The British Open, believed to be the most challenging tournament in professional golf, begins tomorrow on the Ailsa Course at Turnberry, Scotland. It was on this course in 1977, that a legendary Duel in the Sun took place, which has spurred articles recounting the famous match to pop up all over the place, (this one, for example).   In 2005, the University of Nebraska Press published a book about this head-to-head golf championship titled, aptly, Duel in the Sun. During the famous match, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus battled over the last thirty-six holes with Watson winning with a closing birdie. … Continue reading Duel in the Sun

On this day in history, 1930, the first World Cup matches took place in Montevideo, Uruguay. Interestingly, many of the best teams didn’t even compete in the tournament – Europe was in a depression, and many European players opted not to take time off work to play, for fear that their jobs would no longer be theirs upon return. The final match was played on July 30, and Uruguay won, beating Argentina 4-2. The Global Game, edited by John Turnbull, Thom Satterlee, and Alon Raab, is a collection of writers’ reflections on the game of soccer, which, unlike that first … Continue reading This day in history

As I was perusing some book blogs this morning, I stumbled across this essay on The Millions about the process (and the mystery) of designing a book jacket. First-time novelist Sonya Chung writes that when it came time to offer input on the cover of her book, she didn’t know what to say other than that she didn’t want the cover to be too literal or to be a montage of fans, cranes, cherry blossoms and other stereotypical images associated with Asian culture. She loved image the book jacket designer sent to her – a woman taking a photograph of … Continue reading Judging books by their covers

It was on July 20, 1969 that astronaut Neil Armstrong, a member of the Apollo 11 spaceflight mission, stepped foot on the moon. To mark this historic event, newspapers are asking readers to write in sharing their memories of the moon landing, television stations will rebroadcast footage of Armstrong’s space stroll, and the University of Nebraska Press is offering 25 percent off our spaceflight titles, including those in our popular Outward Odyssey series. Among the sale books is A Journal for Christa, Christa being Christa McAuliffe, the “Teacher in Space” aboard the Challenger shuttle that exploded in 1986. A Journal for Christa was … Continue reading Spaceflight on sale!

On this day in history in 1862, Samuel Clemens began working as a reporter for a newspaper in Virginia City, Nevada. This is notable for two reasons: It allowed him to hone his writing skills, and it’s also where he began using his pen name, Mark Twain. The University of Nebraska Press is the publisher of two books by Mark Twain: How Nancy Jackson Married Kate Wilson and Other Tales of Rebellious Girls and Daring Young Women, and Tales of Wonder. Neither of these are exactly typical Twain books: How Nancy Jackson Married Kate Wilson and Other Tales of Rebellious Girls … Continue reading Mark Twain and the University of Nebraska Press