Penn Press Log

Win A Free Copy of Ed Bacon: Planning, Politics, and the Building of Modern Philadelphia

Ed Bacon: Planning, Politics, and the Building of Modern Philadelphia, by economic development consultant Gregory L. Heller, is the first biography of this charismatic but controversial figure.

"Edmund Bacon, probably the most relentless and determined of all planners, believed that the most important and difficult thing to do was deciding what to advocate and that the trick in making that decision was selecting something that you could bring to fruition. . . . We are fortunate in having this stunning biography by Gregory Heller. The result is an engrossing story explaining how modern Philadelphia took shape."--From the Foreword, by Alexander Garvin

If you'd like the chance to receive a free copy of Ed Bacon, send an email to pressmkt at pobox dot upenn dot edu with your first name, last name, and your preferred email address by Friday, May 17  at noon Eastern Standard Time. One person will be selected at random to receive a hardcover or ebook copy.

Win a Free Copy of Ellis Island Nation

Ellis Island Nation: Immigration Policy and American Identity in the Twentieth Century, a new book by University of Mississippi historian Robert L. Fleegler, traces the emergence of "contributionism," the belief that the newcomers from eastern and southern Europe contributed important cultural and economic benefits to American society.

Early twentieth-century immigrants from southern and eastern Europe often found themselves criticized for language and customs at odds with their new culture, but initially found greater acceptance through an emphasis on their similarities to "native stock" Americans. Drawing on sources as diverse as World War II films, records of Senate subcommittee hearings, and anti-Communist propaganda, Ellis Island Nation describes how contributionism eventually shifted the focus of the immigration debate from assimilation to a Cold War celebration of ethnic diversity and its benefits--helping to ease the passage of 1960s immigration laws that expanded the pool of legal immigrants and setting the stage for the identity politics of the 1970s and 1980s. Ellis Island Nation provides a historical perspective on recent discussions of multiculturalism and the exclusion of groups that have arrived since the liberalization of immigrant laws.

If you'd like the chance to receive a free copy of Ellis Island Nation, send an email to pressmkt at pobox dot upenn dot edu with your first name, last name, and your preferred email address by Friday, April 19  at noon Eastern Standard Time. One person will be selected at random to receive a hardcover or ebook copy of Ellis Island Nation.

This Week's New Books: Takedown and Looting and Rape in Wartime, Plus Paperbacks in Human Rights, Early American Studies, Urban Studies, and Religious Studies

Takedown: Inside the Hunt for Al Qaeda Philip Mudd 224 pages | 6 x 9 Cloth Apr 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4496-0 | $28.95 | £19.00 Former CIA Deputy Director of Counterterrorism and FBI Senior Intelligence Adviser Philip Mudd recounts his involvement in the fight against Al Qaeda, revealing how intelligence analysts understand and evaluate potential terror threats and communicate with political leaders. Read more . . .

Looting and Rape in Wartime: Law and Change in International Relations Tuba Inal 296 pages | 6 x 9 Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4476-2 | $75.00 | £49.00 A volume in the Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights series Looting and Rape in Wartime examines the causes of the hundred-year gap between the prohibition against wartime looting and that against rape, theorizing the conditions necessary for the emergence of a global prohibition regime in which a particular practice is not tolerated. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Forgotten Genocides: Oblivion, Denial, and Memory Edited by René Lemarchand 200 pages | 6 x 9 | 4 illus. Cloth 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4335-2 | $49.95 | £32.50 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2263-0 | $24.95 | £16.50 A volume in the Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights series In eight case studies written by recognized experts this book offers a major contribution to the comparative analysis of genocidal phenomena. Besides tapping a rich vein of empirical data, this collective effort breaks new ground in analyzing how denial, oblivion, or manipulated memory tends to mask the hideous realities of mass killing. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback The Shame and the Sorrow: Dutch-Amerindian Encounters in New Netherland Donna Merwick 344 pages | 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 | 20 illus. Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2272-2 | $26.50 | £17.50 A volume in the Early American Studies series During the forty years of the Dutch presence in colonial America, their intrusion led to the betrayal of their own values and the betrayal of the indigenous peoples. They reaped the shame of reproaching themselves for unjust wars and faced a native insurgency that they could neither negotiate nor satisfactorily quell. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages Stephen A. Mitchell 384 pages | 6 x 9 | 12 illus Cloth 2010 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4290-4 | $49.95 | £32.50 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2255-5 | $24.95 | £16.50 A volume in the Middle Ages Series Stephen A. Mitchell offers the fullest examination available of witchcraft in late medieval Scandinavia, drawing on extensive sources ranging from the Icelandic sagas to those much less familiar to the nonspecialist: legal cases, church frescoes, law codes, ecclesiastical records, and surviving runic spells. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Neighborhood and Life Chances: How Place Matters in Modern America Edited by Harriet B. Newburger, Eugenie L. Birch, and Susan M. Wachter 392 pages | 6 x 9 | 34 illus. Cloth 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4258-4 | $59.95 | £39.00 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2265-4 | $28.95 | £19.00 A volume in the City in the Twenty-First Century series Neighborhood and Life Chances brings together researchers from a range of disciplines to demonstrate that place matters in education, physical health, crime, violence, housing, family income, mental health, and discrimination—issues that determine the quality of life among low-income residents of urban areas. Read more . . .

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

Get Hep Tonight at the Free Library with Zoot Suit Author Kathy Peiss

Kathy Peiss, Zoot Suit: The Enigmatic Career of an Extreme Style
The University of Pennsylvania History Department presents The Zoot Suit in American Culture
Wednesday, March 20, 7:00 p.m.
The Free Library of Philadelphia
Parkway Central, 1901 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
For more information, please contact Nari Baughman at nlinette@sas.upenn.edu.
Register at eventbrite.com

Win a Free Copy of The Disaster Experts: Mastering Risk in Modern America

The Disaster Experts: Mastering Risk in Modern America, written by Drexel University historian Scott Gabriel Knowles, is out in paperback now.

Knowles tells the fascinating story of how various professionals--insurance inspectors, engineers, scientists, journalists, public officials, civil defense planners, and emergency managers--emerged as the authorities on risk and disaster and, in the process, shaped modern America.

The Disaster Experts looks at responses to early twentieth-century conflagrations, the threat of nuclear annihilation, civil unrest, the 9/11 attacks, and hurricanes like Katrina. These crises were especially life-threatening and deadly in densely populated communities.

As cities and towns across the country continue to cope with superstorms, shootings, rising ocean levels, and other dangers to life and property, The Disaster Experts remains a timely read for urban planners, historians, and safety-minded citizens.

If you'd like the chance to receive a free copy of The Disaster Experts, send an email to pressmkt at pobox dot upenn dot edu with your first name, last name, and your preferred email address by March 15 at noon Eastern Standard Time. One winner will be selected at random.

Hear Scott Knowles discuss moral hazard, federal funds, and Hurricane Sandy relief efforts on WHYY's Radio Times.

This Week's New Books: Homeless and International Bohemia

Homeless: Poverty and Place in Urban America Ella Howard 288 pages | 6 x 9 | 21 illus. Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4472-4 | $45.00 | £29.50 Ebook 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-0826-9 | $45.00 | £29.50 A volume in the Politics and Culture in Modern America series Homeless explores the efforts of private and public institutions to solve the problem of homelessness by tracing the rise and fall of skid rows in America through the lens of New York's Bowery. Crowded onto skid rows, the homeless lived apart from the middle classes, who saw them as an aberrant population. Read more . . .

International Bohemia: Scenes of Nineteenth-Century Life Daniel Cottom 384 pages | 6 x 9 | 17 illus. Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4488-5 | $59.95 | £39.00 EBook 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-0807-8 | $59.95 | £39.00 A volume in the Haney Foundation Series Daniel Cottom traces the vagabond word "bohemia" as it migrated across national borders over the course of the nineteenth century—from France to the United States, England, Italy, Spain, and Germany—and how it was transformed, contested, or rejected along the way. Read more . . .

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

Win a Free Copy of Homeless: Poverty and Place in Urban America

Homeless: Poverty and Place in Urban America examines how generations of urban dwellers have dealt with the tensions between the rights of the homeless and those of other city residents. In this new urban studies book, historian Ella Howard traces the rise and fall of skid rows in America through the lens of New York's Bowery.

If you'd like the chance to receive a free copy of Homeless, send an email to pressmkt at pobox dot upenn dot edu with your first name, last name, and your preferred email address by February 8 at noon Eastern Standard Time. One person will be selected at random to receive a hardcover or ebook copy of Homeless.

MLK Day Reading List for 2013

Many Penn Press publications, from the journal Humanity to our book series Politics and Culture in Modern America and Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights, address the issues that Martin Luther King, Jr. championed in his campaigns for social justice. From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice, by Thomas F. Jackson, speaks directly to King's fight against poverty. Here are some more recent Penn Press books that also relate to King's legacy and ideals.

Civil Rights Advocacy on Behalf of the Poor
Catherine M. Paden
240 pages | 6 x 9 | 13 illus.
Cloth 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4297-3 | $55.00 | £36.00
Paper Apr 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2267-8 | $26.50 | £17.50
A volume in the American Governance: Politics, Policy, and Public Law series

In Civil Rights Advocacy on Behalf of the Poor, Catherine M. Paden examines five civil rights organizations, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and explores why they chose to represent the poor—specifically, low-income African Americans—during six legislative periods considering welfare reform.

Between North and South: Delaware, Desegregation, and the Myth of American Sectionalism
Brett Gadsden
352 pages | 6 x 9 | 13 illus.
Cloth 2012 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4443-4 | $45.00 | £29.50
A volume in the Politics and Culture in Modern America series

Between North and South chronicles the three-decades-long struggle over segregated schooling in Delaware, a key border state and important site of civil rights activism and white reaction, that despite concerted white opposition to reforms produced one of the most progressive desegregation remedies in the nation.

Race, Riots, and Roller Coasters: The Struggle over Segregated Recreation in America
Victoria W. Wolcott
328 pages | 6 x 9 | 18 illus.
Cloth 2012 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4434-2 | $34.95 | £23.00
A volume in the Politics and Culture in Modern America series

Race, Riots, and Roller Coasters tells the story of the battle for access to leisure space in cities across the United States. This detailed and eloquent history shows how African Americans fought to enter segregated amusement areas not only in pursuit of happiness but in connection to a wider movement for racial equality

Dignity Rights: Courts, Constitutions, and the Worth of the Human Person
Erin Daly. Foreword by Aharon Barak
272 pages | 6 x 9
Cloth 2012 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4440-3 | $69.95 | £45.50
A volume in the Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism series

With cases from around the world on a wide range of subjects including prison conditions, employment, sexuality, reputation, and death, this ground-breaking book examines how judicial interpretations of dignity redefine what it means to be human in the modern world.

This Week's New Books: The Gardens of Suzhou and Making New York Dominican

The Gardens of Suzhou Ron Henderson 224 pages | 6 x 9 | 111 illus. Paper 2012 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2214-2 | $29.95 | £19.50 A volume in the Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture series ""Henderson, a talented landscape architect and designer himself, offers a helpful representation and unique tour of this collection of some of China's most famous gardens."--Laurie Olin, University of Pennsylvania Walk with landscape architect and scholar Ron Henderson through seventeen of Suzhou's classical Chinese garden masterpieces. This insightful guide is fully illustrated with newly drawn plans, maps, and original photographs.

Making New York Dominican: Small Business, Politics, and Everyday Life Christian Krohn-Hansen 336 pages | 6 x 9 | 2 illus. Cloth 2012 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4461-8 | $69.95 | £45.50 A volume in the City in the Twenty-First Century series This volume presents an ethnographic study of Dominicans in New York City through their participation in small businesses. Krohn-Hansen demonstrates how Dominican enterprises work, how people find economic openings, and how Dominicans who own small commercial ventures have formed political associations to promote and defend their interests.

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

Paul's Pick: a Free Article from Change Over Time

Every month, Paul Chase in the Penn Press Journals department invites our blog readers to download a complimentary article from one of our many scholarly journals.

Paul's pick for November is "Preservation by Adaption: Is it Sustainable?"  by Gregory Donofrio at the University of Minnesota. The article appears in the Fall 2012 issue of Change Over Time. Donofrio writes:

Preservation advocates have recently become fond of saying that ‘‘existing buildings
are the greenest ones of all,’’ an expression that begins to reveal the degree to which the natural environment has overshadowed other aspects of sustainability.

 

Click here to download this free article and learn more about Change Over Time, an international journal of conservation and the built environment.

Check the Penn Press Log in January for Paul's next pick.