “Shirley”

Today, March 22, is the release of the new Netflix film, Shirley, with Regina King starring as Shirley Chisholm—the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first woman and Black major-party(Democratic) presidential candidate. If you’re planning to watch this biopic, you may want to add Shirley Chisholm: Champion of Black Feminist Power Politics by Anastasia C. Curwood, which is… Continue Reading Lights, Camera, Biography: The Perfect Book to Read if You’re Planning to Watch Netflix’s “Shirley”

Categories African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Excerpts/Women's Studies
March 13, 2024

Who Makes the American Working Class: Women Workers and Culture

The Following is an excerpt from Beyond Norma Rae: How Puerto Rican and Southern White Women Fought for a Place in the American Working Class by Aimee Loiselle, which is available now wherever books are sold. In the late 1970s, Hollywood producers took the published biography of Crystal Lee Sutton, a white southern textile worker, and transformed it into a… Continue Reading Who Makes the American Working Class: Women Workers and Culture

Categories Excerpts/Women's Studies
February 7, 2024

Worry about Yourself: An Excerpt from “Eating While Black”

During the second week of Black History Month, enjoy this excerpt of Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America by Psyche A. Williams-Forson, which was awarded the 2023 James Beard Foundation Book Award in Food Issues and Advocacy. Worry about YourselfWhen Food Shaming Black Folk Is a Thing In May 2019, an unsuspecting female African American employee of… Continue Reading Worry about Yourself: An Excerpt from “Eating While Black”

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts
January 31, 2024

Stromae’s Relational Aesthetic: An Excerpt From “Black Time and the Aesthetic Possibility of Objects”

The following is an excerpt from Black Time and the Aesthetic Possibility of Objects by Daphne Lamothe, which is available wherever books are sold. In May 2013, someone anonymously uploaded a sixty-second video titled “Stromae Bourré à Bruxelles!” (Stromae Drunk in Brussels!) to YouTube. The images, seemingly captured by a cellphone, show the musician Paul Van Haver in a state of… Continue Reading Stromae’s Relational Aesthetic: An Excerpt From “Black Time and the Aesthetic Possibility of Objects”

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts
January 17, 2024

Lawless Law Enforcement: An Excerpt from “The Politics of Safety”

The Politics of Safety: The Black Struggle for Police Accountability in La Guardia’s New York by Shannon King is now available wherever books are sold. The following is an excerpt from Throughout the mid- to late 1920s, as a result of widespread corruption in the criminal justice system, the problem of “lawless law enforcement” loomed large across the nation, especially… Continue Reading Lawless Law Enforcement: An Excerpt from “The Politics of Safety”

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts
January 15, 2024

Fighting to Desegregate the American Calendar (1968–1983): An Expert from “Living the Dream”

Today, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we’re featuring an excerpt from Living The Dream: The Contested History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day by Daniel T. Fleming. “In the first book-length study of its kind, Daniel Fleming has added significantly to our understanding of the King holiday and debates around it.” Renee Romano, author of Racial Reckoning: Prosecuting… Continue Reading Fighting to Desegregate the American Calendar (1968–1983): An Expert from “Living the Dream”

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts
January 10, 2024

I Thought Liberation Would Be a Happy Story

The following is an excerpt from Between Two Worlds: Jewish War Brides after the Holocaust by Robin Judd, which is available wherever books are sold. “A fresh perspective on the aftermath of trauma . . . . Drawing on rich archival sources, historian Judd makes her book debut with a sensitive, well-researched history of marriages between survivors of the Holocaust… Continue Reading I Thought Liberation Would Be a Happy Story

Categories Excerpts/Jewish Studies
December 20, 2023

Who Was Julia Chinn?: An Excerpt from “The Vice President’s Black Wife”

The following is an excerpt from the introduction of The Vice President’s Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, which is available wherever books are sold. Who Was Julia Chinn? Julia Ann Chinn was an enslaved Black woman. Born sometime between 1790 and 1797, Julia was originally owned by Richard’s parents, Robert and Jemima Suggett… Continue Reading Who Was Julia Chinn?: An Excerpt from “The Vice President’s Black Wife”

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts/Women's Studies
December 18, 2023

The Young Woman of Devil’s Alley: An Excerpt from “Surgery & Salvation”

The following is an excerpt from the introduction of Surgery & Salvation: The Roots of Reproductive Injustice in Mexico, 1770–1940 by Elizabeth O’Brien, which is now available wherever books are sold. In the early morning hours of March 12, 1884, a pregnant eighteen-year-old walked on a derelict pathway in Mexico City. Known colloquially as Devil’s Alley, the street has been… Continue Reading The Young Woman of Devil’s Alley: An Excerpt from “Surgery & Salvation”

Categories Excerpts/Health / Medicine/Latin American & Caribbean Studies
December 11, 2023

Beginnings: An Excerpt From “Magic City”

The following is an excerpt from Magic City: How the Birmingham Jazz Tradition Shaped the Sound of America by Burgin Mathews, available now wherever books are sold. Magic City is the story of one of American music’s essential unsung places: Birmingham, Alabama, birthplace of a distinctive and influential jazz heritage. Blending deep archival research and original interviews with living elders of… Continue Reading Beginnings: An Excerpt From “Magic City”

Categories Excerpts/Music
December 5, 2023

Setting Sail: An Excerpt From “The Edwin Fox”

The following is an excerpt from the prologue of The Edwin Fox: How an Ordinary Sailing Ship Connected the World in the Age of Globalization, 1850–1914 by Boyd Cothran and Adrian Shubert, which is available now wherever books are sold. It began as a small, slow, and unadorned sailing vessel—in a word, ordinary. Later, it was a weary workhorse in the… Continue Reading Setting Sail: An Excerpt From “The Edwin Fox”

Categories Diplomatic History / International Affairs/Excerpts/UNC Press News
November 13, 2023

The State of Nature: An Excerpt From “Seeing Red”

We’re celebrating Native American Heritage Month by highlighting books written by Native American authors. The following is an excerpt from Seeing Red: Indigenous Land, American Expansion, and the Political Economy of Plunder in North America by Michael John Witgen (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe), Finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in History. Seeing Red is published by the… Continue Reading The State of Nature: An Excerpt From “Seeing Red”

Categories Excerpts/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies
November 6, 2023

A Political History of Policing in Pre-1930s New York City: An Excerpt from “Gotham’s War within a War”

The following is an excerpt from Gotham’s War Within a War: Policing and the Birth of Law-and-Order Liberalism in World War II–Era New York City by Emily Brooks which is available now wherever books are sold. Contemporary popular discourse in the United States understands urban policing solely through a lens of crime. This formulation fundamentally misconstrues the history of policing… Continue Reading A Political History of Policing in Pre-1930s New York City: An Excerpt from “Gotham’s War within a War”

Categories American Studies/Excerpts/Law / Legal History