August 17, 2017

Andrew C. McKevitt: UAW’s Defeat at Nissan and the Path Forward

On August 4, 2017, workers at Nissan’s assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi, voted to reject representation by the United Auto Workers union. The loss stung, to be sure, but the once-powerful UAW has become accustomed to failure in its efforts to organize auto production facilities operated by foreign companies. Twice previously, in 1989 and 2001, workers rejected the union at Nissan’s plant in Smyrna, Tennessee,—the company’s first North American plant, and only the second Japanese-owned plant in the United States. Continue Reading Andrew C. McKevitt: UAW’s Defeat at Nissan and the Path Forward

Categories American History/American Studies/Asian Studies/Business/Cultural Studies/Current Events/Economics/Guest Bloggers/Labor Studies/UNC Press Authors
August 15, 2017

Interview: Eric Muller Gives Voice to Injustice with Scapegoat Cities Podcast

On the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Japanese American internment camps, Eric L. Muller, editor of Colors of Confinement: Rare Kodachrome Photographs of Japanese American Incarceration in World War II, talks to UNC Press Publicity Director Gina Mahalek about his related podcast, Scapegoat Cities, launching on September 6, 2017. Read on for a chance to win a copy of Colors of Confinement! Continue Reading Interview: Eric Muller Gives Voice to Injustice with Scapegoat Cities Podcast

Categories American Studies/Asian Studies/Documentary Studies/Interviews/Photography
August 10, 2017

Interview: Judy Kutulas on the “Me Decade” and Man Buns

Judy Kutulas, author of After Aquarius Dawned: How the Revolutions of the Sixties Became the Popular Culture of the Seventies, talks to UNC Press Publicity Director Gina Mahalek about making sense of the “me decade” and whether man buns are here to stay.  Continue Reading Interview: Judy Kutulas on the “Me Decade” and Man Buns

Categories American Studies/Cultural Studies/Interviews/UNC Press Authors
August 4, 2017

Karen L. Cox: Goat Castle

August 4, 2017, is the 85th anniversary of the “Goat Castle Murder.” This strange and fascinating tale is recounted in Karen L. Cox’s new book, Goat Castle: A True Story of Murder, Race, and the Gothic South, publishing on October 9, 2017. John Grisham calls it “a highly entertaining story about a long-forgotten murder.” Read on for a glimpse at the story,… Continue Reading Karen L. Cox: Goat Castle

Categories American History/Civil Rights/History/Karen L. Cox/Southern Studies
August 1, 2017

Mr. Seashell’s Legacy Lives On

There are few people in North Carolina who know seashells as well as Hugh Porter. Born in Ohio, he came to North Carolina in the mid 1950s and quickly earned the nickname “Mr. Seashell” for his extensive knowledge and passion for mollusks. This summer, North Carolina Sea Grant and the University of North Carolina Press are honoring Porter’s contributions to the state and celebrating the 20th year of his book, Seashells of North Carolina.
Continue Reading Mr. Seashell’s Legacy Lives On

Categories Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/Nature/North Carolina/Science/Travel
July 31, 2017

New Books for Fall and Winter 2017-18

Last week we shared a few highlights coming up this fall and winter season. Browse the interactive catalog below to see more! We’ve got great titles in store for fall and winter 2017-2018 in areas like American History, Foodways, African American Studies, North Carolina History, Environmental History, and more. You can also visit our website to see what’s already available in a subject that interest you. But the easiest way to stay up to date is to sign up for our monthly eNews announcements! Continue Reading New Books for Fall and Winter 2017-18

Categories UNC Press News
July 27, 2017

Chris Myers Asch & George Derek Musgrove: Chocolate City

Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital by Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove is the most up-to-date and comprehensive history of race and race-relations in the nation’s capital. Thoroughly researched yet very readable, Chocolate City focuses on African American history, but does not neglect Native American and white components of DC history. Continue Reading Chris Myers Asch & George Derek Musgrove: Chocolate City

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/History/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/Politics/Public Policy
July 26, 2017

Pamela Grundy: Color and Character

At a time when race and inequality dominate national debates, the story of West Charlotte High School illuminates the possibilities and challenges of using racial and economic desegregation to foster educational equality. Continue Reading Pamela Grundy: Color and Character

Categories African American History/Civil Rights/Education/History/North Carolina/Public Policy/Southern Studies
July 25, 2017

Emily Herring Wilson: The Three Graces of Val-Kill

The Three Graces of Val-Kill changes the way we think about Eleanor Roosevelt. Emily Wilson examines what she calls the most formative period in Roosevelt’s life, from 1922 to 1936, when she cultivated an intimate friendship with Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook, who helped her build a cottage on the Val-Kill Creek in Hyde Park on the Roosevelt family land. Continue Reading Emily Herring Wilson: The Three Graces of Val-Kill

Categories American History/Biography / Autobiography/History/Politics/Women's Studies
July 24, 2017

Earl J. Hess: The Battle of Peach Tree Creek

Offering new and definitive interpretations of the battle’s place within the Atlanta campaign, Earl J. Hess describes how several Confederate regiments and brigades made a pretense of advancing but then stopped partway to the objective and took cover for the rest of the afternoon on July 20. Hess shows that morale played an unusually important role in determining the outcome at Peach Tree Creek—a soured mood among the Confederates and overwhelming confidence among the Federals spelled disaster for one side and victory for the other. Continue Reading Earl J. Hess: The Battle of Peach Tree Creek

Categories American History/Civil War/History/Military History
July 21, 2017

Interview: Brian Tochterman on the “Summer of Hell”

Where the dying city is most critical, however, is how New York is becoming a victim of its own success. Hyper-gentrification and the polarization of wealth within the landscape, particularly in respect to housing, make it extremely difficult for long-term residents to find housing upon displacement or shifting rents, not to mention to allow space for the intrepid migrants with a dream who reinvigorate the city and keep it fresh, as E.B. White wrote seventy years ago. Everyday it seems—highlighted in the work of local bloggers like Jeremiah Moss—there are stories about some neighborhood institution vanishing due to exorbitant rent increases, which in the long-term will destroy opportunities for independent small business development. This was where I see fears about the dying city, and, from my personal perspective, it’s a very convincing argument. Continue Reading Interview: Brian Tochterman on the “Summer of Hell”

Categories American History/History/Interviews/UNC Press Authors
July 19, 2017

Grandfather Mountain: The History and Guide to an Appalachian Icon

Plan on making a summer getaway to the mountains? Or in need of a perfect gift?  Randy Johnson’s Grandfather Mountain: The History and Guide to an Appalachian Icon can help with both!  Grandfather Mountain highlights the natural beauty and history of one of North Carolina’s best known landmarks. Continue Reading Grandfather Mountain: The History and Guide to an Appalachian Icon

Categories Awards/Geography/Hiking/Nature/North Carolina/Photography/Travel
July 14, 2017

Sarah S. Elkind: Energy Corporations in Schools: Then and Now

Today, fossil fuel companies have engaged in a similar propaganda war—funding questionable research, donating questionable curriculum to hard-pressed schools, and touting their contributions to the public welfare in advertising campaigns—for similar self-interested reasons. Recent reports out of Oklahoma exposed the oil and gas industry’s science curriculum and the incentives like fully-funded field trips and free supplies and lab equipment. This echoes a similar story about coal-funded classroom materials published and later withdrawn by Scholastic, Inc., in 2009. Continue Reading Sarah S. Elkind: Energy Corporations in Schools: Then and Now

Categories American History/Author blog entry/Education/Guest Bloggers/History/Politics/Public Policy/UNC Press Authors
July 12, 2017

Excerpt: Living at the Water’s Edge by Barbara Garrity-Blake and Karen Willis Amspacher

Living at the Water’s Edge will lead readers to the proverbial porch of the Outer Banks locals, extending a warm welcome to visitors while encouraging them to understand what many never see or hear: the stories, feelings, and meanings that offer a cultural dimension to the byway experience and deepen the visitor’s understanding of life on the tideline. In this excerpt, Barbara and Karen share the dangers of the North Carolina coast for ships and the lighthouses that save them. Continue Reading Excerpt: Living at the Water’s Edge by Barbara Garrity-Blake and Karen Willis Amspacher

Categories Excerpts/North Carolina/Travel
July 10, 2017

Elizondo Griest: All the Agents and Saints

Today is the official publication date of All the Agents and Saints by Stephanie Elizondo Griest. As we wish a happy book birthday to Stephanie and All the Agents and Saints, we wanted to share the  coverage that she’s been getting to keep our readers in the loop! Continue Reading Elizondo Griest: All the Agents and Saints

Categories American Studies/Current Events/Documentary Studies/Events/Latino Studies/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/Travel
July 7, 2017

Free Book Friday! Lessons from the Sand by Charles & Orrin Pilkey

It’s Free Book Friday!! Enter to win a copy of Lessons from the Sand by Charles O. Pilkey and Orrin H. Pilkey via Goodreads. Each easy-to-follow activity is presented in full color with dozens of whimsical and informational illustrations that will engage and guide readers through the experiments. Great for taking along on your next beach vacation! The giveaway ends on Friday, July 15, so get your entry in now! Continue Reading Free Book Friday! Lessons from the Sand by Charles & Orrin Pilkey

Categories Education/Environmental Studies/Juvenile/Nature/North Carolina/Science/Travel
July 5, 2017

David Blevins on tour with North Carolina’s Barrier Islands

Heading to the North Carolina beach next week? David Blevins will be there too with North Carolina’s Barrier Islands: Wonders of Sand, Sea, and Sky! Stop by for an inspiring presentation on David’s writing journey and how he captures the wonder of the islands. Continue Reading David Blevins on tour with North Carolina’s Barrier Islands

Categories Events/Local Indy Booksellers/Nature/North Carolina/Photography/Science/Travel
July 3, 2017

Battle of Gettysburg Field Guide

This second, updated edition of the acclaimed A Field Guide to Gettysburg will lead visitors to every important site across the battlefield and also give them ways to envision the action and empathize with the soldiers involved and the local people into whose lives and lands the battle intruded. Ideal for carrying on trips through the park as well as for the armchair historian, this book includes comprehensive maps and deft descriptions of the action that situate visitors in time and place. Continue Reading Battle of Gettysburg Field Guide

Categories American History/Civil War/History/Military History/Military Studies/Travel