Chief Bender’s Burden: The Silent Struggle of a Baseball Star by Tom Swift “A gem. . . . Swift’s mission is to reassert Bender as an important figure in the history of the game, both as a player and a groundbreaking figure. His book does well in both ways.”—Kevin Canfield, Chicago Sun-Times To read earlier praise for Chief Bender’s Burden, please visit http://nebraskapress.typepad.com/university_of_nebraska_pr/2008/02/starred-review.html. Continue reading More Praise for Chief Bender’s Burden

Interior Places by Lisa Knopp “Interior Places is a great sample of local nature writing, making it ideal for academic study or for those who want to start reading creative nonfiction.—Ryan Borchers, Omaha World-Herald To read earlier praise for Interior Places, please link to http://nebraskapress.typepad.com/university_of_nebraska_pr/2008/01/praise-for-inte.html. Continue reading More Praise for Interior Places

The War for America, 1775–1783 by Piers Mackesy “[A] brilliant, classic history of the American Revolution. . . . I hadn’t known about The War for America until earlier this year, when it was recommended by friends steeped in strategic thinking. . . . Mackesy’s book was first published in 1964 and is still in print in paperback. He calls it a ‘strategic history,’ which he describes as the no-man’s-land between a diplomatic history of a war and a narrative history of its battles. It is the single best such work that I ever have encountered.”—Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post … Continue reading Praise for The War for America, 1775-1783

THE LINKS THAT BECOME US Featured this month by the University of Nebraska Press is, What Becomes You by Aaron Raz Link and Hilda Raz. A Collaborative memoir by mother and son, it chronicles the journey from female to male, and scientist to performer of Aaron Raz Link. Hilda Raz, a well known poet and feminist, plays the role of the “astonished” parent who watches the process from the standpoint of both mother and academic. With the poignant perspectives of mother and son, we can see how the self-identification methods we use to create our own lives can have significant … Continue reading Linking in Lincoln: April 23, 2008

The Enders Hotel: A Memoir by Brandon R. Schrand Starred Review “Schrand’s deeply textured memoir of life in a small Idaho town boasts a rich palette of glittering iridescent hues, somber earth tones, and delicate, evocative washes. . . . Schrand’s memoir sings, stirring the senses as much as the soul.”—Whitney Scott, Booklist For previous reviews of The Enders Hotel, please visit http://nebraskapress.typepad.com/university_of_nebraska_pr/2008/02/praise-for-th-1.html. Continue reading Starred Review for The Enders Hotel

Nez Perce Country by Alvin M. Josephy Jr. “A highly readable text . . . . Josephy was well-suited for the task of writing a comprehensive overview. . . . He probably knew and cared about Nez Perce history and the Nez Perce people as much as any non-Nez Perce writer. . . . We should value this representation of Nez Perce culture and history for what it is: a comprehensive historical description of the Nez Perce Indians by a major writer who spent his life studying and befriending the Nez Perce people.”—Indigenous Issues Today Read previous praise for Nez … Continue reading Continued Praise for Nez Perce Country

Fans of Willa Cather should spend a little time or perhaps a lot of time perusing the Willa Cather Archive (http://cather.unl.edu), a site over ten years in the making and supported by the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Visitors can read digital text from a variety of Cather’s works, including book-length publications, such as One of Ours, as well as interviews, letters, and speeches. An extensive and searchable image collection from the Archives and Special Collections of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln libraries is also included. The site continues to evolve and expand; a … Continue reading Willa Cather has been Webified

Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman by Lee Lowenfish “The book title captures the complexity of the man who ‘made a spark that helped shape three cultures—black, white and American.’ Rickey III attended a book signing and lecture by Lee Lowenfish at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Lowenfish wrote the latest book about baseball’s integration pioneer. Rickey III calls it the best of three books about his grandfather, who as an executive with the Dodgers brought Jackie Robinson to the Major Leagues in 1947. ‘It’s a more comprehensive character study with the benefit of insight, the distillation of time, events and … Continue reading Continued Praise for Branch Rickey