Indiana University Press blog

Book review: The Fighting Pattons

"Sobel's updated version of the acclaimed history of the remarkable military family focuses on the legendary World War II battlefield genius General George S. Patton Jr. (1880-1945) and his son Major General George Smith Patton (1923-2004) who forged his own distinguished military history in the Korean and Vietnam Wars." —Armchair General

Three IUP books reviewed in American Ethnologist

Three IUP books are reviewed in the current issue of American Ethnologist:

The American War in Contemporary Vietnam
"The American War in Contemporary Vietnam is essential reading for anyone teaching or wanting to understand Vietnam today and would be useful in teaching seminars or upper-level courses on Vietnam, Asia, memory, and history, as well as discussions of ethnographic methodology."

Islamophobia/Islamophilia
"Overall, the volume is an impressive collection of serious discursive analyses that heighten our sensitivities to the forms arguments about Islam take; while always indexes of power, it is clear that the shared terms of global debates about Islamic reform do not always correspond
to shared meanings."

Live from Dar es Salaam
"In Live from Dar es Salaam, Alex Perullo focuses on the creative practices Tanzanians in the music economy in Dar es Salaam utilize as they try to make something of a living in difficult economic times. Perullo also shows how music in Tanzania transitioned from work to a commodity as the country itself moved from a socialist to a capitalist political–economic ideology."

Book review: Nationalist in the Viet Nam Wars

"This book is of incredible value for anyone interested in Vietnam—its history, politics, and culture—and in the American involvement with Vietnam. It is also a meditation of a Vietnamese patriot on the substance of patriotism during a time of civil war in a context of international alliances. Amid the terrors and harsh imperatives of war, the author’s is a rare voice of human decency." —H-War

Book review: Balkan Breakthrough

"[Hall's] recreation of the morale crisis that eroded the fighting capability of the Bulgarian Army generally, and underlay its collapse at Dobro Pole and afterward, is a welcome addition to the history of a largely ignored front of the First World War." —The International History Review

Book review: Defeating Lee

"[T]he author is to be commended for staying focused on the organization rather than its most famous commander, [although] Hancock understandably occupies center stage at key moments." —Civil War Book Review

Book review: Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy

"Kelly’s book is a great achievement. Well written and based on new sources, his biography of Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz allows the reader deep insights into the life of a man who played a very important role at the turn of the last century and who shaped German policy in a way few others did." —German History Journal

Book review: Defeating Lee

"The author has an easy to read informative style that made the pages fly. His word portraits make lesser-known names into real people. The battles descriptions are excellent... This is a well-written book with all the items that are expected in a serious history." —TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

Six IU Press books recommended for public and secondary libraries

We are pleased to announce that six of our books were selected for this year's University Press Books for Public and Secondary School Libraries. A popular and trusted acquisitions resource, the university press bibliography is the product of a longstanding and successful collaboration between the Association of American University Presses (AAUP), the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), and the Public Library Association (PLA). The IUP titles are among 350 books by AAUP members included in this bibliography. Featuring many diverse subjects, the bibliography provides librarians with valuable scholarship to match any interest. Three of the IUP titles featured were given an "outstanding" rating, including:

Conversations with Great Teachers

“[A]n important reminder that all people have something to teach and everyone still has something to learn.” —Hilary Albert (PLA)

“This wonderful title is full of surprises for any reader interested in education in the broadest sense of the term.” —Judith Repman (AASL)

Life Lessons Through Storytelling

“I found [this book] very engaging. The basic idea of drawing children’s ideas out through storytelling may not be new, but discussing their ethics, getting them to think about right and wrong in the context of stories and their own communities can have such a lasting impact on how they grow as citizens.”—Hilary Albert (PLA)

Extraordinary Circumstances

“This was not only thoroughly researched but it was well written. The text actually reads more like a story than the chronicle of a war. ... This book is a great asset to any collection.”—Elizabeth Willoughby (AASL)

Other books listed in the bibliography are Wreck of the Carl D., Guard Wars, and Bush on the Home Front.

Book review: Defeating Lee

"Hopefully, other corps histories will be told with the attention to detail, argument, and context that Kreisler has given to the Second Corps, Army of the Potomac." —Civil War Librarian

Book review: Intrepid Women

"Thomas Cardoza is to be congratulated on his attempt to shed some light on the role of the cantinière in both war and peace. The role of women in war has been overlooked for far too long." —H-War