One Fantastic Ride: An Interview with Adam Lucas

It’s a big night for sports fans in Chapel Hill–the Tar Heel basketball team, rebuilding after winning their fifth NCAA championship last year, is hosting that other blue team in the state: Duke, owners of a paltry three national championships. Historically, the Heels have a 130-97 lead in the series and have won the previous three meetings, but the eighth-ranked… Continue Reading One Fantastic Ride: An Interview with Adam Lucas

Today in History: The Importance of February 7th in Haiti

The Haitian Coat of Arms As we all know, events in recent weeks have been difficult for the people of Haiti. Victories have been few, and all accounts suggest the nightmare is far from over. Today, though, is an important day in Haiti, a bright spot in their story for two reasons. Modern politics in Haiti are tied to February… Continue Reading Today in History: The Importance of February 7th in Haiti

Sports Psychology Tips for Stephen Colbert

When it comes to public figures who bring their ‘A’ game, few will argue that television host Stephen Colbert is not near the top of the list. For proof, just look to the Emmy, Grammy, and Peabody awards that adorn the mantle on the set of his nightly satirical news show, The Colbert Report, or the fact that his book… Continue Reading Sports Psychology Tips for Stephen Colbert

Civil War books now available in Large-Print format

UNC Press is excited to now offer some of our best-selling and award-winning Civil War books in easy-to-read, Large-Print format. Set in 16-point type, these books have been designed to make some of our most requested titles accessible to a larger number of readers than ever before.  A dozen books are ready now, and more are on the way in… Continue Reading Civil War books now available in Large-Print format

50 Years: The International Civil Rights Center & Museum

On February 1, 1960, four students from the historically black Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina (now the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University) sat down in the “whites only” section of a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, NC. They were refused service, but stayed. The next day, there were around 25 protesters. Soon, over 300 protesters… Continue Reading 50 Years: The International Civil Rights Center & Museum

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

Digital Publishing: the Evolution and Future of E-Books

iBook’s bookshelf view (not actual size) Earlier today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled his company’s latest creation: the iPad, a half-iPhone/half-laptop device. On the UNC Press Blog, we’ll leave it to the experts to explain most of the bells and whistles, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a look at one specific feature included in the completely-touchscreen answer… Continue Reading Digital Publishing: the Evolution and Future of E-Books

Avatar, Southern Gateways, & Disney Princesses: Around the Internet

Happy Friday, readers! Here at UNC Press, we’re finishing up our book launch week–planning out our titles for Fall 2010. The books we plan to put on the shelves in 2010 have us very excited, and we know you’ll enjoy them. In the meantime though, we thought it would be good to highlight some of the interesting events happening across… Continue Reading Avatar, Southern Gateways, & Disney Princesses: Around the Internet

‘Bring Your “A” Game’ Now in Blog Form

For the amateur athlete, there are countless resources that explain how to improve on the mechanics of any given sport. Yet, very little has been said about the mental preparation needed to perform at the highest level, an aspect that is of equal importance to the physical side. Filling that void, Jennifer L. Etnier’s Bring Your “A” Game is an… Continue Reading ‘Bring Your “A” Game’ Now in Blog Form

Harvey Neptune on Haiti’s history

Harvey Neptune, author of Caliban and the Yankees: Trinidad and the United States Occupation, offered some background on Haiti for the arts blog at Temple University (where he is an assistant professor of history). I wanted to share some of his comments on the country’s history as well as his challenge for lovers of freedom to help Haiti rebuild–not just… Continue Reading Harvey Neptune on Haiti’s history

The Doctor Is In: Catching Up with Nortin M. Hadler, M.D.

When it comes to medical advice, Dr. Nortin M. Hadler is an authority–his books Stabbed in the Back: Confronting Back Pain in an Overtreated Society and Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America are go-to guides for those interested in the way medical care works, as well as how it needs to change. Recently, Hadler’s name and… Continue Reading The Doctor Is In: Catching Up with Nortin M. Hadler, M.D.

“Black Men Bearing Freedom” This Weekend in Wilmington

All readers interested in American history should take the coming Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday weekend as an opportunity to head to the Wilmington area for a fantastic panel discussion titled “Black Men Bearing Freedom: U.S. Colored Troops and Their Impact in North Carolina” on January 15th at 6 p.m. Presented by the Fort Fisher State Historic Site and held… Continue Reading “Black Men Bearing Freedom” This Weekend in Wilmington

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

The Anti-New Year’s Resolution Menu

It’s December 29th.  You’ve only got a corner or so in each casserole dish left to scrape at and that new gym membership doesn’t start until January 1st.  Why waste away early?  Sharpen those knives, pound that meat mallet, and get in one last real meal before the new year.  After flipping through some of the best recipes from UNC… Continue Reading The Anti-New Year’s Resolution Menu

Miguel Pinero: prisoner, playwright

Today we welcome a guest post from Lee Bernstein, author of America Is the Prison: Arts and Politics in Prison in the 1970s (forthcoming June 2010). In his book, Bernstein explores the forces that sparked a dramatic “prison art renaissance” in the 1970s, when incarcerated people produced powerful works of writing, performance, and visual art. One of the important figures… Continue Reading Miguel Pinero: prisoner, playwright

From Copenhagen to Carolina: Can the longleaf pine make a comeback to combat global warming?

As global climate talks wrap up in Copenhagen, Denmark, Frank Stasio at WUNC’s State of Things welcomes a couple of guests to talk about a recent report from the National Wildlife Federation that argues that restoring the once vibrant stands of longleaf pine forests could help southern states deal with the effects of global warming. It turns out that the… Continue Reading From Copenhagen to Carolina: Can the longleaf pine make a comeback to combat global warming?

Reaction to the Cobell Settlement

We announced last January that UNC Press was one of four university presses awarded a Mellon grant for a collaborative project to publish books in indigenous studies. As part of the joint project, some of our colleagues have set up a blog for the First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies series. You can get to know more about the… Continue Reading Reaction to the Cobell Settlement

Come One, Come All, to Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill!

The Triangle is home to many independent bookstores we call friends, including Bull’s Head Bookshop, McIntyre’s Fine Books, Internationalist Books, and The Bookshop in Chapel Hill, plus Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh and The Regulator in Durham. These stores offer a wide variety of genres – from the most obvious to the most eclectic – and we are… Continue Reading Come One, Come All, to Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill!

North Carolina Award Winners

Hearty congratulations to multiple UNC Press authors who have recently been honored by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources for their outstanding work in North Carolina history and culture. Anna Hayes was awarded the Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction for Without Precedent: The Life of Susie Marshall Sharp. The award is given yearly by the North Carolina… Continue Reading North Carolina Award Winners