Review Roundup

A selection of recent titles in the news:

Picturing Apollo: Rare Views and Undiscovered Moments by J.L. Pickering and John Bisney is already getting great reviews ahead of its April 2019 release.

“Across 10 well-organized chapters, the selected images capture the country’s mounting excitement; the meticulous preparation of astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins; and finally the moon landing itself and the crew’s return to Earth. . . . The reader is left with an ample sense of the astronauts’ fame and, thanks to Pickering and Bisney’s wise selections, of their lasting accomplishment.”—Publishers Weekly

“50 years ago this July, Neil Armstrong took ‘one giant leap for mankind’ as he became the first human to step foot on the moon’s surface—and now, never-before-seen pictures provide a unique glimpse behind the profound 1969 voyage.”—Daily Mail

 

Dancing with Merce Cunningham by Marianne Preger-Simon is also getting buzz. The book will be available March 2019.

“An unparalleled view of a modern dance genius. . . . [and] a sweet treat for dance and theater aficionados, as well as anyone interested in the arts.”—Publishers Weekly

 

Safely to Earth: The Men and Women Who Brought the Astronauts Home by Jack Clemons continues to garner accolades. On Balloons to Drones the book was featured in ‘Space: A Reading List,’ along with several other UPF titles. Clemons was also interviewed by So, What’s Your Story? podcast and mentioned on Delmarva Public Radio.

Praise for Safely to Earth:

“Serves as a reminder that Apollo was possible thanks not just to the astronauts, politicians, and key engineers, but also by a workforce of thousands, whose even rank-and-file members have interesting stories to tell about the race to the Moon.”—Space Review

 

Von Diaz, author of Coconuts and Collards: Recipes and Stories from Puerto Rico to the Deep South, was interviewed by Kitchn about writing on family, her favorite food, and her Puerto Rican inspirations. Both Food52 and WAMU listed her book as one of the best cookbooks of 2018.

 

 

Karen Cox, author of Dixie’s Daughters: The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Preservation of Confederate Culture, wrote an opinion piece on CNN. Her book will available with a new cover and preface in March 2019.

 

 

 

Richard Shieldhouse’s William Morgan: Evolution of an Architect was recommended reading by Void Magazine.

Praise for William Morgan: 

“Shieldhouse emphasizes the people, experiences, and circumstances that influenced Morgan. . . . Recommended.”—Choice

 

Photographer Mac Stone was profiled in The Epoch Times. He is the author of Everglades: America’s Wetland.

 

 

 

Halifu Osumare’s Dancing in Blackness: A Memoir was listed as one of the most notable dance books of 2018 by Wendy Perron. The book will be available in paperback in March 2019.

 

 

 

Bruce Horovitz was on WLRN to discuss his book, Gamble Rogers: A Troubadour’s Life

Praise for Gamble Rogers: 

“The man who gave so much to others has now been properly documented in Bruce Horovitz’s insightful and, yes, loving biography.”—Folio Weekly Magazine

 

Voices From Mariel: Oral Histories of the 1980 Cuban Boatlift author José Manuel García was profiled by The Southern.

 

 

 

Drawn to the Deep: The Remarkable Underwater Explorations of Wes Skiles
by Julie Hauserman

“An intriguing, thought-provoking, and well-written book. . . . Hauserman successfully highlights [Skiles’] varied accomplishments and numerous contributions to exploration, education, and environmental awareness.”—The Underground Movement

 

The History of Florida
Edited by Michael Gannon

“Provide[s] a balanced view of Florida’s sweeping history throughout the centuries.”—Tampa Bay Magazine

 

 

Silent Films in St. Augustine
by Thomas Graham

“Richly illustrate[s] film scenes and vivif[ies] bygone directors and actors. . . .[and] successfully contextualizes specific events within the history of the early film industry.”—Journal of Southern History

 

Before the Pioneers: Indians, Settlers, Slaves, and the Founding of Miami
by Andrew K. Frank

“In addition to helping fill a historiographic void, Frank provides much to consider in relation to other treatments of Florida’s past. . . . Before the Pioneers should serve as the starting point for future studies of the issues [Frank] references, and it clearly demonstrates that south Florida existed as a vibrant human hub long before the advent of Miami.”—Journal of American History

 

Virginia Woolf, the War Without, the War Within: Her Final Diaries and the Diaries She Read
by Barbara Lounsberry

“Lounsberry uses these [diaries] to demonstrate that as fascism flourished and dear friends died, diaries—as a lifeline and a path forward—became integral to both Woolf’s doing and her undoing. . . . Essential.”—Choice

Praise for all three Virginia Woolf books by Barbara Lounsberry:

“Lounsberry has done for Woolf’s diaries what the diaries once did for Woolf’s novels, and what all great literary criticism seeks to do: It takes a canonical work of literature and offers an entirely new way of seeing it.”—The New Republic

 

Detain and Punish: Haitian Refugees and the Rise of the World’s Largest Immigration Detention System
by Carl Lindskoog

“Provides a valuable road map of the tangled law and politics of U.S. immigration policies.”—Foreign Affairs

 

 

A National Geographic article about Cold War nuclear bunkers mentions Todd A. Hanson, author of The Archaeology of the Cold War.

 

 

 

Alice B. Kehoe, coeditor of the upcoming Archaeologies of Listening, shared her knowledge of anthropology on Dirt podcast. The book will be out in April 2019.

 

 

 

Georgia L. Fox and her book The Archaeology of Smoking and Tobacco were mentioned in Smithsonian Magazine.

 

 

 

Keri Leigh Merritt, one of the coeditors of Reconsidering Southern Labor History: Race, Class and Power, was profiled by the Atlantic Journal-Constitution.

 

 

 

Home Front: North Carolina during World War II
by Julian M. Pleasants

“Through 11 chapters filled with fascinating details and anecdotes, Pleasants gives ample evidence of the profound changes the war brought in the state.”—Greensboro News and Record

 

Edible Insects and Human Evolution
by Julie Lesnik

“Thought-provoking. . . . For the first time in a comprehensive book form, Lesnik elegantly explains and summarizes the research and evidence for entomophagy in human and primate evolution, applies this information to the importance of incorporating edible insects into current and future world food needs, and sets up a hypothetical frame-work for further investigations.”—American Entomologist

“This book is distinguished by the breadth of information that is brought together to examine the role of edible insects in human evolution. . . . It is clearly written, with a dynamism that transcends the examination of evidence to examining its relevance for contemporary issues.”—Journal of Insects as Food and Feed

 

Joe Street, author of Dirty Harry’s America: Clint Eastwood, Harry Callahan, and the Conservative Backlash was a guest on the New Books in Film podcast, where he discussed the legacy of the Dirty Harry films.

 

 

The President and American Capitalism since 1945
Edited by Mark H. Rose and Roger Biles

“Thought-provoking. . . . The work collected here beautifully captures the vitality and importance of the field.”—Journal of American History

 

 

James E. David’s book Spies and Shuttles: NASA’s Secret Relationships with the DOD and CIA is featured in the Tehelka article ‘Spies in the Skies.’

 

 

 

American Literary History and the Turn toward Modernity
Edited by Melanie V. Dawson and Meredith L. Goldsmith

“Brings to light the complex, dialectical exchange that occurs during literary transitions. . . . Recommended.”—Choice

 

 

Ulysses Unbound: A Readers Companion to James Joyce’s Ulysses, Third Edition
by Terence Killeen

“An indispensable volume for the Joyce novice and veteran alike, Terence Milleen’s Ulysses Unbound is that rare work of scholarship which makes a text more lucid without diminishing its difficulty. . . . An outstanding entry in guides to Joyce and a genuine pleasure to read.”—James Joyce Literary Supplement

A Curious Peril: H.D.’s Late Modernist Prose
by Lara Vetter

“Exquisitely researched.”—Modern Language Review

“Offers a fascinating and thorough analysis of the chosen texts, grounding them not only in the context of H.D.’s own experiences and recognizing the trauma of two World Wars but also in the context of post-war Europe.”—Forum for Modern Language Studies