Penn Press Log

A New Penn Press Podcast--Imagining Philadelphia: Edmund Bacon and the Future of the City

In the November Penn Press Podcast Drexel University historian Scott Gabriel Knowles discusses the legacy of  Philadelphia architect and urban planner Edmund N. Bacon. Knowles is the editor of the new book, Imagining Philadelphia: Edmund Bacon and the Future of the City. The interview covers Bacon's visionary 1959 essay "Philadelphia in 2009," as well as planning for the 1976 Bicentennial celebration.

Visit the Penn Press podcast website to listen.

Imagining Philadelphia: Edmund Bacon and the Future of the City--Now Available

Imagining Philadelphia: Edmund Bacon and the Future of the City
Edited by Scott G. Knowles
184 pages | 6 x 9 | 26 illus.
Paper 2009 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2078-0 | $22.50 | £15.00

In his 1959 essay "Philadelphia in the Year 2009," Edmund Bacon described a city remade, modernized in time to host the 1976 Bicentennial celebration and Philadelphia World's Fair. Imagining Philadelphia assesses Bacon's vision, discussing what has been accomplished and what might have been.

Read more . . .

Book reviewers: to request a press copy, contact Ellen Trachtenberg.
Educators: to request an exam copy for course use consideration, click here.

Skyscraper: The Politics and Power of Building New York City in the Twentieth Century--Now Available

Skyscraper: The Politics and Power of Building New York City in the Twentieth Century
Benjamin Flowers
240 pages | 7 x 10 | 51 illus.
Cloth 2009 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4184-6 | $39.95 | £26.00

In Skyscraper, Benjamin Flowers explores the role of culture and ideology in shaping the construction of skyscrapers and the way wealth and power have operated to reshape the urban landscape.

Read more . . .

Book reviewers: to request a press copy, contact Ellen Trachtenberg.
Educators: to request an exam copy for course use consideration, click here

The Modern Moves West: California Artists and Democratic Culture in the Twentieth Century--Now Available

The Modern Moves West: California Artists and Democratic Culture in the Twentieth Century
Richard Cándida Smith
264 pages | 6 x 9 | 35 illus.
Cloth 2009 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4188-4 | $39.95 | £26.00
A volume in the Arts and Intellectual Life in Modern America series

Exploring the transformation of California into a center for contemporary art through the twentieth century, this book uses the experiences of the artists examined dramatically illustrate the paths taken as the United States has developed a more diverse and inclusive culture.

Read more . . .

Book reviewers: to request a press copy, contact Ellen Trachtenberg.
Educators: to request an exam copy for course use consideration, click here.

Back to School, Back to Back Campus Events with Jon Calame and Deirdre Martinez

The fall term here at Penn is finally underway. (Bring on the new work study students!) To start the semester, two Penn Press authors will be on campus to discuss the ideas behind their books.

On Wednesday, September 9 at  6:00 p.m. Jon Calame, co author of  Divided Cities: Belfast, Beirut, Jerusalem, Mostar, and Nicosia will speak at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. On Thursday, September 10 at
6:00 p.m. Deirdre Martinez will be at the Penn Bookstore to share advice from her book Washington Internships: How to Get Them and Use Them to Launch Your Public Policy Career.

Visit the Penn Press events page for details on these book talks.

A New Penn Press Podcast--Do Museums Still Need Objects?

In the September podcast historian Steven Conn, author of Do Museums Still Need Objects? talks about how American museums have changed over the twentieth century and what roles these popular and important institutions play in American culture. Conn is Professor of History at the Ohio State University.

Visit the Penn Press podcast site to listen.

City: Rediscovering the Center--Now in Paperback with a foreword by Paco Underhill

City: Rediscovering the Center
By William H. Whyte. Foreword by Paco Underhill
408 pages | 7 x 10 | 95 illus.
Paper 2009 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2074-2 | $24.95 | £16.50

In a challenging and provocative book, William Whyte, author of the classic Organization Man, observes the influence public spaces have on the people who use them. In this exploration of pedestrian behavior and urban dynamics, he calls on city planners to provide functional, pleasant places to live and work.

Read more . . .

Book reviewers: to request a press copy, contact Ellen Trachtenberg.
Educators: to request an exam copy for course use consideration, click here.

A Penn Press Intern's Connection to Whyte's City: Rediscovering the Center

One of our interns, Lauren Springer, has a personal research connection to the forthcoming re-release of City: Rediscovering the Center by William H. Whyte. In this post, Springer describes her experience working with some of Whyte's original research materials.

I was excited to see that this season Penn Press is publishing William Whyte’s City: Rediscovering the Center. Last summer, I was lucky enough to work with Professor Keith Hampton at the Annenberg School for Communication, conducting research for “Social Interaction in Public Spaces: A Longitudinal Study.” This ongoing study is attempting to make a cross-temporal comparison of the behavior of people in the 1970s and 2000s, focusing on how new technology affects the way people interact in public spaces. William Whyte used time lapse films of cities around the world to capture the behavior of people in urban spaces and the traffic flow of city streets.

As a research intern last summer, I worked to convert hundreds of Whyte’s original film reels from 8mm film

Sarah Schrank Talks about Public Art on Pacifica Radio in LA

Another Penn Press author hit the public radio airwaves this month. Earlier this week, Sarah Schrank, author of Art and the City: Civic Imagination and Cultural Authority in Los Angeles, spoke with Andrew Tonkovich of KPFK 90.7 FM's Bibliocracy program. Schrank reads from her book and discusses the history of public art, politics and culture in twentieth and twenty-first-century Los Angeles. This program is available for download from the KPFK online archives. Click here to download the mp3 file.

The What Penn Press Book are You? Facebook Contest Winner

Congratulations to Denise Tanyol, the winner of The What Penn Press Book are You? Facebook contest. Because her entry was randomly selected from all of the eligible entries posted on the University of Pennsylvania Press page, she will receive a copy of Beyond the Architect's Eye by Mary N. Woods, plus one other Penn Press book of her choice.

You can read Denise Tanyol's winning entry and all the other great entries that we received on the wall of the University of Pennsylvania Press Facebook page.