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More March Madness (what else did you expect from the publishers of The Madness of March?)

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We here at the University of Nebraska Press celebrated opening day of March Madness with a little party including such basketball staples as brackets, a free throw contest, and little smokies. And let it be known that we’re in good company:   This, for those of you who don’t recognize it, is President Obama’s bracket. Go Louisville!As our regular readers know, UNP author Alan Zaremba (The Madness of March: Bonding and Betting with the Boys in Las Vegas) is in Vegas, watching the games and blogging up a storm. Here’s an excerpt from a post from last night: …When Duquesne … Continue reading More March Madness (what else did you expect from the publishers of The Madness of March?)

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The first of several excerpted March Madness blogs, and a sneak preview of what’s to come

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Alan Zaremba, author of The Madness of March: Bonding and Betting with the Boys in Las Vegas, is in Las Vegas as I write this. He’s keeping his own blog through the weekend, and I’ll be pulling stuff from his blog and posting it here, because he writes a mean running commentary on the chaos that is March Madness in Las Vegas. Here’s a post from last night: I am back in Las Vegas for March Madness, having arrived last night, March 17th, to the quiet rustic country sounds of Las Vegas. Not. I imagine that St. Patrick's Day is … Continue reading The first of several excerpted March Madness blogs, and a sneak preview of what’s to come

AwardsLeave a comment

A Pushcart Prize and countdown to March Madness

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Alan Zaremba is en route to Las Vegas today, in preparation for March Madness. We here at the University of Nebraska Press are filling out our brackets. Also, be sure to check Alan’s blog (and ours) on Friday – the least productive work day of the year – for lots of March Madness coverage. Moving on, one of our authors has won a Pushcart Prize. Mimi Schwartz won for her essay “Telling the Truth that Matters,” which was published in Arts & Letters in the fall of 2008. Congrats to Mimi, who has had a good … Continue reading A Pushcart Prize and countdown to March Madness

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Play Begins on March 19 – Who are your picks?

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College hoops fans had an exciting weekend as ‘Selection Sunday’ filled in the remaining slots of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket. I don’t know about you, but I am excited to enter my fav picks and participate in the fun banter and bragging rights amongst my fellow friends and colleagues. March Madness and fan culture expert Alan Jay Zaremba knows this all too well as he spent the first weekend of March Madness 2007 in Las Vegas, hopping from sports book to sports book to watch as many of the basketball games as possible, place some bets, and … Continue reading Play Begins on March 19 – Who are your picks?

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Off the Shelf: The Madness of March: Bonding and Betting with the Boys in Las Vegas by Alan Jay Zaremba

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Madness of March cover image Read "Twenty-Four-Hour Happy Hour" from The Madness of March: Bonding and Betting with the Boys in Las Vegas by Alan Jay Zaremba:

"It is the morning of the first day of the tournament. I wake early, shower, dress, and prepare for the madness that I know awaits me. Before I leave my hotel room I gather what I’ll need as I travel through the day. I collect casino betting line sheets, a section of the New York Daily News that includes a description of each of the sixty-four teams in the tournament, some pens, and two small yellow notepads. It’s 6:30 when I exit the room and walk toward the bank of elevators.

Continue reading “Off the Shelf: The Madness of March: Bonding and Betting with the Boys in Las Vegas by Alan Jay Zaremba”

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Friday the 13th

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Today is Friday the 13th, which means it’s either a day of good luck or bad luck, depending on how you look at it. Yes, it’s associated with bad luck, but according to various web sites I found during a short Google-fueled research session, some research shows there are fewer car accidents (and other accidents) on Friday the 13th than other days because some people are so superstitious about the date that they avoid driving (or taking part in other potentially dangerous activities). So there you have it. A number of semi-significant historical events have occurred on Friday the 13th, including … Continue reading Friday the 13th

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Awards, Awards, Awards!

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Good news here at the University of Nebraska Press. In the past few days, we’ve learned that no less than SIX of our titles are up for various awards: — The Great Plains During World War II by R. Douglas Hurt, and Bright Epoch: Women and Coeducation in the American West, by Andrea G. Radke-Moss, have been both been selected as finalists for the Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize. — Ed Barrow: The Bulldog Who Built the Yankees' First Dynasty by Dan Levitt, Chief Bender's Burden: The Silent Struggle of a Baseball Star by Tom Swift, are two of the … Continue reading Awards, Awards, Awards!

EventsLeave a comment

Baseball books, baseball song, and plain old baseball

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As the end of college basketball season (which I’ve devoted much space to on this blog in recent weeks) draws near, baseball season is in full force. And the University of Nebraska Press LOVES baseball season. NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture holds an annual conference each spring, and this year, two of our authors will be featured speakers there. Lee Lowenfish, author of Branch Rickey, will give a presentation on his book – which is now out in paperback – on Friday, and Monica Nucciarone, author of Alexander Cartwright, will speak on Saturday. The conference is in … Continue reading Baseball books, baseball song, and plain old baseball

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Wine, March Madness and a smidge of soccer

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Good Tuesday morning! I have four University of Nebraska Press-centric links for you today: Robert Camuto, author of Corkscrewed: Adventures in the New French Wine Country, met with Huffington Post blogger Louise McCready during his book tour last month. To read about Robert’s history with wine, the concept of wine as food and the way the terrain and climate in France affects its wines, read Louise’s blog post about Robert. Speaking of blogs, Alan Zaremba, author of The Madness of March: Bonding and Betting with the Boys in Las Vegas, spent this weekend at the CAA men’s basketball tournament, and he blogged up a … Continue reading Wine, March Madness and a smidge of soccer

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Off the Shelf: Mayor Helen Boosalis: My Mother’s Life in Politics by Beth Boosalis Davis

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Mayror Helen Boosalis cover image In honor of Women's History Month and our Women's History Month sale, today's excerpt comes from a book published in 2008, Mayor Helen Boosalis: My Mother's Life in Politics by Beth Boosalis Davis:

"An unfamiliar voice at the other end of the phone asked, "Is this Mary Beth?" Immediately the question engaged my Nebraska self—Nebraska, where I was known for eighteen years as Mary Beth before going off to college, where I was M.B., and eventually dropping Mary altogether by the time I married. Mary Beth had always sounded southern to me anyway, though I liked being named after my grandmothers, Mary and Bertha (Beth and Bertha are the same in Greek: Panayiota).

This disembodied phone voice was calling me by my familial, familiar, Nebraska name—and not my grown-up name, Beth. Who was it? "You don't know me. My name is Neil Oxman and I'm working with your mother's campaign."

"Oh hi," I managed to interrupt the increasingly emphatic, eastern-accented caller.

"Look, you don't know me. I don't know you. But everyone I've talked to here in Nebraska agrees that you need to come home. Your mom needs your help and people say you'll know what to do. Besides, you're the only child, so it's up to you."

Continue reading “Off the Shelf: Mayor Helen Boosalis: My Mother’s Life in Politics by Beth Boosalis Davis”