January 13, 2010

“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

Categories African American History/American History/Civil War/History/North Carolina/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
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 29, 2009

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

Categories Cooking / Food/North Carolina/Recipes/Southern Studies
December 19, 2009

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

Categories American History/Film/Guest Bloggers/Literature/Theatre
December 18, 2009

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?

Categories Current Events/Environmental Studies/Nature/North Carolina/Podcasts/TSoT/UNC Press Authors
December 14, 2009

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

Categories American History/Current Events/Law / Legal History/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies
December 9, 2009

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!

Categories Local Indy Booksellers
December 7, 2009

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

Categories American History/Law / Legal History/Literature/Nature/North Carolina/Travel/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
December 3, 2009

The UNC Press Holiday Sale is HERE!

The time has come for eggnog, candlelight, and the UNC Press Holiday Sale! For the first time ever, ALL of our books are 20% off original prices, from now until December 31st. If you order by December 7th, you’ll even get FREE SHIPPING and guaranteed delivery by Christmas. There are many great titles that would be perfect Christmas gifts, including:… Continue Reading The UNC Press Holiday Sale is HERE!

Categories UNC Press News
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
November 24, 2009

Give My Poor Heart Ease

Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues, by Bill Ferris, was published earlier this month, and we could not be happier with the attention it has garnered the few short weeks it has been on the shelves! The book is more than just pages of words connected at the spine, it is really an archive of footage… Continue Reading Give My Poor Heart Ease

Categories folklore/Music/UNC Press News
November 20, 2009

8-year-old Fan Gives Molly Whuppie Two Thumbs Up

We love fan mail here at UNC Press. Who doesn’t, right? Fan mail from kids is extra awesome, though. Here’s something that really made our day recently. Eight-year-old Sydney C., of Asheville, North Carolina, was one of the guests at last month’s Asheville book party (which Rachel has blogged about). Sydney met Press authors Foy Edelman and Bill Ferris as… Continue Reading 8-year-old Fan Gives Molly Whuppie Two Thumbs Up

Categories Appalachian Studies/folklore/Juvenile
November 19, 2009

Charron Discusses the Life of Septima Clark on the State of Things today

In the mid-1950s, Septima Poinsette Clark (1898-1987), a former public school teacher, developed a citizenship training program that enabled thousands of African Americans to register to vote and then to link the power of the ballot to concrete strategies for individual and communal empowerment. In Freedom’s Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark, Katherine Mellen Charron demonstrates Clark’s crucial role–and the… Continue Reading Charron Discusses the Life of Septima Clark on the State of Things today

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Biography / Autobiography/Civil Rights/Podcasts/TSoT/UNC Press Authors
November 16, 2009

What has College Football become?

Another college football season is coming to an end, and as a fan of the sport, in general, and the Tar Heels, in particular, this time of year always makes me a little sad, even with our beloved state pastime—hoops anyone?—having arrived. (Let me be clear to my fellow Heels fans: I’m not saying the Tar Heels’ season is over–there’s… Continue Reading What has College Football become?

Categories Sports/UNC Press News
November 10, 2009

National Young Readers Week

Creating lifetime readers is the goal and it’s all thanks to Pizza Hut. Wait, what? That’s right, you read me correctly. National Young Readers Week is an annual event that was co-founded in 1989 by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Pizza Hut created The BOOK IT! Program as a national reading incentive… Continue Reading National Young Readers Week

Categories Appalachian Studies/Current Events/folklore/Juvenile
November 5, 2009

The Charlie Poole Backstory

Last night as I was driving home I heard an NPR story about a new album by Loudon Wainwright III called High Wide & Handsome: A Tribute to Charlie Poole. Poole was among those early-twentieth-century musicians from Piedmont North Carolina mill villages whose hillbilly music and tunes from the textile mills helped shape what we now call country music. Wainwright… Continue Reading The Charlie Poole Backstory

Categories American History/Music/North Carolina
October 28, 2009

UNC Press Goes West (And Likes It)

First, let’s set the scene: A little closer… Last Sunday, UNC Press held a book party at the historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.  The event celebrated three of our fall 2009 titles: Foy Allen Edelman, author of SWEET CAROLINA, spent six years traveling every inch of North Carolina to collect the best in local dessert recipes; the result… Continue Reading UNC Press Goes West (And Likes It)

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Biography / Autobiography/Civil Rights/Cooking / Food/Fiction/folklore/History/Literature/Local Indy Booksellers/Media Studies/Music/North Carolina/Recipes/Southern Studies/Travel/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
October 26, 2009

Don’t Ignore the Signs about Breast Cancer Awareness

Whether you or someone you know is battling breast cancer, or you are just going about your daily routine, breast cancer awareness is hard to miss.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it is nice to see support coming from everywhere–sidewalk signs to window displays to NFL football helmets–PINK is definitely the IT color this month, this year, anytime… Continue Reading Don’t Ignore the Signs about Breast Cancer Awareness

Categories Health / Medicine/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
October 22, 2009

Canning Time

Speaking of the State Fair: Monday’s News and Observer highlighted burgeoning interest in canning over the past couple of years. State Fair contest entries of jams, jellies, salsas, chutneys, and an array of other preserved goodies have nearly doubled since 2007. Part of the increasing popularity may be a result of a sagging economy and increased home cooking. I suspect… Continue Reading Canning Time

Categories Cooking / Food/Recipes