Indiana University Press blog

Book review: Heroes and Victims

"Bucur takes the reader on what is effectively a guided tour of a major war-related Romanian lieux de mémoire—some familiar, others quite new to researchers. ... [T]he book can be read as both a monograph with new things to say to specialists and as an introduction for students..." —European History Quarterly

Book review: Kiev, Jewish Metropolis

"This well-written, engaging book seeks to reconstruct the fabric of Jewish daily life in the dynamic city of Kiev, known as the mother of Russian Orthodox cities." —Jewish Book Council

Author event: Beth Holmgren to lecture at the University of Toronto

Beth Holmgren, author of Starring Madame Modjeska, will give a lecture about her book at the University of Toronto March 8. The University of Toronto's Polish Language & Literature Program will sponsor the event, and it will be held in Father Madden Hall in St. Michael's College from 6 to 9 p.m. Visit University of Toronto's website to learn more about the event. 

Book review: Starring Madame Modjeska

"[A] fastidiously researched and fascinating portrayal of an actor’s life. ... While theater enthusiasts will enjoy the care and detail that Beth Holmgren took with Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland in America, readers of history will appreciate the role this woman played on the world’s stage. It makes for great drama." —NewPages

Book review: Starring Madame Modjeska

"Starring Madame Modjeska offers insight into not only the prodigious life of a captivating actress who crafted her own unique romantic acting style as well as her public persona; it also provides a colorful portrait of the nineteenth-century theatre." —Cosmopolitan Review

February author events for Beth Holmgren

Starring Madame Modjeska author Beth Homgren has three events lined up for February. The first takes place February 2 at 7 p.m. when the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City hosts an Author's Evening with Beth Holmgren. You can RSVP to this event by email. To learn more about the event and the Kosciuszko Foundation, please visit the organization's website. 

On February 25 at 11 a.m., Holmgren will give a reading from her book at McIntyre's Books in Pittsboro NC. For more information, visit the bookstore's website. 

Finally, Holmgren will discuss her book at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC. This event takes place February 28 at 7:00 p.m. More details are available on the bookstore's website.

New book on Bosnian genocide and Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut relate

In July 1995, the Army of the Serbian Republic killed around 8,000 Bosnian men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica—the largest mass murder in Europe since World War II. New in theaters is Angelina Jolie’s forceful directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, set against the backdrop of this war and seen through the eyes of a Bosnian woman.

In a new book, Surviving the Bosnian Genocide, 60 female survivors of the massacre share their disturbing testimonies of this tormenting time. These women, many of whom still live in refugee camps, tell of their lives before the Bosnian war, the events of the massacre, and the ways they have attempted to cope with their fate. Drawing on their memories, though fragmented by trauma, the women tell of life and survival under extreme conditions, while recalling a time before the war when Muslims, Croats, and Serbs lived together peaceably.

By giving them a voice, this book looks beyond the rapes, murders, and atrocities of that dark time to unearth these women both during and after the war and their fight to uncover the truth of what happened at Srebrenica and why.

Selma Leydesdorff is Professor of Oral History and Culture at the University of Amsterdam. She is author of We Lived with Dignity: The Jewish Proletariat of Amsterdam, 1900-1940 and editor (with Nanci Adler, Mary Chamberlain, and Leyla Neyzi) of Memories of Mass Repression: Narrating Life Stories in the Aftermath of Atrocity.

Kay Richardson is a retired editor with 30 years of experience in international scholarly publishing. During her 13 years of residence in the Netherlands, she gained fluency in Dutch and developed an abiding interest in Dutch history and culture.

For digital or print review copies and interview requests contact: Mandy Clarke, Trade Marketing and Publicity Manager, mlclarke@indiana.edu, or 812-855-4522.

Two IU Press authors receive honorable mentions for ASEEES book prizes

We are pleased to announce that two IU Press authors will receive honorable mention book prizes from the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES)! ASEEES will give Sarah Phillips's book Disability and Mobile Citizenship in Postsocialist Ukraine an honorable mention for the Davis Center Book Prize in Political and Social Studies. This prize focuses on outstanding work about Russia, Eurasia, or Eastern Europe with a focus in anthropology, political science, sociology, or geography. 

Bozena Shallcross's book The Holocaust Object in Polish and Polish-Jewish Culture will be presented with an honorable mention for the Kulczycki Book Prize in Polish Studies. This prize celebrates the best book that focuses on on Polish affairs. 

ASEEES will honor the prize winners November 19 during its annual convention in Washington, DC. To learn more about the awards and previous winners, visit the ASEEES website.

New book traces life of actress Helena Modrzejewska

On this day in 1840, actress Helena Modrzejewska was born in Krakow, Poland. She is the subject of a new biography by Beth Holmgren. In Starring Madame Modjeska, Holmgren traces Modjeska's fabulous life and career from her illegitimate birth in Krakow, to her successive reinventions of herself as a star in both Poland and America, and finally to her enduring legacy.

After enjoying a successful acting career in Poland, Modrzejewska emigrated to southern California in 1876. Within a year she made her debut in the title role of Adrienne Lecouvreur at San Francisco's California Theatre. She changed her name to Modjeska and quickly became a leading star on the American stage, where she reigned for the next 30 years. During this time, she established herself as America's most esteemed Shakespearean actress, playing opposite such celebrated actors as Edwin Booth and Maurice Barrymore.

Read more about Helena Modjeska

Author event: Selma Leydesdorff to discuss new book on Bosnian genocide at NYU

Selma Leydesdorff's new book Surviving the Bosnian Genocide will be the focus of a discussion at New York University's “Listening to the Women of Bosnia” event on October 17 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Cantor Film Center. In addition to the book presentation, Leydesdorff is also one of several speakers featured at the event. It is free and open to the public, but a reservation is required. To RSVP, email valerie.dubois@nyu.edu.

The event will also include a screening of "I Came to Testify", the story of how a group of 16 women who had been imprisoned and raped by Serb-led forces in the Bosnian town of Foca stepped forward to take the witness stand in an international court of law. The film, which premieres today, is part of PBS's new five-part series "Women, War & Peace".

Pamela Hogan, the producer of "I Came to Testify," recently recorded a podcast with Selma Leydesdorff. Listen to the interview here.