Indiana University Press blog

Enter our Goodreads book giveaways!

We're currently hosting two giveaways on Goodreads! If you're a member, enter today for a chance to win advance reading copies of these books:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Pere Marie-Benoit and Jewish Rescue

by Susan Zuccotti

Giveaway ends May 22, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

  Enter to win

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The House at Ujazdowskie 16

by Karen Auerbach

Giveaway ends May 22, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

  Enter to win

Three IUP books win 2013 IPPY Awards

We are pleased to announce that three of our books have won Gold, Silver, and Bronze in the 2013 Independent Publisher Awards (IPPY)! In the Religion category, Claiming Society for God by Nancy J. Davis and Robert V. Robinson, tied for Gold. In the Biography category, Howard Fast by Gerald Sorin tied for Silver. And in the Great Lakes—Best Regional Non-Fiction category, Indiana Covered Bridges by Marsha Williamson Mohr tied for Bronze.

These awards will be presented on May 29 at the 17th Annual IPPY Awards at Providence NYC, kicking off the annual BookExpo America convention.

All IPPY Award medalists will receive a medal, a certificate, and 20 awards seals. For more information, visit the IPPY's website.

Book review: Howard Fast

"Gerald Sorin tells Fast's story in this engaging and fluidly written biography. He draws connections among Fast's Jewishness, his writings, and that most curious part of his life: his long embrace of the Communist Party. In so doing, Sorin illuminates a complex part of American Jewish life in the twentieth century. ... Sorin is a brilliant biographer who proves to be both sympathetic and critical of his subject. This is Gerald Sorin's second National Jewish Book Award. He won in the category of history for his Irving Howe: A Life of Passionate Dissent, in 2003" —Jewish Book World

Learn more about Howard Fast in this WAMC interview with author Gerald Sorin.

Book review: Starring Madame Modjeska

"Starring Madame Modjeska is based on very solid archival research, yet it is written with lightness and grace—qualities inspired by the character of the formidable protagonist of this excellent book." —Slavic Review

Book review: Alva Vanderbilt Belmont

"Hoffert sheds a bright light on the life of the imperious, irascible, opinionated Alva Vanderbilt Belmont. The author posits that Belmont was an unlikely champion of women’s rights and that her work was crucial to the success of women’s rights. Belmont’s money and political connections benefitted women’s causes; her social and celebrity status brought press attention and additional financial support." —CCWH Newsletter

Richard Lugar to receive statesmanship award

Senators Richard Lugar and Sam Nunn will receive the the United States Association of Former Members of Congress's Statesmanship Award for showing explemplary examples of bipartisanship while in office. The award will be presented at the organization's 16th annual "A Salute to Service" award dinner March 19.  

Senator Lugar is the subject of a recent biography by John T. Shaw. To learn more him and his political career, pick up a copy of Richard G. Lugar, Statesman of the Senate or listen to this IU Press podcast.

Publishers Weekly reviews 'Père Marie-Benoît and Jewish Rescue' and interviews author

Susan Zuccotti's upcoming biography of French priest Père Marie-Benoît received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. The magazine praised Zuccotti for her work on Père Marie-Benoît and Jewish Rescue and asked, "Who better to rescue from obscurity an Oskar Schindler–like hero than historian Zuccotti?" The review goes on to say that the book is "an intellectual page-turner" written with "the perfect amount of detail and context."

Recently, Publishers Weekly interviewed Zuccotti about her book. She discussed how she discovered Père Marie-Benoît and some surprises she discovered during her research. Read the full interview here.

Père Marie-Benoît and Jewish Rescue will be available this June from IU Press. For more information or to pre-order a copy of the book, visit our website.

Gerald Sorin to accept National Jewish Book Award next week

We are pleased to announce that Gerald Sorin has won the prestigious National Jewish Book Award in the Biography, Autobiography, Memoir category for his book Howard Fast: Life and Literature in the Left Lane! 

This new biography of Fast follows his life from a rough-and-tumble Jewish New York street kid to the rich and famous author of close to 100 books. Sorin illuminates the connections among Fast's Jewishness, his writings, and his left-wing politics, and explains Fast’s attraction to the Communist Party.

Sorin, along with other 2012 National Jewish Book Award winners, will be honored March 14 at a gala awards ceremony at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. The ceremony begins at 8:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Jewish Book Council's website.

Book review: Howard Fast

"Gerald Sorin’s biography of the Jewish-leftist writer Howard Fast (1914-2003) examines Fast’s life through the lens of his political identity. ... [S]uch a critical view is bound to stimulate new debate over the role of the artist in Cold War America." —Jewish Book Council

Richard Lugar to give lecture at IU + book giveaway

Former U.S. senator and newly appointed IU faculty member Richard Lugar will give the Patrick O'Meara International Lecture February 18 on the IU Bloomington campus. His talk, which is free and open to the public, begins at 4 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union Whittenberger Auditorium.

More information about Lugar and his political career can be found in our book Richard G. Lugar, Statesman of the Senate. To celebrate Lugar's lecture and recent appointment to the IU faculty, we're giving away two free copies of his biography, autographed by author John T. Shaw!

To enter the contest, send an email to winiupress@gmail.com with your name and mailing address. Entries will be accepted through February 18 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Winners will be notified by email and books will ship via USPS.

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Ex-Sen. Lugar to give lecture at IU-Bloomington

Podcast: John T. Shaw discusses Richard Lugar

Lugar to join Ind. U. faculty, donate papers there