The holidays are almost upon us and that means reading books by the fireplace or with a soothing drink by your side. Here are some awesome reviews of UPF books to help you select your next holiday reads.
Jack Clemons, author of Safely to Earth: The Men and Women Who Brought the Astronauts Home, was interviewed by BBC Sky at Night and Cape Gazette. BBC Sky at Night also chose his book as one of their 12 Books of Christmas and it was reviewed by Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin.
Dixie’s Daughters: The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Preservation of Confederate Culture by Karen Cox continues to garner praise. Cox was interviewed by The Progressive Pulse and WUNC, and wrote an opinion piece on CNN. The book appeared in Salon and The Daily Beast. It will be available with a new cover and preface in March 2019.
More reviews for Dixie’s Daughters:
“Adds a new dimension to the growing scholarship on the creation of historical memory. Cox treats her subjects as vital, influential political actors and integrates them into the Progressive Era by suggesting that southern women displayed their own, unique brand of activism.”—H-Net Reviews
“Cox especially demonstrates the UDC’s many kinds of influence on generations of white southerners. . . . Her reader does not lack information for imagining how sinister the UDC’s influence may have been over time.”—Journal of American History
“It is the first and the only scholarly history of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and it certainly makes a case for the larger significance of the organization that other scholars will want to consider and to carry forward.”—American Historical Review
“This book is brilliant.”—Society for U.S. Intellectual History
“A valuable contribution to the historiography of the Lost Cause.”—Journal of Southern History
“Provides a much-needed institutional history of the UDC at the height of its influence; that alone would be a major contribution. But Cox incorporates into it an exploration of the impact of the group on southern culture and the lives of the upper-class women who participated in it.”—Southern Cultures
Richard Shieldhouse, author of William Morgan: Evolution of an Architect, was interviewed by WJCT News’s First Coast Connect.
Praise for William Morgan:
“Richard Shieldhouse’s entertaining look at Jacksonville’s most important architect, William Morgan, is a story that all Jacksonville can share. . . . The historical and contemporary photographs by several photographers, including the author, are spectacular.”—Times-Union
Von Diaz’s Coconuts and Collards: Recipes and Stories from Puerto Rico to the Deep South continues to receive accolades. Von Diaz gave the Washington Post a primer on plantains and her coquito recipe was profiled in Garden & Gun. Food & Wine tested recipes from the book with delicious results, and Von Diaz wrote a guest article for Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
Gamble Rogers: A Troubadour’s Life by Bruce Horovitz was profiled in The Florida Times-Union and mentioned in Suwannee Democrat.
Dancing in Blackness: A Memoir by Halifu Osumare was recommended reading by Dance Studio Life.
Jeff Klinkenberg, author of several UPF books including Son of Real Florida was profiled by the Florida Humanities Council after winning the Council’s 2018 Florida Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing.
Voices from Mariel: Oral Histories of the 1980 Cuban Boatlift author José Manuel García was interviewed by Perspectives on History.
Madame Lalaurie, Mistress of the Haunted House author Carolyn Morrow Long was interviewed about her book on the Beyond Bourbon St. podcast.
The Allure of Immortality: An American Cult, a Florida Swamp, and a Renegade Prophet by Lyn Millner was listed by The Wall Street Journal as one of the five best books about cults.
New research findings from Heather McKillop, author of Salt: White Gold of the Ancient Maya, were detailed in NPR and Phys.org. Her new book, Maya Salt Works, will be out in May 2019.
Florida Sinkholes: Science and Policy author Robert Brinkmann brought his expertise on sinkholes to the Smithsonian.
Here are more recent reviews:
Before the Pioneers: Indians, Settlers, Slaves, and the Founding of Miami
by Andrew K. Frank
“[An] incisive study of Miami.”—Journal of American Ethnic History
A Step-by-Step Guide to a Florida Native Yard
by Ginny Stibolt and Marjorie Shropshire
“The nuts and bolts guidebook we’ve needed for a long time in the native plant ‘movement’.”—The Understory, the Newsletter of the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society
Fire Ecology of Florida and the Southeastern Coastal Plain
by Reed F. Noss
“A major contribution to ecology studies and fire science. . . . Essential.”—Choice
Zombies: An Anthropological Investigation of the Living Dead
by Philippe Charlier, Translated by Richard J. Gray II
“Fascinating.”—Reading Religion
Arts of Korea: Histories, Challenges, and Perspectives
Edited by Jason Steuber and Allysa B. Peyton
“Lavishly illustrated…an important contribution to the rapidly developing discipline of Korean art history.”—Choice
Telling Migrant Stories: Latin American Diaspora in Documentary Film
Edited by Esteban E. Loustaunau and Lauren E. Shaw
“Present[s] the richness of films united by a focus on the theme of migration and the Latin American diaspora. . . . An essential resource.”—Migration Studies
Ancient Psychoactive Substances
Edited by Scott M. Fitzpatrick
“A well-founded and presented description of the integral role that psychoactive substances played in ancient societies. . . . A unique addition to ancient history collections.”—Choice
Bones of Complexity: Bioarchaeological Case Studies of Social Organization and Skeletal Biology
Edited by Haagen D. Klaus, Amanda R. Harvey, and Mark N. Cohen
“A very useful textbook for all readers in and outside the field of bioarchaeology.”—Anthropology News
Creole Clay: Heritage Ceramics in the Contemporary Caribbean
by Patricia J. Fay
“Fills a void in the broad and diverse history of world ceramics. . . . An essential contribution to the history of art and culture in the region.”—caa.reviews
Negotiating Respect: Pentecostalism, Masculinity, and the Politics of Spiritual Authority in the Dominican Republic
by Brendan Jamal Thornton
“Thornton convincingly demonstrates the power and rootedness of Pentecostalism in the tangible benefits of social efficacy and ‘respect’ while relativizing the religious movement within a wider array of Dominican, and more broadly Caribbean, religious practices.”—Anthrocybib
Hemingway and Italy: Twenty-First-Century Perspectives
Edited by Mark Cirino and Mark P. Ott
“An indispensable source for anyone seeking wider knowledge of twenty-first-century Hemingway research, particularly with respect to his works set in Italy.”—Modern Language Review
Allusions in Omeros: Notes and a Guide to Derek Walcott’s Masterpiece
by Maria McGarrity
“Immensely informative. . . . The bibliography alone provides a wealth of sources gathered from the past three decades on the poet, his relation to the global Anglophone tradition, and Caribbean social, cultural, and literary histories.”—ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature
The Florida Bookshelf 