October 21, 2008

James McPherson’s top five books on the Civil War away from the battlefield

The Wall Street Journal has published a series of “Five Best” book lists in various subjects this month, including books on financial meltdowns and books on the history of medicine. This week’s list offers Pulitzer Prize-winning author James M. McPherson‘s top five books about the Civil War away from the battlefield. Of the five books on McPherson’s list, one is… Continue Reading James McPherson’s top five books on the Civil War away from the battlefield

Categories Civil War/Reviews/UNC Press News
October 20, 2008

Frankfurt Book Fair 2008

The world’s largest annual book trade show, the Frankfurt Book Fair, just wrapped up its 60th anniversary gathering. From October 15-19, the Frankfurt, Germany, fair hosted more than 50,000 visitors each day, peaking at a record 78,218 on Saturday! Vicky Wells, our director of contracts and subsidiary rights, hopped on a plane last week, crossed the Atlantic and touched down… Continue Reading Frankfurt Book Fair 2008

Categories Events/The Book Biz/UNC Press News
October 17, 2008

Online book buzz: the food’s the thing

Before the week gets away from me, I wanted to be able to share some more of the online buzz UNC Press books have gotten lately. It’s all about FOOD . . . Nancy Carter Crump’s Hearthside Cooking: Early American Southern Cuisine Updated for Today’s Hearth and Cookstove is hitting bookstores now. Get an early taste over at Gherkins and… Continue Reading Online book buzz: the food’s the thing

Categories Cooking / Food/UNC Press News
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
October 14, 2008

Robin Williams stops by UNC Press Booth in Nashville

The University of North Carolina Press was not the only out-of-towner attending the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville Oct. 10-Oct. 12. Comedian and actor Robin Williams strolled through the War Memorial Plaza on Sunday and checked out what UNC Press had to offer. He even purchased Lincoln and the Decision for War, by Russell McClintock, as seen in this… Continue Reading Robin Williams stops by UNC Press Booth in Nashville

Categories Civil War/Cooking / Food/Events/Gay / Lesbian Studies/Juvenile/Military History/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/Nature/The Book Biz/UNC Press News
October 13, 2008

Books for Understanding the Economic Crisis

Well, on the news that European governments are jumping in to help their banks continue lending to each other, markets seem to be showing some signs of regaining confidence today. We’ll see how long it holds. For the past couple of weeks — and no doubt for some time still to come — we’ve seen what large scale economic crisis… Continue Reading Books for Understanding the Economic Crisis

Categories Business/Current Events/Economics/The Book Biz
October 9, 2008

Verifying your voter registration status

According to an article in the New York Times today, tens of thousands of eligible voters have erroneously—and illegally—been removed from voter rolls in at least six battleground states, including North Carolina. On top of the fact that it is against the law (with few exceptions, such as death) to purge voter rolls within 90 days of an election, many… Continue Reading Verifying your voter registration status

Categories Politics/UNC Press News
October 9, 2008

Ella Baker Tour – SNCC alums to visit Durham

The Ella Baker Tour and Retreat, sponsored by the Southern Anti-Racism Network (SARN), is inspiring a wave of intergenerational dialogue and cooperation between veterans of the Civil Rights Movement and a new generation of social justice activists. The SARN website explains the tour’s origins this way: Social change movements led by people of African descent in the U.S. are experiencing… Continue Reading Ella Baker Tour – SNCC alums to visit Durham

Categories African American Studies/American History/Civil Rights/Events/North Carolina
October 8, 2008

Banned Books Week Gallery

National Banned Books Week ended on Saturday, but we’re not done! A few readers took me up on the invitation to send in photos of “getting caught reading a banned book.” I also stumbled upon a few other photos of folks around the country gettin’ down with Banned Books Week. The anonymous, the canine (more from Gus!), and the in-your-face,… Continue Reading Banned Books Week Gallery

Categories Current Events/The Book Biz
October 2, 2008

Weekend Roadtrip #9: Grab a Plastic Bib and Head to the NC Seafood Festival

Grab your oyster knives and crab crackers! This weekend, Morehead City will be hosting the 22nd Annual North Carolina Seafood Festival. Friday through Sunday, October 3-5, locals and out-of-towners can enjoy all the Crystal Coast has to offer. Events include the Outer Banks Boat Show, cooking demonstrations by renowned chefs, live music, rides, an open air market with arts and… Continue Reading Weekend Roadtrip #9: Grab a Plastic Bib and Head to the NC Seafood Festival

Categories Cooking / Food/Current Events/North Carolina/Travel
October 1, 2008

Call for Entries: Get Caught Reading . . . a Banned Book! Send pics!

Dear, sweet readers, do you know what this week is? It’s Banned Books Week, brought to you by the American Library Association. It’s that time once a year when we celebrate the freedom to read what we want by flaunting all the books that people at one time or another, for one reason or another, didn’t want somebody to read.… Continue Reading Call for Entries: Get Caught Reading . . . a Banned Book! Send pics!

Categories The Book Biz/UNC Press News
September 30, 2008

Dr. Hadler Advises to Think Twice about That Colonoscopy

Dr. Nortin Hadler, author of Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America, writes occasional commentaries for ABC News online. In his most recent piece, published Friday, Hadler discusses the screening of health conditions that may — or may not — significantly affect your lifespan or your quality of life. He suggests you think twice before signing up… Continue Reading Dr. Hadler Advises to Think Twice about That Colonoscopy

Categories Health / Medicine
September 29, 2008

UNC Press in Mobile, AL

Greetings from Mobile, Alabama! What a weekend-well-spent at the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (commonly referred to as SIBA) 2008 trade show. The University of North Carolina Press received quite a bit of positive feedback for many reasons. EVERYONE we spoke with is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue and couldn’t give enough praise… Continue Reading UNC Press in Mobile, AL

Categories Events/Local Indy Booksellers/The Book Biz/UNC Press News
September 26, 2008

It’s National Hunting and Fishing Day!

Aha! The perfect day, then, to let you know that we’ve brought back into print a great sportsman’s classic, Hunting and Fishing in the Great Smokies, by Jim Gasque. Gasque’s classic 1948 work offers a period portrait of outdoor life in the Great Smoky Mountains. Filled with anecdotes, fishing and hunting stories, and recollections of legendary local sportsmen and guides,… Continue Reading It’s National Hunting and Fishing Day!

Categories Sports
September 25, 2008

E. Patrick Johnson’s “Pouring Tea” in Chapel Hill and Durham

If you didn’t go check out the videos mentioned in Tom’s post on Sweet Tea a couple of weeks ago, go do it now. In fact, here’s a direct link to the page where the videos are. Go on. I’ll wait. . . . . . . Okay, I actually just went and re-watched all six of them again. I… Continue Reading E. Patrick Johnson’s “Pouring Tea” in Chapel Hill and Durham

Categories African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Gay / Lesbian Studies/Local Indy Booksellers/UNC Press News
September 24, 2008

Deaf Awareness Week

I took some sign language classes about twenty years ago and had some interaction with the deaf community at the time, but when the classes ended, I didn’t keep it up. I remember little more than the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet, plus a few things like “more,” “thank you,” and “finished,” which I learned again when my sister started… Continue Reading Deaf Awareness Week

Categories African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Disability Studies/Literature/North Carolina
September 22, 2008

American Business Women’s Day

Maggie Lena Walker (third from the left in the cover photo) was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1867 (or 1864, or 1865, depending on your source). She spent her lifetime working to empower the black community there, even as early as high school, when she led a protest against the segregation policy that prevented her class from holding its graduation… Continue Reading American Business Women’s Day

Categories African American Studies/American History/Biography / Autobiography/Women's Studies
September 18, 2008

“Meet Mike Walden” on the State of Things

If the subject of economics isn’t your strong suit, welcome to the majority! That’s why North Carolina is lucky to have Mike Walden, a professor at NC State and economist with the NC Cooperative Extension Service. Walden is especially good at talking about economics in terms the rest of us can understand. His new book is North Carolina in the… Continue Reading “Meet Mike Walden” on the State of Things

Categories Economics/North Carolina/Podcasts/TSoT