Indiana University Press blog

Upcoming book explores necessity of filibuster rule

The Huffington Post recently highlighted the debate over Senate's filibuster rule, which, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, has "been abused." Should it remain in practice as it stands?

Authors Richard A. Arenberg and Robert B. Dove explore the necessity of maintaining this rule as protection for the minority in American politics in their upcoming book, Defending the Filibuster, due out this September. They offer an instructive historical overview of the development of Senate rules, define and describe related procedures and tactics, examine cases related to specific pieces of legislation, and consider current proposals to end the filibuster or enact other reforms. Arguing passionately in favor of retaining the filibuster, they offer a thought-provoking assessment of the issues surrounding current debates on this contentious issue.

Contact Mandy Clarke for advance review copies or interview requests.

Book review: Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace

"Intended to provide a framework for diplomats to apply and students to learn, the book is an ambitious effort to understand and codify 'the still unfinished business of Arab-Israeli peacemaking.'" —Middle East Journal

Author event: Amber Day to speak at Boston College

Amber Day, author of Satire and Dissent, will be a part of a panel discussion at Boston College Nov. 15. The panel titled "Satire as Informing" includes a discussion of the relevance of satirical news and its popularity with college students. 

This free event begins at 7:30 p.m. at Higgins 300 at Boston College. For more information, visit the Boston College Events website.  

Sen. Richard Lugar to speak at IU this Friday

Sen. Richard Lugar will speak at an IU symposium this Friday, Nov. 11, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which he co-authored. The symposium, entitled "Loose Nukes: Lessons from 20 Years of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program" is sponsored by the School of Public and Environmental Affairs with the International Public Affairs Association. This free event takes place 2:30-4:30 p.m. in room 167 of the SPEA Building, 1315 E. 10th St. For more information, see the IU News Room press release.

Lugar is the subject of an upcoming book by John T. Shaw, which comes out next spring. In Richard G. Lugar, Statesman of the Senate, Shaw chronicles Lugar’s historic work on nuclear proliferation, arms control, energy, and global food issues, and highlights the senator’s ability to influence American foreign policy in consequential ways. Read more about why Lugar is one of the most widely respected foreign policy experts on our website.

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.

Bruce Ledewitz to conduct workshop at annual conference

Bruce Ledewitz, author of Church, State, and the Crisis in American Secularism, will conduct a workshop on Sunday, June 19, at the annual conference of The Institute on Religion in an Age of Science. The topic of the workshop is, "What Kind of Establishment Clause is Appropriate for Religion in an Age of Science?" The conference runs from June 18-25, and will take place at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY. The theme for this year's conference is "Doing Good, Doing Bad, Doing Nothing: Scientific and Religious Perspectives." For more information, visit the conference website.

Book review: Science in the New Russia

"This book ... provides an interesting and useful analysis of the development of research activities in Russia." —Europe-Asia Studies

United Nations ebook collection added to IU Press Online

We're pleased to announce the addition of The United Nations Intellectual History Project Collection to IU Press Online. This collection makes available, in digital format, a 15-book series that offers a future-oriented intellectual history of the United Nations in the world economy—development ideas and concepts in action. Series editors are Louis Emmerij, Richard Jolly, and Thomas G. Weiss. The series is sponsored by the Ralph Bunch Institute for International Studies, The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Titles include:

• Ahead of the Curve?
• Development without Destruction
• Global Governance and the UN 
• Human Rights at the UN
• Human Security and the UN
• Preventive Diplomacy at the UN 
• Quantifying the World
• The UN and Development
• The UN and Global Political Economy
• The UN and Transnational Corporations
• UN Contributions to Development Thinking and Practice
• UN Ideas That Changed the World
• UN Voices
• Unity and Diversity in Development Ideas
• Women, Development, and the UN

IU Press Online (IUPO) features some of IU Press’s best books and themed journal issues, organized into subject area collections for easy browsing and searching. Books and journal issues are available for purchase as full-text single titles or by subscription to one or more subject areas. For further information, such as purchasing options, visit IU Press Online at http://iupressonline.iupress.org.

Book review: Algeria in France

"What Silverstein has achieved through his examination of Algerian transnationalist social movements in France is to make the conditions of history, territoriality, and ethnicity a fundamental element of any future discussion of Islam and Muslims in France. By pointing out how these contribute to the destabilizing of the unity of the French state so that the latter continuously seeks to reassert its force against things 'Islamic,' Silverstein has elaborated an incisive inquiry into the complex configurations of state power and minority agency that marks a central contribution to the academic study of transnationalism and globalization." —Ruth Mas, University of Colorado at Boulder, Journal Middle East Women's Studies

Author interview: John Graham

Last month, we published Bush on the Home Front by former Bush White House official and academic John D. Graham. In this book, Graham analyzes Bush’s domestic policy record and provides valuable insights into how future presidents can shape U.S. domestic policy while facing continuing partisan polarization. The author was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions about his book and his time in the Bush White House.

IU Press blog: From 2001 through 2006, you were the regulatory czar in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, which you say put you at the “nerve center of Bush’s domestic policy-making apparatus.” While serving in this capacity, what was your most challenging or interesting policy assignment?

John Graham: I led an interagency task force charged with developing new mileage standards for all new cars and SUVs sold in the United States. The substance of the assignments was technically interesting, and the politics were thick with input from environmentalists, auto workers, the Big 3, the Japanese and German car makers, the auto dealers, and more.

IUP blog: In your interview with the IU News Room, you said, "President Obama cannot count on any cooperation from Republican leaders in Congress." What strategies should President Obama adopt from George Bush in order to achieve success with his domestic policy agenda?

JG: First, Obama should select issues that resonate with a limited number of moderate Republicans (e.g., immigration). Second, he should pressure moderate Republicans for their support by visiting their home states and appealing to their constituents through the local media. Third, he should work the interest groups with powerful ties to the Republican party (e.g., business) to help generate Republican support for the president’s agenda.

IUP blog: In the book, you discuss how George Bush employed a cross-partisan strategy to push forward his domestic policy agenda. What is cross-partisan strategy and how does it differ from bipartisan strategy?

JG: A bipartisan strategy forces the president to appeal directly to the leaders of the opposing party in Congress while a cross-partisan strategy requires outreach to only a limited number of moderate members of the opposing party (who are usually not in leadership positions).

IUP blog: You write about how American politics is becoming more polarized. What are the reasons behind this trend?

JG: The major cause of polarization has been the movement of conservative Southern Democrats into the Republican party and the movement of liberal Northeastern Republicans into the Democratic party. As a result, ideology and party affiliation are now more aligned, which allows the parties to pull further apart from each other on many issues.

IUP blog: You say that “inferring a president’s performance as a policy maker from the state of the economy while he occupies the Oval Office is a dubious line of reasoning. Voters may think otherwise.” What are some fair and unfair criticisms of Bush’s domestic policies and their effects on the state of the U.S economy during his time in office? Also, what positive effects did his policies have on the economy?

JG: Bush merits praise for cutting taxes on capital gains and dividends since these earnings are already taxed once when earned at the corporate level, and taxing them again at the individual level is perverse double taxation on investment. Bush should be criticized for failing to restrain entitlement spending—indeed it accelerated on his watch.

IUP blog: In your opinion, what is George Bush’s greatest domestic policy achievement? His greatest failure?

JG: Greatest achievement: Establishing a role for the federal government that ensures public schools do their jobs. Greatest failure: an effort to begin the privatization of Social Security without an electoral mandate to do so.

IUP blog: If you could go back to 2000 and give former President Bush one piece of advice from your book, what would it be and why?

JG: I would have encouraged him to make greater use of executive powers to achieve presidential policy goals since Congress was too divided to muster effective opposition.