Penn Press Log

Inside and Out Weekend for Penn Press

This coming weekend will be an extremely busy one for Penn Press staff. Not only to we host our annual Open House on Saturday, May 17. We'll also be participating in the Philadelphia Book Festival which runs from the 17th to the 18th of May.

University of Pennsylvania Press Open House
Saturday, May 17
4:30 p.m to 6:30 p.m.
University of Pennsylvania
3905 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Please call Ellen Trachtenberg at 215-898-1674 for more information

In the Penn Press Open House tradition, visitors will have the opportunity to meet Press editors, learn about the publishing process, and enjoy refreshments provided by Picnic, all within the restored Victorian mansion that serves as home to the Press. This year, in celebration of the release of Almost a Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the 1980 Phillies by William C. Kashatus, open house guests will have the chance to win tickets to a Phillies game. There will be other give-aways as well. All guests will receive a Penn Press tote bag.

Philadelphia Book Festival
Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
1901 Vine Street Philadelphia, PA 19103
(between 19th and 20th Streets on the Parkway)

Both Kashatus and Neil Lanctot, author of Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution, will be at the Penn Press tent at the Philadelphia Book Festival to sign copies of their work and discuss baseball history. The Kashatus book signing begins at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 17. Lanctot will be available to sign books beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 18.

Spring Training Trivia Challenge Final Results

Today is opening day of the Philadelphia Phillies 2008 season. Time to announce the final results of the Almost A Dynasty Spring Training Trivia Challenge.

The weekly trivia challenge winners are:

week 1, Bill Baer of Aston, PA
week 2, John Fea of Philadelphia, PA
week 3, Rodney Reuter of Lincoln, NE
week 4, Ron Rosen of Shrewsbury, MA

Each weekly winner receives a copy of Almost A Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the 1980 Phillies, signed by author William C. Kashatus.

The grand prize winner, Rodney Reuter, also receives two section 109 tickets to a Phillies vs. Mets game at Citizens Bank Park here in Philadelphia.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Almost A Dynasty Spring Training Trivia Challenge and congratulations to the winners.

The Spring Training Trivia Challenge Ends Next Week

Congratulations to Rodney Reuter of Nebraska, winner of round three of the Almost a Dynasty Spring Training Trivia Challenge.

For having his entry drawn from all of the correctly answered entries that we received, Rodney Reuter wins a copy of Almost a Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the 1980 Phillies by William C. Kashatus, and a chance at the grand prize--Tickets for Two to a Phillies vs. Mets Game.

Here are the answers to last week's Spring Training Trivia Challenge quiz.

1. Which relief pitcher, nicknamed “Tug,” pitched the final out for the 1980 World Champion Phillies and was father of country music star Tim McGraw?

Frank Edwin McGraw

2. What former pitcher managed the Yankees and the Mets, as well as the 1980 Phillies?

Dallas Green

3. What pitcher for the Phillies, Braves, and Pirates was nicknamed the “Whirly Bird” and is currently an announcer for Fox Sports Pittsburgh?

Bob Walk

You still have one more chance to win, so click here to answer the last round of  Spring Training Trivia Challenge questions.

The Warm Up: Last Week's Spring Training Trivia Challenge

Here are the answers to last week's Spring Training Trivia Challenge questions.

1. Which team did the Phillies defeat to win the 1980 World Series?
Kansas City Royals

2. What 12-time All-Star and career-long Phillies player was voted MVP three times and elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995?
Mike Schmidt

Congratulations to Bill Baer of Pennsylvania, the winner of the first challenge.

For having his entry drawn from all of the correctly answered entries that we received, Bill Baer wins a copy of Almost a Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the 1980 Phillies by William C. Kashatus, and a chance at the grand prize--Tickets for Two to a Phillies Game.

For last week's trivia challenge, we lobbed a couple of easy ones out there just to get things started. Now that we're warmed up, it's time for a tougher set of questions.

Step Up to the Plate

Get ready, Phillies fans and baseball lovers. The Almost a Dynasty Spring Training Trivia Challenge is on!

Step up to the plate and you could win a copy of Almost a Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the 1980 Phillies by William C. Kashatus, and a chance at the grand prize--Tickets for Two to a Phillies Game.

The Journal of Medical Toxicology is now on PubMed

As of this morning, all articles since the inception of The Journal of Medical Toxicology, from Vol. 1.1 December 2005 to the latest issue, are now indexed on PubMed, the premiere database for biomedical research run by the National Library of Medicine, the National  Center for Biotechnology Information and the National Institutes for Health.

A journal goes through a rigorous evaluation process to verify the viability and scholarship before acceptance to PubMed and we’re very proud that JMT is now a part of this information service. Coming soon: PubMed access to full text article links.

Jacob in the LA Times

Penn Press author Margaret C. Jacob recently shared her knowledge of eighteenth century literature with The Los Angeles Times. In a recent article on "Ceremonies and Religious Customs of All the Peoples of the World," Jacob describes early attempts to ban that particular document.

Expert Quotes from Penn Press Authors

This month, print journalists quoted our authors on subjects ranging from faith-based initiatives to romance novels to terrorism.

A recent Wall Street Journal article cited the work of Ram Cnaan, author of The Other Philadelphia Story, as key to understanding ongoing debates about the role of religious organizations in providing social services in the U.S.

Pamela Regis, author of A Natural History of the Romance Novel, was quoted in a Publishers Weekly cover story on the current state of the romance novel market.

"Where Boys Grow Up to Be Jihadis," a  New York Times article about young Moroccan men drawn to violent jihad, is the latest piece of journalism that turns to Leaderless Jihad author Marc Sageman for insight into the behavior of potential terrorists.

New Sugrue Review in The Nation

In the November 12, 2007 issue of The Nation, Penn Press series editor Thomas J. Sugrue has some interesting things to say about the late Albert Shanker, a figure of note in two new books, White Ethnic New York: Jews, Catholics, and the Shaping of Postwar Politics by Joshua M. Zeitz and Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy by Richard D. Kahlenberg. Sugrue writes:

The lead character in Woody Allen's 1973 hit Sleeper wakes up from his 200-year slumber to discover that civilization was destroyed when "a man by the name of Albert Shanker got hold of a nuclear warhead." Shanker, a lifelong socialist, leader of the American Federation of Teachers, political gadfly and tireless educational reformer, seemed an unlikely agent of apocalypse. But Sleeper's laugh line contained more than a little radioactive truth. The man named Albert Shanker did not drop the bomb on liberalism. But he was no small part of a political and intellectual Manhattan Project that exploited the fractures of New Deal and Great Society liberalism and empowered the New Right to rebuild from the rubble.

The complete article is available at TheNation.com.

Thomas J. Sugrue is coeditor of W. E. B. Du Bois, Race, and the City: "The Philadelphia Negro" and Its Legacy and an editor of the Penn Press series Politics and Culture in Modern America.

A View from Our ASA Booth

Chris Hu from the acquisitions department describes life around and beyond the Penn Press exhibitor booth.

Notes from the ASA Meeting in Philadelphia

The 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Studies Association was held this past weekend in Philadelphia, and I was asked to help staff the Penn Press booth. My duties at the booth were fairly simple: taking book orders, answering questions about our list, and helping prospective authors set up meetings with our acquisitions editors to discuss their projects. I also got the chance to meet a few Penn Press authors with whom I’d previously corresponded via email, including Helen Sheumaker, Susan Smulyan, and Casey Blake.

Overall, the book exhibition was quite lively, in part because a certain New York-based publisher gave away soft pretzels and Yuengling lager at its booth on Friday afternoon. This being the American Studies meeting, you’d think that they would have understood the problematic implications of appropriating Philly’s local delicacies!