Review roundup

“…baseball fans whose turn of mind leads them to look back in time cannot/should not be without what is arguably David Nemec’s magnum opus, Major League Baseball Profiles, 1871-1900…” –Big Bad Baseball “…this tasty little novel serves up a witty parody of today's calorie-obsessed culture to sweeten its merciless, well-aimed bite.” –Nick DiMartino in Shelf Awareness reviewing The Weight of Temptation by Ana María Shua Joy Castro’s Island of Bones and Hell or High Water (St. Martin’s Press) was reviewed in the Hispanic Reader. World War I: The American Soldier Experience by Jennifer D. Keene appeared on Strategypage.com. Continue reading Review roundup

Zehner speaks at UBC Reads Sustainability

Ozzie Zehner, author of Green Illusions, will be speaking tomorrow at the UBC Reads Sustainability program on the University of British Columbia campus.  The UBC Reads Sustainability program brings well-known sustainability authors to engage in a campus-wide discussion. “Part part book, part lecture series, and part opportunity to learn beyond the classroom.” Read more about the program and register to attend an event here. Continue reading Zehner speaks at UBC Reads Sustainability

Tom Osborne: Nebraska legend

Today Tom Osborne announced his plan to retire. Effective Jan. 1, 2013, Osborne will become athletic director emeritus. Read more at Huskers.com.  The back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995 prompted more fans and media to take notice of the football program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. For Tom Osborne, then head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the added scrutiny was at times flattering and at other times problematic.   On Solid Ground, new in paperback this month, Osborne presents not only an accurate portrayal of what happened to the team during those championship seasons but also his personal philosophy of … Continue reading Tom Osborne: Nebraska legend

New in paperback next week!


At Mesa's EdgeAt Mesa’s Edge
by Eugenia Bone

Although Eugenia Bone was perfectly happy with her life as a New York City food writer, she knew that her husband, a transplanted westerner, was filled with a discontent he couldn’t explain. So when he returned from a fishing trip in the Rockies one day and announced that he wanted to buy a forty-five-acre ranch in Crawford, Colorado (population 404), she reluctantly said yes…

Part cookbook, part memoir about a transplanted New Yorker learning to cook, live, and even enjoy herself on a ranch in Colorado.

 


The Life of Glückel of HamelnThe Life of Glückel Hameln
 edited by Beth-Zion Abrahams

Glückel of Hameln was a marvel of her time: an accomplished businesswoman as well as the mother of twelve. Devastated by the death of her beloved husband in 1689, she proceeded to write the riveting memoir that would become a timeless classic, revealing much about Jewish life in seventeenth-century Germany…

This volume also features an introduction by translator Beth-Zion Abrahams that provides a fuller background of the author's life and tells how Glückel came to write the memoir that would provide insight for centuries to come into Jewish, European, and women’s history.

 

Continue reading “New in paperback next week!”

From the desk of Mark Liebenow

Mountains of LightMark Liebenow, author of Mountains of Light: Seasons of Reflection in Yosemite, won First Prize in the 2011 Literal Latte Essay Award for his work titled, “Tinkering with Grief in the Woods.” Below he shares what to do if you only have one day in Yosemite.

Readers have been asking, “If I have one day in Yosemite, what should I do?”  This is what I recommend.

If it’s summer, stand in Leidig Meadow at 5:30 a.m. and watch the stars in the night’s darkness give way to the orange and yellow colors of dawn.  You will see deer and a few coyotes.  As soon as it’s light enough to see the trail, head for the top of Upper Yosemite Fall, pausing at Columbia Rock halfway up to take in the view and to catch your breath.  Arriving at the top two hours after starting off, walk over to the bridge that crosses the creek, look up the river to see what channels the water down, walk to the overlook, notice the Lost Arrow to your left and the Sierra Nevada range along the horizon.  Head back down, arriving on the valley floor around 10:00 a.m.

Continue reading “From the desk of Mark Liebenow”

Review roundup

Island of Bones was in the El Paso Times. Moonshine Ink reviewed Almost Somewhere. The Star Tribune called Water and Abandon “eloquent.” The Joplin Independent reviewed Backstage. A Thrilling Narrative of Indian Captivity was on Monsters and Critics. And you can read excerpts from The National Forgotten League in The Washington Times as well as hear author Dan Daly discuss it on ESPN’s The Sports Fix. Continue reading Review roundup

Civil War photographs in 3-D

"Experience Civil War Photography: From the Home Front to the Battlefront" is a new civil war show that illustrates the rise of photojournalism and new photographic techniques, including stereophotography – a form of 19th-century 3-D imaging. The Smithsonian blog, "Around the Mall," shared how "during the Civil War, Americans followed the battles at home with collectable photographs of generals and prints of the battlefields that were published in the daily newspaper." Put on 3-D glasses, and these photographs come to life. Read more about it on Around the Mall. Continue reading Civil War photographs in 3-D

UNL archaeological team uncovers mosaic

The UNL team uncovered a massive Roman mosaic in southern Turkey. Researchers, students, and workers spent two months unearthing and cleaning this summer. Read more about it here. UNP has contributed to the archeology field by publishing books that explore past cultures and excavate histories previously unknown. The Archeology of the Caddo edited by Timothy K. Perttula provides the most comprehensive overview to date of the prehistory and archaeology of the Caddo peoples. The Caddos lived in the Southeastern Woodlands for more than 900 years beginning around A.D. 800–900, before being forced to relocate to Oklahoma in 1859. This volume … Continue reading UNL archaeological team uncovers mosaic