Indiana University Press blog

Book review: Early Cinema Today

"Early Cinema Today provides practitioners with innovative ideas on how to engage potential audiences, while providing scholars with valuable insight into how film archivists and curators shape perceptions of early cinema and, through this, the direction of film scholarship." —The Moving Image

Choice reviews - May 2014

 

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

A Phenomenology of Christian Life

"In recent years, increasing scholarly attention has been paid to the intersection of phenomenology and theology. O Murchadha provides an important and timely contribution to this growing literature. ... Recommended."

Saturday Night Live and American TV

"All the essays are scholarly and clear, and all end with a subtantive bibliography. ... The book is equally useful as a cohesive book or as a series of self-contained essays for a variety of disciplines. ... Highly recommended."

The Insistence of God

"[T]his is a valuable theological contribution for those with ears to hear. ... Recommended."

Global Nollywood

"[T]he essays cover critical topics ... and analyze several well-known Nollywood films. ... Highly recommended."

Italian Silent Cinema

"This is a lavishly produced book, with a gorgeous cover, wonderful illustrations througout, and excellent editing. A highly respected scholar, Bertellini has gathered articles that illuminate many aspects of this important period of Italian film history. ... Highly recommended."

Jean-Luc Godard, Cinema Historian

"Witt's book ... [gives] the reader a holistic Godard rather than an account of a number of periods of Godard's work. ...[I]ncludes many beautiful image reproductions. ... Highly recommended."

Book review: Dear Mendl, Dear Reyzl

"Reproductions of brivnshtelers form the core of the book and comprise the majority of the text, providing a ground-level window into a largely obscured past." —Publishers Weekly 

Book review: Playing with Religion in Digital Games

"This collection builds on and adds to the best criticism in this young and exciting subfield and will grow more important as religion integrates further into our digital games." —Library Journal

Book review: Literary Learning

"Literary Learning offers valuable resources for the literature instructor. It is easily manageable as a theoretical tool when developing a literature class, and  it has a number of classroom-ready resources." —Teacher-Scholar

Choice reviews: February 2014

The following titles were reviewed in the February issue of Choice (requires subscription):

Trash

"This book is a work of erudition, understanding, engagement and and enthusiastic commitment to African Cinema studies and literature. ... Highly recommended."

Anthropology of the MIddle East and North Africa

"This book is a valuable contribution to the general field of anthropology of the Middle East and North Africa. ... Recommended."

Minerals, Collecting and Value across the US-Mexico Border

"Students with little knowledge of the topic as well as scholars in this area will enjoy this book. ... Highly recommended."

Gadamer

"The author's portrait of her mentor, Hans-Georg Gadamer, offers English readers a masterful but intimate tour through the sprawling museum of Gadamer's work with a guide who is an artist in her own right. ... Recomended."

Book reviews: The Scholar's Survival Manual

"This is a book to keep handy for when you need its sage perspective, which, given the strains of academic careers, will likely be often." —Science

"Anyone interested in or connected to the world of academic scholarship will discover here solid, considered, and instructive strategies to walking those hallowed hallways." —Library Journal

Book review: States of Emergency

"States of Emergency is a masterful series of excursions into contemporary crises ... The essays both display the deep value the capacity of cultural studies to come terms with contemporary issues and reveal how understanding the Victorian roots of today’s culture can illuminate our present conditions. Deeply researched (with full footnotes and bibliography), carefully thought out, and eloquently argued, they offer a refreshing relief from the babble of mainstream social and political commentary, and a source of hopeful vision against the varied voices of apocalypse." —The Ryder

Book review: Abraham Joshua Heschel

"The principal aim of the book is to explain what Heschel means by his constant call to human (and even divine) self-transcendence. Gems of compressed thought stud the text, as when Held explains that Heschel urges us to confront the world not as 'a thing I own' but rather as 'a mystery I face.' He explores Heschel’s power and points to flaws, such as Heschel’s tendency to substitute intuition for argument. Shai Held’s book is a master class in one of the most significant Jewish voices of our time." —Tablet

Book review: Painting Indiana III

"I take to heart and soul the Indiana University Press books created by the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association. ... Here we witness the interplay of natural and built environments throughout all four seasons, thus bringing us to contemplate changes of light, color, texture, inviting us to travel throughout all of Indiana and seek out its bridges, cabins, pioneer farmsteads, formal gardens, church yards, monuments, fountains, marsh lands, waterfronts, springs and valleys." —NUVO