August 16, 2009

Brazinsky on South Korea’s economic development and democratization

We welcome a guest post from Gregg Brazinsky, author of Nation Building in South Korea: Koreans, Americans, and the Making of a Democracy, which we have just released in paperback. August 15 marks a date of both historical and personal significance. It was on August 15, 1945, that Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies and relinquished its empire, thereby ending… Continue Reading Brazinsky on South Korea’s economic development and democratization

Categories American History/Asian Studies/Guest Bloggers/History
August 14, 2009

Tar Heel Trek: Brunswick County

The following is a guide to Bald Head Island written in the form of a children’s book: One summer we took the ferry to an island.  We stayed in a little house on the beach and watched the ocean move.  We put on suntan lotion and laid towels out on the sand.  We built castles that ceased to stand and… Continue Reading Tar Heel Trek: Brunswick County

Categories American History/Art / Architecture/History/North Carolina/Reference/Southern Studies
August 13, 2009

Happy Birthday, Annie Oakley

A guest post today from Laura Browder, author of Her Best Shot: Women and Guns in America and the forthcoming (May 2010) When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans, which features photographs by Sascha Pflaeging. Let’s take a moment today to celebrate the 149th birthday of Annie Oakley.  But let’s remember her not as just a great… Continue Reading Happy Birthday, Annie Oakley

Categories American History/American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Guest Bloggers/History/Women's Studies
August 11, 2009

The Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki

Saturday, August 9, marked the 64th anniversary of America’s WWII bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. In the following guest post, J. Samuel Walker, author of Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs against Japan, discusses the controversy over whether the use of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki served any military purpose and considers what did and didn’t… Continue Reading The Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki

Categories Asian Studies/Guest Bloggers/History/Military History
August 7, 2009

Power from the Gulf Stream

CNN.com recently ran a story about scientists at Florida Atlantic University researching and considering ways to harness energy from Gulf Stream currents off the coast of Florida. We happen to have a Gulf Stream expert in the UNC Press family, so we asked Stan Ulanski, author of The Gulf Stream: Tiny Plankton, Giant Bluefin, and the Amazing Story of the… Continue Reading Power from the Gulf Stream

Categories Author blog entry/Current Events/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/Science/UNC Press Authors
July 31, 2009

Mary P. Ryan discusses her book,”Mysteries of Sex: Tracing Women and Men Through American History on ROROTOKO

With a title alluding to the complicated past of gender and sex, Mary P. Ryan’s Mysteries of Sex: Tracing Women and Men through American History gives us a thoughtful and thorough examination of  the long debated battle over the differences between men and women. The question of how the dividing line between male and female is drawn—and repeatedly redrawn—over the… Continue Reading Mary P. Ryan discusses her book,”Mysteries of Sex: Tracing Women and Men Through American History on ROROTOKO

Categories American History/Gender Studies/Women's Studies
July 30, 2009

Web 2.0, Text Wars, and Building the Better Book: How the Internet Changes Everything We Do

Today, The New York Times ran Jones County, Miss. – Civil War Fires Up Literary Shootout, a report by Michael Cieply about two conflicting books and a yet-to-be greenlighted Hollywood movie. At the center of everything lies Newton Knight, a white, landowning, Confederate deserter living deep in Mississippi, who famously tried to secede and form the Free State of Jones.… Continue Reading Web 2.0, Text Wars, and Building the Better Book: How the Internet Changes Everything We Do

Categories African American Studies/American History/Civil Rights/Civil War/Film/Southern Studies/The Book Biz/UNC Press Authors
July 29, 2009

Michael Jackson and a Lifetime of Celebrity

Last month, the passing of Michael Jackson sent people all across the globe into mourning. From his most loyal listeners to even those too young to remember Jackson the musician but instead Jackson the punchline to jokes, the outpouring of respect for one person was unparalleled in this decade.  In the following guest post, Charles Ponce de Leon, author of… Continue Reading Michael Jackson and a Lifetime of Celebrity

Categories American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Current Events/Media Studies/UNC Press Authors
July 28, 2009

Anthea Butler Examines Sarah Palin’s Pentecostal Faith

In recent days, three high-profile public figures have come under increased scrutiny–Sarah Palin for her abrupt resignation from her position as Governor of Alaska, possible presidential hopeful John Ensign (R-Nev.) for his extramarital affair, and Bishop Thomas Wesley Weeks III for physically assaulting his wife in a 2007 incident. As a result, both Palin’s and Ensign’s chances at winning at… Continue Reading Anthea Butler Examines Sarah Palin’s Pentecostal Faith

Categories Current Events/Politics/Religion/UNC Press Authors
July 27, 2009

A world without E. Lynn Harris (1955-2009)

Last week best-selling fiction writer E. Lynn Harris died at the age of 54. Harris’s closeted and openly gay black characters paved the way for a new and vibrant genre of popular literature with widespread appeal. Personally, Harris was a kind and generous man who sought to encourage and support other gay black writers, including E. Patrick Johnson, author of… Continue Reading A world without E. Lynn Harris (1955-2009)

Categories African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Current Events/Gay / Lesbian Studies/Guest Bloggers/Literature/Southern Studies
July 24, 2009

Fisk calls arbitration a key element to EFCA bill

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is a bill aimed to remove barriers to collective bargaining in the workplace. It includes provisions enabling a card check system for voting to establish a union and  guaranteeing that workers who unionize can negotiate a contract with their employer. Catherine L. Fisk, author of Working Knowledge: Employee Innovation and the Rise of Corporate… Continue Reading Fisk calls arbitration a key element to EFCA bill

Categories Current Events/Labor Studies/Politics/UNC Press Authors
July 21, 2009

Swimming Pool Historian Responds to Philadelphia Incident

In the past month, an occurrence in the suburbs of Philadelphia has turned into a national story. After a group of minority children were disinvited by a private swimming pool’s administration, community members were outraged. Senator Arlen Spector said that if allegations were true, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was likely violated. Now, the United States Justice Department plans… Continue Reading Swimming Pool Historian Responds to Philadelphia Incident

Categories African American Studies/American History/Civil Rights/Current Events/History/UNC Press Authors
July 17, 2009

David Stick 1919-2009

UNC Press author Bland Simpson has made his name on a myriad of talents, one of which is his superb ability to write about North Carolina’s coastline. Since 1993, UNC Press has published five of Simpson’s books about the area, with the most recent work–The Inner Islands–scheduled for paperback publication in the spring of 2010. I mention Simpson because his… Continue Reading David Stick 1919-2009

Categories Environmental Studies/Fiction/History/Hurricanes/Literature/Nature/North Carolina/Public Policy/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
July 16, 2009

Road Trip, Anyone? Check out Music Festivals in Western NC!

Looking for something new, fun and relatively inexpensive to do this summer? Several counties and towns in western North Carolina offer a variety of festivals, celebrations, and cultural events that feature bluegrass music, dance, and traditional food of Southern Appalachia. The festivals in western NC are a sample of what is offered all along the Blue Ridge Music Trail, a… Continue Reading Road Trip, Anyone? Check out Music Festivals in Western NC!

Categories Appalachian Studies/Cooking / Food/Current Events/Events/Music/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/North Carolina/Travel
July 14, 2009

Launch Week at UNC Press!

If you are wondering why you haven’t seen many fresh UNC Press blog posts lately, you have launch week to thank for that. UNC Press folks spent all of last week–save a lunch break here and there–discussing the 70+ titles that will make up our list for Spring 2010. While we are exhausted (sigh) we are certain that it was… Continue Reading Launch Week at UNC Press!

Categories UNC Press News
July 9, 2009

Tar Heel Trek – Sampson County

This week’s installment of Tar Heel Trek visit the county of Sampson, located in the coast plain of North Carolina. Formed in 1784, Sampson County is largely rural county that produces as many hogs as almost anywhere else in the country – the roughly 2 million hogs there outnumber their human neighbors 33 to one. There’s plenty of room for… Continue Reading Tar Heel Trek – Sampson County

Categories Events/North Carolina/Southern Studies/Sports
July 2, 2009

Gettysburg Remembered

For many, today means the last day at the office before a long weekend goes into effect for Independence Day. However, Civil War buffs and historians recognize July 2nd as day two of another important event in American history – the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. In the three hours of fighting on this evening 146 years ago, roughly 10,000… Continue Reading Gettysburg Remembered

Categories Civil War/History/UNC Press Authors
June 29, 2009

Check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Wash., D.C.!

Looking for an inexpensive get-away this summer? Well, you’re in luck. Now through July 5th on the National Mall in Washington DC is the annual cornucopia of world culture–the Smithsonian Folklife Festival! The best part about it? IT’S FREE! This year one of the festival’s three themes is Wales which, of course, reminded me of the engaging new book by… Continue Reading Check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Wash., D.C.!

Categories American Studies/folklore
June 27, 2009

The Smell of Books

For those of us of a certain age (read: Old Folks) reading has a deep association with many of our senses that the current trend towards e-Readers simply do not provide.  Books, those physical collections of bound pages provide us with a certain weighty heft that lets us know we are reading something substantial.  There is the tactile satisfaction that… Continue Reading The Smell of Books

Categories Tongue Held Firmly In Cheek
June 26, 2009

Tar Heel Trek: Stokes County

Located on the Virginia-North Carolina border, directly above Forsyth County, is Stokes County, the next stop on our Tar Heel Trek. Historically, Stokes is best known for tobacco production and stringband music. More recently, it is getting attention for being the home of baseball standout Dustin Ackley. However, as a Stokes County native, I feel like some of the lesser… Continue Reading Tar Heel Trek: Stokes County

Categories Cooking / Food/folklore/Hiking/Literature/Music/Nature/North Carolina/Southern Studies