Jackson Adams and Anna Weir are publicists at UNP. Today they share their thoughts about a couple upcoming titles they are particularly excited about as readers. The books in this discussion will be published in August.

Jackson Adams: I think we all have a fairly good idea of what a specifically “western” story is, one full of boots and spurs, six-shooters and grizzled frontiersman. Something the newest book in the Postwestern Horizons Series, Weird Westerns: Race, Gender, Genre examines is just how elastic the genre actually is, how the tired tropes that often feel like they contain the genre are used to instead widen it. While some of the analysis should be familiar to even casual movie viewers, like comparing the doomed anti-heroes of The Dirty Dozen to Suicide Squad, I was most fascinated by focusing on how apocalyptic fiction like The Walking Dead wields the same imagery and ideas in a wholly separate genre with its own distinct goals.

Anna Weir: The fifth edition of the most hollistic overview of Jewish athletes throughout history, Jewish Sports Legends profiles the lives and accomplishments of virtually every professional player that identifies as Jewish. I’ve always been a fan of stories that detail the life behind the famous faces, and you won’t find a more detailed collection of stories beyond this volume. While most of those profiled are professional sport champions and Olympic gold medalists, the book also features great coaches, officials, journalists, and other significant contributors in every major sport.

Tune in next month for more reading recommendations from your friendly neighborhood publicists!