New from the University of Nebraska Press: Queens and Power in Medieval and Early Modern England, edited by Carole Levin and Robert Bucholz. Queens and Power provides a forum for the underexamined, anomalous reigns of queens in history. These regimes, primarily regarded as interruptions to the “normal” male monarchy, have been examined largely as isolated cases. This interdisciplinary study of queens throughout history examines their connections to one another, their constituents’ perceptions of them, and the fallacies of their historical reputations. You’ve probably already guessed the topic of this week’s Tuesday Trivia….queens.  Our focus is a bit broader than just … Continue reading Tuesday Trivia: February 17, 2009

Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky 200 years ago today. We here at the University of Nebraska Press brought treats to work in honor of the president’s big day (apparently, Lincoln was fond of apples and wild game; we are celebrating with cupcakes). We’re also celebrating by offering our readers 25 percent off Abraham Lincoln titles through the end of the month. If you live in Lincoln, you can check out this article in the Lincoln Journal Star for other local ways to celebrate Honest Abe’s birthday. And for some fun facts about our 16th … Continue reading Happy 200th birthday, Abraham Lincoln!

New from the University of Nebraska Press: Searching for Tamsen Donner, by Gabrielle Burton. One summer in the 1970s, Burton, her husband, and their five daughters piled into the family station wagon and meticulously traced the path of the Donner Party, stopping at places the ill-fated pioneers stopped, visiting their graves and trying to understand that long-ago journey. Burton, a fledgling writer, intended to write a novel about Tamsen Donner, the wife of party leader George Donner. Decades later, Burton wrote instead about her summer searching for Tamsen, and what that journey meant for her family, and for her development as … Continue reading Tuesday Trivia: February 10, 2009

First, some bragging: Two University of Nebraska Press titles took top honors at the 2009 American Association of University Presses Book, Jacket and Journal Show. Valentines, by Ted Kooser, was recognized for its dust jacket design, and Corkscrewed: Adventures in the New French Wine Country, by Robert V. Camuto, was recognized in the trade typographic category. Hooray for our talented designers! Another bit of local(ish) news: Shelf Awareness mentioned the Bookworm, an Omaha bookstore, in today's daily e-newsletter. The bookstore is among several shops to begin book clubs for adults who want to read children’s titles. Click here for the … Continue reading Wednesday morning book news roundup

Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that sneaks up on a person. It seems that Christmas has just passed and that you’re just getting back into the groove of not going to holiday parties and not shopping for gifts when all of a sudden, it’s Feb. 12 and the hand-knitted scarf you had planned to make for your beloved just isn’t going to happen. However, you still have plenty of time to buy Valentines, former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s collection of more than two decades worth of Valentine’s Day poems. Every year for 22 years, Kooser wrote a … Continue reading Classic books by two Nebraska authors

New this month from the University of Nebraska Press: The Catholic Church and the Jews, Argentina, 1933-1945 by Graciela Ben-Dror, and The State, the Nation, and the Jews: Liberalism and the Antisemitism Dispute in Bismarck's Germany by Marcel Stoetzler. The impact of events in Nazi Germany and Europe during World War II was keenly felt in neutral Argentina among its predominantly Catholic population and its significant Jewish minority. The Catholic Church and the Jews, Argentina, 1933-1945 considers the images of Jews presented in standard Catholic teaching of that era, the attitudes of the lower clergy and faithful toward the country’s … Continue reading Linking in Lincoln – January 29, 2009