Claim You Know Willa, Will Ya? Think you know all there is to know about the iconic Willa Cather, celebrated Nebraskan writer and subject of the newly published Cather Studies, Volume 7: Willa Cather as Cultural Icon? Try your hand at this week’s trivia questions and find out just how much of a "Catherphile" you really are. (1) Where was Willa Cather born? (2) Where is Willa Cather buried? (3) How many siblings did she have? (4) In what year did she move with her family to Webster County, Nebraska? (5) Willa was baptized as (fill in the blank). She … Continue reading Tuesday Trivia

Yes, it’s that time of year. We’re in the thick of college football season and, in many households, it’s all football, all the time. In light of this, we’ve asked Tony Moss, author of A Season in Purgatory: Villanova and Life in College Football’s Lower Class (University of Nebraska Press, 2007) to serve as our guest blog writer today. Read on for his thoughts on the “minor league” contenders in the world of college football—the sixteen teams comprising the FCS. This is great Friday fodder and the perfect “kick-off” to another weekend of college football. If you’re a fan of … Continue reading Notes from the Sidelines of Purgatory

Flattery and Other Trivial Pursuits New this month, Willis Goth Regier’s In Praise of Flattery looks into flattery as an element as flammable (and as taken for granted) as oxygen. Giving flattery light, attention, and care, Regier treats readers to hundreds of historical examples drawn from the highest social circles in politics, romance, and religion, from the courts of Byzantium and China to Paris, Rome, and Washington, DC. Also new this month, our regular blog feature, “Tuesday Trivia.”  Each Tuesday, we will post trivia questions based on the subject matter of a University of Nebraska Press publication. Regier’s In Praise … Continue reading Tuesday Trivia

Attorney general nominee, Michael Mukasey made the news recently by refusing to acknowledge waterboarding as an illegal form of torture during a Senate committee interview. Citing that the 2005 Detainee Treatment Act’s ban on waterboarding is not inclusive of the CIA and its activities, Mukasey claimed ignorance as to the nuances of the law regarding "enhanced" CIA interrogation procedures. Democrats are now lining up in protest of his appointment and many are calling his response short-sighted and irresponsible. President Bush staunchly maintains his support of the nominee and Vice President Cheney has called the use of waterboarding in interrogation procedures … Continue reading A Question of Humanity: Is There a Place for Torture in Civilized Society?

 The Cowboy Girl: The Life of Caroline Lockhart by John Clayton “John Clayton had his work cut out for him when he took on the challenge of writing a biography of a colorful and almost forgotten writer and cattle queen. The result is a thoroughly entertaining portrait.”—Lorna Thackeray, The Billings Gazette Read earlier praise for The Cowboy Girl at http://nebraskapress.typepad.com/university_of_nebraska_pr/2007/04/praise_for_the__3.html Continue reading More Praise for The Cowboy Girl