Indiana University Press blog

Staff recommendations for 50% off spring book sale

Today is the first day of spring, and we're celebrating with a 50% off book sale! It can be a daunting task to make a selection from our 2,000+ titles, so we surveyed our staff to see which books they recommend to jump-start your spring reading. We hope you find something you like from the list below, which includes a wide range of interests from American History to Women's Studies! Check out the IU Press website for a complete list of books. Our sale ends March 22, so don't delay purchasing your favorite titles at half off!

American History

• Defeating Lee
  Dave Hulsey, Director of Sales and Marketing
• The Darkest Dawn
  Rich Pierce, Systems Analyst/Programmer
• Somebody’s Darling
  Bernie Zoss, Production Director
• Dillinger: The Untold Story
  Rhonda Vander Dussen, Sales and Marketing Assistant
• A Life is More Than a Moment
  Mary Lou Shelly, Senior Customer Service Representative

Anthropology

• Connected in Cairo
  Angela Burton, Managing Editor
• The Art of Loving Krishna
  Marvin Keenan, Project Manager

Art & Photography

• Contemporary Quilt Art
  Linda Bannister, Journals Marketing Manager
• Saving the Big Cats
  Kate Matthen, Marketing and Sales Coordinator
• Real Stories of Big Cat Rescues
  Mary Beth Haas, Sales Manager

Education

• Searching for Hope
  Mandy Clarke, Trade Marketing and Publicity Manager
• Conversations with Great Teachers
  Rebecca Tolen, Sponsoring Editor

Film & Media

• The Year's Work in Lebowski Studies
  Dan Pyle, Production Coordinator and Vendor Liaison
• The Magazine Article
  Joy Andreakis, Electronic and Serials Publishing Manager

Literature & Essays

• Earth Works
  Laura Baich, Electronic Marketing Manager
• Rural Free
  Jennifer Witzke, Marketing Designer
• Petersburg
  Peter Froehlich, Rights Manager

Books from the Global African Voices series:

• Little Mother
  Dee Mortensen, Senior Sponsoring Editor
• Life and a Half
  June Silay, Project Manager
• Murambi, The Book of Bones
  Jennifer Coyle, Customer Service Representative

Book from the Break Away Books series:

• The Glimpse Traveler
  Sarah Jacobi, Assistant Sponsoring Editor

Book from the Library of Indiana Classics series:

• A Girl of the Limberlost
  Kathy Stout, Accounting Associate

Music

• Debussy Redux
  Raina Polivka, Sponsoring Editor
• Beethoven in America
  Pam Rude, Senior Book Designer

Nature

• Wildflowers and Ferns of Indiana Forests
  Linda Oblack, Sponsoring Editor
• 101 Trees of Indiana
  Nancy Lightfoot, Project Manager
• Fishes of Indiana
  Steve Carter, Warehouse Manager
• Mammals of Indiana
  Laura Hohman, Production Assistant
• Perennials Short and Tall
  Dan Nichols, Operations Director
• The Natural Heritage of Indiana
  Tony Brewer, Composition Coordinator

Politics

• Richard G. Lugar, Statesman of the Senate
  Janet Rabinowitch, Director

Railroads

• Moonlight in Duneland
  Mary Blizzard, Book Designer
• The Indiana Rail Road Company
  Jamison Cockerham, Book Designer

Science

• Dinosaurs of Eastern Iberia
  Bob Sloan, Editorial Director
• Why You Can Never Get to the End of the Rainbow And Other Moments of Science
  Ted Boardman, Technology Director

Women’s Studies

• A Home of Her Own
  Judith Caldwell, Journals Production Manager
• To Write Like a Woman
  Darja Malcolm-Clarke, Project Manager

World History

• Last Folio
  Mollie Ables, Marketing Services Coordinator
• The Style of Paris
  Theresa Halter, Publicity Coordinator

Book review: Science in the New Russia

"Overall, this is an exceptionally thorough and useful book, which highlights the remarkable progress that has been made in Russian science in less than 20 years; illuminates the very real potential of mutually beneficial international cooperation; provides a clear roadmap of the equally real challenges that remain in science policy and professional practice..." —Mark S. Johnson, Issues in Science and Technology

Book review: Owen's Ape and Darwin's Bulldog

"Owen’s Ape and Darwin’s Bulldog sheds new light on one of the most celebrated episodes in the history of evolutionary biology. Cosans’s careful analysis draws on history, philosophy, and even his own dissections, to reveal a complexity hitherto underestimated." —Frederick R. Davis, The Quarterly Review of Biology

150 years of The Origin of Species #darwin150

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species (and in our evolving online world, you now can become a fan of the book on Facebook). In honor of this occasion, we offer the following suggested reading on Darwin and evolution:

Darwin's Ark
Now in a new paperback edition, this book is a collection of Philip Appleman's poems on Darwinian themes, stunningly illustrated by internationally known printmaker Rudy Pozzatti.

Owen's Ape and Darwin's Bulldog
With the debate between Richard Owen and Thomas Huxley on the differences between the ape and human brains as its focus, this book explores several ways in which philosophical ideas and scientific practice influenced the discussion of evolution in the years before and after Darwin's publication of The Origin of Species.

Islands in the Cosmos
This book traces a path from the dawn of the universe to speculations about our future on this planet. It focuses on the physical and biological processes in evolution, which interact to favor more successful, and eliminate less successful, forms of life.

Choice reviews - October 2009

The following books were reviewed in the October issue of Choice magazine (requires subscription):

Catholic Women of Congo-Brazzaville
"Martin, ...an authority on the history of west-central Africa, has written a highly readable history of Catholic women in Congo-Brazzaville. ...A thoughtful and thought-provoking book."

Considering Transcendence: Elements of a Physiological Genealogy
"De Nys offers an ambitious, timely work on philosophical theology dealing with the fundamental religious concept of transcendence. ...All students and scholars of religion will find this book beneficial and rewarding. Copious notes, a fine bibliography, and a useful index enhance the value of the work."

Indian Secularism: A Social and Intellectual History, 1890-1950
"What comes through in Tejani's study is that despite claims to the contrary, India was (and is) dominated by one ethnic group, variously orthodox but homogeneously Hindu."

Orthodox Jews in America
"Discussions of the 'open' orthodoxy of Edah and Yeshiva Chovevei Torah, women's status, and the place of modern scientific education illuminate today's deep tensions... "

Sound Targets: American Soldiers and Music in the War in Iraq
"Pieslak provides a nimble examination of the influence and life of music in the Iraq war."

The Great American Symphony: Music, the Depression, and War
"The author's excellent vignettes on these composers encompass factual and anecdotal material along with his own informed evaluation of the oeuvre of each. ...Highly recommended."

The New Black Gods
"The editors of this fine collection of essays have resurrected the influence and importance of Arthur Fauset's classic study..."

February Choice reviews

Choice magazine published reviews for the following books in its February issue:

American Confluence:

"This sophisticated analysis of a broad region within the US Midwest focuses upon the sprawling lands that marked the intersection of the country's three primary rivers--the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri--as well as the diverse peoples who inhabited those lands between 1600 and 1860. Aron (UCLA) contends that the region marked a cultural confluence of French, Spanish, British, and US institutions, as well as a confluence of indigenous and eastern removed Native American tribes. . . . Recommended." <Read full review>

Braided Relations, Entwined Lives:

". . . Kennedy . . . has written a detailed, nuanced study of the lives of women--white and black, free and unfree--in Colonial and antebellum Charleston. . . . [She] draws upon the now expansive body of scholarship on Southern women's history and the history of slavery and concentrates on the unique urban setting of Charleston to illuminate new dimensions of women's history. . . . Recommended." <Read full review>

In Amma's Healing Room:

"This informative study is well illustrated with the author's photographs and immensely suitable for undergraduate and graduate students. . . . Highly recommended." <Read full review>

In Quest of Indian Folktales:

"A useful contribution to postcolonial and Indianist studies and to folklore. . . . Recommended." <Read full review>

Removing Barriers:

"This book reviews current barriers to opportunities for participation in the sciences and discusses how academia can address possible solutions, important for academic deans to consider when hiring new faculty. . . . For women's studies and academic departments interested in diversifying their academic units in STEM areas. An excellent, thought-provoking read. . . . Highly recommended." <Read full review>

Soviet and Kosher:

"Shternshis . . . looks at the life of the Yiddish language and Yiddish culture in the Soviet Union in the years before WW II. Jewish and Yiddish intellectual life did not automatically die with the coming of Lenin or even Stalin. Many young Jewish revolutionaries may have abandoned the world of their fathers, but they did not forsake their language. Yiddish did not disappear; ironically, it flourished in that antireligious atmosphere before the outbreak of the war that eventually led to the destruction of millions of Yiddish speakers. This well-documented study is a tribute to that Yiddish culture as it enjoyed one last nova in Europe, as Yiddishkeit and Marxism embraced each other one last time. . . . Recommended." <Read full review>

The Weakness of God:

" . . . The Weakness of God is a bold attempt to reconfigure the terms of debate around the topic of divine omnipotence. Caputo has a gift for explaining Continental philosophy's jargon succinctly and accurately, and despite technical and foreign terms, this book will engage upper-level undergraduates. Includes scriptural and general indexes. . . . Highly recommended." <Read full review>

Voicing Gender:

"In presenting the concept of 'the period ear' as a way for today's audiences to 'hear' the voices of the primo ottocento, Andre . . . offers a solution to the problematic study of historical performance. The author differentiates between the various onstage female types and traces 'how a woman's voice represent[ed] both male and female characters' during the time that opera diverged from supreme castrati reign and moved toward the era of the Romantic heroine. . . . Recommended." <Read full review>