University of Nebraska Press

Linking in Lincoln: October 9, 2008

New this month from the University of Nebraska Press is Blue Skies, Black Wings: African American Pioneers of Aviation by Samuel L. Broadnax. After a love of flying and years spent as a pilot at the Tuskegee Army Air Base, Samuel Broadnax began to research the experiences of other black pilots and “pioneers” of aviation. This book is a culmination of those tales, from Charles Wesley Peters who flew his own plane in  1911, to the 1945 Freeman Field mutiny against segregationist policies. This week Linking in Lincoln will pay tribute to the struggles and fights of these men with a few links to widen our horizons on what they might have went through.

To see what life was like for African Americans in the military, during any war, head to Africanamericans.com.

Another famous African American, who also fought injustice but on a more public front, is Ella Fitzgerald. Check out her staggeringly good rendition of “Blue Skies” on youtube.com now.

Tuskegee Army Air Base, where Broadnax trained as a pilot, is now called Sharp Field. Go to Wikipedia.com for a full history.

To find out more about the pioneers, in the U.S. and beyond,  in Aviation, check out aviation_calderara.com.

I can remember the first time I saw Glory. I was sick on the day they showed it in history, so my dad let me watch it at home. For more information on this stunning movie, and how it depicts African Americans in the military, head to imdb.com

In 12006, the Tuskegee Airmen won the Congressional Medal of Honor. To find out more about this unparalleled honor head to the cmohs.org.

Well readers, do you feel more informed? More equipped to head out and get your own copy of Blue Skies, Black Wings, if so check it out at the UNP website.  And don’t forget to join us tomorrow for another installment of This Week in History.

Author Francis French Honored for Contribution to Aerospace Education

Francis French, co-author of two titles in UNP’s acclaimed Outward Odyssey series, received San Diego’s “Outstanding Contribution to Aerospace Education” award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in a special ceremony on May 22, 2008. According to the press release issued by the San Diego Air & Space Museum, French was honored for his work heading the Museum’s education efforts to interest and engage a new generation of audiences in science, technology and engineering, as well as his prior work in science education at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Sally Ride Science, and his popular science books Into That Silent Sea and In the Shadow of the Moon.

“We’ve been delighted to have Francis spearheading our efforts to make our Museum and programs even more appealing and accessible to general audiences, and giving students and family audiences an even greater range of exciting, relevant and hands-on experiences in science, history, engineering and technology,” said Jim Kidrick, Museum President and CEO.

The San Diego Air & Space Museum is California’s Official Air & Space Museum and Education Center. The Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and it was the first aero-themed Museum to be accredited by the American Association of Museums. The Museum is located at 2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101.

Tuesday Trivia: May 19, 2008

ONE BOOK, ONE NEBRASKA, ONE TUESDAY TRIVIA!

Restoring the Burnt Child, by William Kloefkorn is the fourth installment in his highly regarded  memoir, that when completed, will cover the four elements of Water, Fire, Earth, and Air (and no he has no affiliation with Captain Planet). Winner of the One Book, One Nebraska award, Kloefkorn is no stranger to praise from the Great Plains literati. In this installment of Tuesday Trivia we will be taking a look at him and other  former winners of One Book, One Nebraska to see if you, our readers, have  been paying attention to these local legends.

Match the two quirky facts with their equally eccentric (Ahem,  genius) counterparts!
1.    Mari Sandoz
2.    Willa Cather
3.    William Kloefkorn
4.    Alex Kava

A)    This author was incredibly private, so much so that before her death she burned all her personal letters and papers, then tailored her will to prevent scholars from quoting her directly from what few papers remained

B)    Talk about a national sensation! This author’s books have made national bestsellers lists in Poland, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom.  Guess you’d have to be “Bloody” stupid not to check them out!

C)    In 1978 which author won first place in the Nebraska Hog-Calling Championship? Giving up hog-calling for writing, what ever happened to ideals, people?

D)    In 1919, at the age of 18, this author made the bold move to divorce her husband citing “extreme marital cruelty” and travel, alone, to Lincoln, Nebraska.

E)    To pay for her life as a struggling writer, this author refinanced her home, maxed out her credit cards and took up the prestigious job of a paper boy (or paper person).

F)    Though celebrated for writing in the tongue of the “ordinary” person, this author was occasionally criticized for doing just that in place of activism to alter their often harsh conditions.  I mean really, who wants to read about successful people?

G)    This author was appointed the State Poet of Nebraska (very comparable to the Poet Laureate) in 1982. So you can just take that, Mr. Ted Kooser!

H)    This author’s first book was a memoir chronicling her father’ life. This dutiful daughter endured a whole heck of a lot of rejection before seeing Old Jules published in 1935
.
Well readers, if you combine the powers of the rings of the five planeteers and call upon Captain Planet….then you will have wasted your time, as he probably cannot help you solve this quiz. On the other hand, you could just check out The University of Nebraska Press and take closer look at Restoring the Burnt Child by William Kloefkorn.

Endgame 1758 Short-Listed for Dartmouth Book Award

A.J.B. Johnston's Endgame 1758: The Promise, the Glory, and the Despair of Louisbourg's Last Decade has been short-listed for the Atlantic Book Awards' 2008 Dartmouth Award for Non-Fiction. Click here for a link to the Atlantic Book Award Web page. Congratulations to the author on this honor!

UNP Author Receives Ritter Award

We are pleased to announce that UNP author Norman L. Macht is the winner of the 2008 Larry Ritter Award, granted by the Society for American Baseball Research's Deadball Era Committee, for his book, Connie Mack and the Early Years of Baseball. Our congratulations go out to Mr. Macht for this outstanding accomplishment!

UNP Author Announced as Guggenheim Fellow

Robin Hemley, author of Invented Eden: The Elusive, Disputed History of the Tasaday (University of Nebraska Press, 2007), was announced as a recipient of a 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship in a press release distributed by the Guggenheim Foundation on April 3rd. The fellowship was awarded to 190 artists, scientists, and scholars from a pool of more than 2,600 applicants.

To view the Guggenheim Foundation press release and for a link to the full list of this year's recipients, click here.

Congratulations to Robin on this high honor!

Barnes & Noble Highlights Two UNP Titles in Summer 2008 Discover Great New Writers Selections

We're proud to announce that Barnes & Noble has included two forthcoming UNP titles as Summer 2008 Discover Great New Writers Selections. Featured in promotions from May-July 2008 will be:

The Enders Hotel: A Memoir
By Brandon R. Schrand

“Gorgeously written and generous in its telling, Schrand’s memoir takes us deep into the heart of a boomtown gone bust and a family surviving on little more than stubbornness and a desire to do the next right thing. The Enders Hotel is a heartbroken love song to a time gone by, a place lost, and a people whose longings ring true long after the last page ends.”—Kim Barnes, author of In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country

Click here to read more about The Enders Hotel.

Bicycling beyond the Divide: Two Journeys into the West
By Daryl Farmer

“Bicycling beyond the Divide did what all great books do: it told me about me. In its tale of a journey made by two different men—both of them Daryl Farmer—this book offers us not only moving vistas and meaningful people, but also hope, that rarest of literary commodities these days. I didn't want this to end.”—Bret Lott, author of Jewel

Click here to read more about Bicycling beyond the Divide.

To read an excerpt from Bicycling beyond the Divide, click on the link below.

Download farmer_excerpt.pdf

Congratulations to Brandon R. Schrand and Daryl Farmer for receiving this honor!

Houses of Study Named 2007 National Jewish Book Award Runner-Up

The University of Nebraska Press is pleased to announce that Ilana M. Blumberg is runner-up for the Jewish Book Council’s 2007 National Jewish Book Award in Women’s Studies for Houses of Study: A Jewish Woman among Books. Congratulations to Professor Blumberg on this impressive achievement!

Read more about Houses of Study on the book’s page on the University of Nebraska Press Web site.

Ilana M. Blumberg Named Finalist for 2008 Sami Rohr Prize

Houses of Study Tapped for High Honor

Ilana M. Blumberg has been named one of five finalists for the 2008 Sami Rohr Prize in Jewish Literature for her memoir, Houses of Study: A Jewish Woman among Books (University of Nebraska Press, 2007). The prize, to be awarded in spring 2008, carries a $100,000 purse, making it the largest prize of its kind in the field of Jewish literature. As stated on the Jewish Book Council Web site, "the prize honors an emerging author in the field of Jewish literature who has written a book of exceptional literary merit that stimulates an interest in themes of Jewish concern."

Set in “houses of study,” from a Jewish grammar school and high school to a Jerusalem yeshiva for women to a secular American university, Blumberg's memoir asks, in an intimate and poignant manner: what happens when the traditional Jewish ideal of learning asserts itself in a body that is female—a body directed by that same tradition toward a life of modesty, early marriage, and motherhood?

Ilana M. Blumberg is an assistant professor of humanities, culture, and writing at James Madison College, Michigan State University.

You can find an extended description of Houses of Study, praise, and an excerpt on the book's Web page, located here.

The University of Nebraska Press offers a hearty congratulations to Ilana M. Blumberg for this impressive achievement!