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
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
I grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, the eldest child of parents who’s idea of gastronomic adventure was going out to the local Hot Shoppes Cafeteria (you southerners just think the K&W and you’ll get the idea). It wasn’t until I was eighteen, when I grew my hair long, pierced my ear, and became a vegetarian that… Continue Reading A Yankee Vegetarian Considers North Carolina Barbecue
I have a great deal of respect for Bill Moyers. Moyers, a former White House Press Secretary for Lyndon Johnson, newspaper journalist, commentator for PBS, CBS, and NBC and now host of his own program, Bill Moyers Journal, is that rare breed of journalist who understands that issues are generally far more complex than a five-second sound bite. All of… Continue Reading Froth and Scum – Then and Now
Working in the IT division of the Press, I don’t get a chance to interact with many of our authors. E. Patrick Johnson is one author I have had the pleasure of corresponding with. Through my work with Johnson to select and refine our promotional page for his book (see below) I can attest to his humor, his appreciation for… Continue Reading Taking a Break with Sweet Tea
No clever blog entry today. Today is simply a day to remember those we lost in New York, in DC and in Pennsylvania. It’s a day to remember what it means to be an American, what it means to be a citizen and what it means to fight for the liberties and the rights our Founding Fathers provided for us… Continue Reading Seven Years Ago
It’s a Saturday night in mid-September, 1955. Dinner dishes have been cleared away, people in their comfortable homes are settling in for the evening. For entertainment, some turn to their trusty radio, still not sure about that expensive picture-box, the television. Those with television sets aren’t too sure this new-fangled thing is all that great, either. Skeptically, many of them… Continue Reading Today in History: Gunsmoke Premiers on Television
Because I teach a course on U.S. Women’s Political History and wrote a book about women in the Republican Party, a lot of people these days have been popping into my office or popping up on email to ask what I think of Sarah Palin‘s nomination for vice-president. As a citizen, I have my opinions (as, it seems, does everyone).… Continue Reading Guest Blogger Catherine Rymph on Sarah Palin and Her Role in History
The following is an email sent on 4 Sep 2008 by UNC Press author Lance Hill to his mailing list of friends. Lance, as some of you may remember from my entry on the anniversary of Katrina, is not only an acclaimed author, but also a professor at Tulane University and a long-time New Orleans resident. We present this message… Continue Reading Gustav Update from New Orleans
Less than a week after Hurricane Gustav kept many of us watching The Weather Channel, hoping New Orleans would be spared a repeat of the flooding damage brought by Hurricane Katrina, those of us in North Carolina are now watching as Tropical Storm Hanna is taking aim at the Carolina coastline. Many of us here at the UNC Press have… Continue Reading Hurricane Season Comes to the Carolinas
In some ways it seems difficult to believe that it was only a week ago that the Democratic Convention was taking place. Since then we’ve had a major hurricane seriously threaten New Orleans and the entire Gulf region, a second hurricane forming (one that’s taking aim at our own Carolina coastline) and the start of the Republican Convention. With the… Continue Reading Political Conventions: Part II
Our adoration and appreciation with WUNC’s “The State of Things” continues to grow on an almost weekly basis. Today, for instance, host Frank Stasio interviewed Anna Hayes on her new biography of Susie Marshall Sharp. Hayes’ book, “Without Precedent: The Life and Times of Susie Marshall Sharp” looks at the life of the first woman judge in the state of… Continue Reading “Meet Anna Hayes” on The State of Things
When Hurricane Katrina moved northwest through the Gulf of Mexico, hitting the Gulf Coast of the US in late August of 2005 I had only the briefest of connections to the city: my parents had attended a convention there in the late 60s, a friend I had grown up with lived there with his wife right after graduating from the… Continue Reading Hurricane Katrina: August 29, 2005
Perhaps you’ve noticed there’s been some politicking going on lately? It may have been too subtle for you to have noticed, especially if you live somewhere without radio, television or internet access (although, come to think of it, that would make reading this blog a bit difficult), but, indeed, it’s been going on for months (and months and months). But… Continue Reading Political Conventions: Part I
We have more than our share of serious baseball fans here at the UNC Press. Personally, I grew up a Washington Senators fan who turned his allegiances to the Baltimore Orioles after the Senators left town in the 1971. Our Associate Director here at the Press is also an Orioles fan as well as a fan of our own UNC… Continue Reading Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Yet another entry in our continuing series of “Why We Love WUNC Radio’s ‘The State of Things’” Glenda Gilmore is an eighth-generation North Carolinian who grew up in Greensboro during the 1960s. It wasn’t until she was teaching American History in a predominantly black school in South Carolina that she realized how her view of history had be skewed by… Continue Reading “Meet Glenda Gilmore” on WUNC’s ‘The State of Things’
As an editor at UNC Press, my professional rhythms are mostly dictated by the academic calendar. So with colleges and most public school systems in North Carolina quickly getting back to business, I often have to remind myself that summer is still going strong. And the great news for those of you who aren’t bound to the school year–and even… Continue Reading Weekend Roadtrip #8: Fly to the Beach!
Last night I had a problem many can relate to—all I wanted was something CHOCOLATE. Seeing as how I was too tired to run to the store for a sweet tooth fix or even try and attempt something overly complicated at home, I turned to Mama Dip’s Family Cookbook to see if there was something simple yet delectable to get… Continue Reading What’s Cooking? Mama Dip’s Baked Fudge!
As a publisher based in the Triangle area of North Carolina (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) we are proud to have a very good working relationship with our local book sellers. An area’s local book sellers are a treasure chest of not only books, but staff who know their titles, authors and subjects. Need a recommendation? Ask someone on the staff of a… Continue Reading “Meet Nancy Olson” on The State of Things
Well, the dog days of summer are upon us, and folks (down here, at least) are trying to keep cool any way they can. My new favorite method? A chilled slice of homemade Key Lime Coconut Pie with Rum Cream, just one of the many fail-proof recipes in Karen Barker’s fabulous dessert cookbook, Sweet Stuff: Karen Barker’s American Desserts. As… Continue Reading What’s Cooking? Karen Barker’s Key Lime Coconut Pie with Rum Cream!
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