University of Nebraska Press

Off the Shelf: Goodbye Wifes and Daughters by Susan Kushner Resnick

Read from the Introduction of Goodbye Wifes and Daughters by Susan Kushner Resnick:

"Bearcreek, Montana, used to be wild. In the 1920s, when it was still new, there were eleven saloons. Eleven saloons and not one church. It was a town of brothels and fistfights and rollicking parties to celebrate brides brought over from the old country. The miners worked and drank and worked some more, surviving on the miles of coal spread under the mountains. Some called it a coal camp, but it was different from the others. Montana Coal and Iron, the firm that owned the area’s largest mine, didn’t rule the community—there was no company store that the miners were forced to patronize, no company-owned houses they had to live in. The residents of Bearcreek were free to shop and sleep where they wanted. There were two hotels, rows of profitable businesses, a hospital, and a bank. People said it was a little slice of utopia, this village that sprouted up in the middle of vast natural beauty.

Off the Shelf: The Lie Detectors by Ken Alder

Read from Chapter 1, "Science Nabs Sorority Sneak", from The Lie Detectors: The History of an American Obsession by Ken Alder:

"The case had all the signs of an inside job. One of the ninety young women in College Hall was a sneak thief. For several months, someone had been filching personal possessions from the rooms of her dorm sisters: silk underthings, registered letters, fancy jewelry, cash. It was the springtime of the Jazz Age in 1921, and young women were returning to the boardinghouse on the campus at Berkeley to find their evening gowns spread out on their beds, as if someone had been sizing them up. A sophomore from Bakersfield had been robbed of $45 she had hidden inside a textbook; a freshman from Lodi lost money and jewelry valued at $100; and Margaret Taylor, a freshman from San Diego, could not find her diamond ring worth $400—though she wondered whether she had simply misplaced it.

Off the Shelf: Mexicans in Revolution, 1910-1946 by William H. Beezley and Colin M. MacLachlan

Read from the introduction of Mexicans in Revolution, 1910-1946: An Introduction by William H. Beezley and Colin M. MacLachlan:

"For Mexicans in general, but especially those in the capital city, the late summer of 1910 brought the inauguration of new buildings, monuments, and institutions (including an insane asylum) to commemorate independence. The grand national celebration was held on September 16, with parades and speeches that drew official and unofficial visitors from Europe, the United States, Latin America, and Asia, particularly Japan. The centennial parades highlighted the story of Mexico’s past, through the stages of ancient Aztec glories, colonial civilizing efforts, and the Porfirian creation of a cosmopolitan nation. Through it all, the elderly president remained remote; the patriarchal patriot had seemingly become detached from daily activities, serving only as the national symbol. As the Díaz regime basked in the afterglow of the centennial celebrations, on November 20 insurrectionary battles erupted in distant Chihuahua and the revolution sputtered to life.

This day in history, Wisconsin trivia, and a reminder about BEA

 On this day in 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th U.S. State. To celebrate this anniversary, here are some facts about the Badger State:

-- The name “Wisconsin” comes from a Ojibwa word meaning “red rocks” or “gathering of waters.” The name was originally used to describe the Wisconsin River.

-- Wisconsin claims to be the home of more country music festivals than any other state.

-- America’s Dairyland is actually only the second highest producer of dairy products in the United States – California is first.

-- Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was a Wisconsin Native, and a summer home and studio he built there, Taliesin, is now a National Historic Landmark.

-- Throughout the twentieth century, Wisconsin won national visibility and praise for its role as a “laboratory of democracy” within the American federal system. Are you intrigued? You can learn more about Wisconsin’s politics and government in the University of Nebraska Press title Wisconsin Politics and Government, by James K. Conant, published in 2006 by the University of Nebraska Press. This book is part of our  Politics and Governments of the American States Series, which also includes books on the politics of Alabama, Kentucky, Minnesota and others.

In completely unrelated this-day-in-history news, on this day in 1942, Bing Crosby recorded “White Christmas” in a Los Angeles Studio, according to the New York Times. A variety of interesting stuff happened on May 29, according to the NYT, and you can learn more about those interesting things here.

And finally, BEA is officially underway. As I mentioned here earlier this week, the University of Nebraska Press is giving away a limited number of advance reading copies of two of our fall titles, and our Bison Books Editor, Tom Swanson, will speak today about Ted Kooser’s forthcoming memoir. Our booth is no. 2870, so stop by and say hello. 

Searching for Tamsen Donner in the L.A. Times

One hundred sixty three years ago this May 12, the Donner Party left Independence, Mo., and set out toward California. I imagine that this time of year 163 years ago, the members of the Donner Party were already busily making preparations for the journey they expected would last just four months.

And contrary to popular belief, the Donners were prepared for that trip. They had all the necessary staples – loads of food, good, sturdy transportation, warm clothes. Tamsen Donner, wife of party leader George Donner and the subject of Gabrielle Burton’s new book Searching for Tamsen Donner, also brought the things she would need to set up a girls’ school – things like books and paints.

Those details transform the members of the Donner Party from names in a history book into real human beings. Those details also make the story of the Donner Party even more interesting.

Searching for Tamsen Donner was featured in the L.A. Times this weekend, both in this review, and in this blog. Blogger Carolyn Kellogg sums up the allure of the Donner Party thusly: That perfectly respectable people might be forced into cannibalism to stay alive was a terrifying, cautionary tale (with a lesson: avoid poorly researched shortcuts).

Anyway, we here at the University of Nebraska Press were thrilled that the L.A. Times finds the tale of the Donner Party as captivating as we do.

In other review news, Robert Camuto’s Corkscrewed was featured in a review in the Lincoln Journal Star this weekend. French wine comes to Lincoln!

Baseball books, baseball song, and plain old baseball

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 Tucson, and more information on Lowenfish and Nucciarone’s presentations is available on the events page of our Web site.

And while we’re on the topic of baseball, if you attend any games this spring and happen to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," you might want to read Take Me Out to the Ball Game: The Story of the Sensational Baseball Song, by Amy Whorf McGuigggan. TMOTTBG tells the story of how that particular song came to be THE baseball song. It also details the song’s history (vaudeville is in the mix). Neat.

If this post has you all jazzed up for live baseball, the Huskers’ next home game is March 20.

Happy 200th birthday, Abraham Lincoln!

Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky 200 years ago today. We here at the University of Nebraska Press brought treats to work in honor of the president’s big day (apparently, Lincoln was fond of apples and wild game; we are celebrating with cupcakes). We’re also celebrating by offering our readers 25 percent off Abraham Lincoln titles through the end of the month.

If you live in Lincoln, you can check out this article in the Lincoln Journal Star for other local ways to celebrate Honest Abe’s birthday. And for some fun facts about our 16th president (fact no. 6: he has no living descendents), click here.