University of Nebraska Press

This Week in History: July 21-25, 2008

Well bloggers, it’s been awhile. You try and try, but sometimes life (or in this case summer classes) just gets in the way.  What’s important though, is that we’re together again and that even though we haven’t seen each other, history has prevailed. This week we’ve got everything from Jesse James to Praibha Patil, and a little Italian fascism just for fun.  Ready to pick up where we left off?

July 21, 1873: Jesse James and the James-Younger gang attempted and succeeded in pulling off the first successful train robbery in the American West.

Well I think it’s safe to say that Jesse James was a rebel of sorts (rebel, robber, murderer…you know) but if you’re interested in another kind of “bad boy” then please check out REBEL: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby by Kevin H. Siepel, which chronicles the life of this bipartisan Commander.

July 22, 1882: American Painter Edward Hopper was born today.
If you fancy yourself an art connoisseur   then please take a look at Beyond Madness: The Art of Ralph Blakelock by Norman A. Geske.

July 23, 1929: Fascist Italy bans the use of foreign words.
In the wake of a burgeoning bilingual culture, Americans are well versed in the foreign word controversy. If you find that you’re an advocate of words, regardless of their origin, then you may enjoy the book of poetry Modern Archaist by Osip Mandelstam.

July 24, 1783: Simon Bolivar, the South American liberator is born today.
There is so much to South American culture, the politics, literature, food, entertainment and sports. If the latter is what really appeals to you the please take a look at Venezualen Bust Baseball Boom: Andres Reiner scouting on the New Frontier by Milton H. Jamil.

July 25, 2007: Pratihba Patil is sworn in as the first women president in India.
The position of women in politics has risen considerably in the past 50 years. For a look at Lincolns first female mayor please take a look at Mayor Helen Boosalis: My Mother’s Life in Politics by Beth Boosalis Davis.

Ok, bloggers that’s enough history for today check out the UNP website for more titles.  Join us next week for a little Trivia and a few Links!

Guest Blog: Kevin H. Siepel

A PATHWAY TO PUBLISHING

When I was a kid I loathed reading.  Couldn’t understand how anyone could have the patience to read two hundred or a thousand pages of . . .  words.  My minimally schooled parents each bore the emblem of being readers—namely, excellent grammar and usage, and familiarity with a wide range of topics.  But I didn’t get it.  To me life was roaming the fields and woods with a rifle or fishing rod, playing baseball, or building model airplanes and radios.  I did whatever reading was required for school (almost nothing in those days), but basically books formed no part of life as I saw it.

Just out of my teens, I went away to a Catholic seminary to study for the priesthood, an endeavor that was to last a few years.  Once the path of deep learning was opened to me, I came to see what an ignoramus I was, and that the only way out was to embrace the printed word beyond what was required.  I eased into my new program with historical novels, was surprised to find them enjoyable, and soon moved into the Great Books series, in addition to other sources of literature, history, and science.  Beyond the required Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and French, I started studying Spanish and German.  Later, upon giving up the seminary life, I tackled biology.

In the mid-1970s, chance threw this somewhat better educated humanist into a job in northern Virginia.  The job was unattractive, but northern Virginia history proved magnetic.  I was drawn to the story of Confederate partisan commander John Singleton Mosby.  I noted that his life—except for his service during the Civil War—had been neglected by biographers, and decided that I could be not only a reader but possibly even a writer.  Believing strongly in my ability to get a book published simply because, well, because it would be so good, I persevered through three years of research and two years of writing, and voilà—the first publisher to whom I submitted the Rebel manuscript (St. Martins Press) took it.  I thought this was normal.  It’s since been through a second publisher (Dacapo Press), and I’m proud to say it’s now with the University of Nebraska Press.

Success with this particular project bred a confident attitude toward writing, and has helped me to create, among life’s other tasks, a very modest string of publications of which I’m proud.  Along the way I’ve given many booktalks, the thought of which would have sent the 15-year-old I once was into a tizzy.  I’ve exchanged the rifle and fishing rod for the computer keyboard, but only sandwiched in among other duties.

What does all this signify?  Well, I think at least this:  if you’re open to learning, and to following some sort of dimly perceived spirit, unsuspected abilities can bubble to the surface, and you wind up in a place where you never expected to be.  Those unsuspected abilities, however, will not prove to be in the writing line if you haven’t become a reader first.

Kevin H. Siepel
Author of:
Rebel: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby
Joseph Bennett of Evans and the Growing of New York’s Niagara Frontier

Tuesday Trivia: July 21, 2007

Well bloggers it hotter than … (well, you know) outside. So to try and get our minds out of the heat this week’s Tuesday Trivia is going to take a look at UNP’s new book, Authentic Alaska II: Voices of the Far North, edited by Susan B. Andrews and John Creed.  Showcasing writers from the Arctic Ocean to the Southeast Alaska rainforests, their stories account for the diverse and unique culture this state has to offer. Their sometimes intimate pieces touch on everything from Global Warming to a mothers fight for her son to go to college. This sequel to Authentic Alaska features both native and non native writers from primarily rural communities. If nothing else then reading this book in the dead heat (like today) might cool you down just a bit!

A.    Alaska is derived from the word Aleut meaning what?
B.    5% if the state speaks one of how many indigenous languages?
C.    The Highest point in Alaska is what?
D.    True or False: Alaska is one of two states not boarded by another.
E.    Alaska is the largest state in the US and covers how much ground?
F.    In 1964 the “Good Friday Earthquake” killed how many people.
G.    80% of Alaska’s state revenues comes from what?
H.    True or False: Alaska has one of the highest individual tax burdens in the country.
I.    How many volcanoes reside in Alaska?
J.    True or False: It was purchased from Russia in 1867 for less than 2 cents per acre.

Ok, bloggers check back tomorrow for the answers!

Tuesday Trivia: July 15, 2008

                                                         IT’S A REBEL TUESDAY!

New from the University of Nebraska Press is Rebel: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby by Kevin H. Siepel. Rebel is the first complete biography of the Confederacy’s best-known partisan commander, John Singleton Mosby, the “Gray Ghost.” A practicing attorney in Virginia and at first a reluctant soldier, in 1861 Mosby took to soldiering with a vengeance, becoming one of the Confederate army’s highest-profile officers, known especially for his cavalry battalion’s continued and effective harassment of Union armies in northern Virginia. Although hunted after the war and regarded, in fact, as the last Confederate officer to surrender, he later became anathema to former Confederates for his willingness to forget the past and his desire to heal the nation’s wounds. Appointed U.S. consul in Hong Kong, he soon initiated an anticorruption campaign that ruined careers in the Far East and Washington. Then, following a stint as a railroad attorney in California, he surfaced again as a government investigator sent by President Theodore Roosevelt to tear down cattlemen’s fences on public lands in the West. Ironically, he ended his career as an attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice.

    This week Tuesday Trivia is going to take a look at Rebels down the years, and these bad boys may not be who you think.

Match the rebel to their legacy:
1.    Pancho Villa
2.    Robert E. Lee
3.    Emiliano Zappata
4.    George Washington
5.    Geronimo
6.    Leon Trotsky
7.    Spartacus
8.    Che Guevara
9.    Michael Davitt

A.    Decorated Southern General who supported Pres. Andrew Johnson’s plan for Reconstruction.
B.    Apache leader who defended his tribe against the advance of the US on his land.
C.    Roman slave who lead an uprising in 73-71 BC.
D.    An Irish politician was pivotal in the Land Act of 1881.
E.    Mexican Revolutionary General but violence prevented him from true hero representation.
F.    Bolshevik revolutionary who was a founding member of Politburo.
G.    First President of the United States
H.    Marxist and Cuban guerrilla leader who was executed in Bolivia in 1967.
I.    Prominent figure in the Mexico Revolution in 1910

Ok, bloggers check back tomorrow for the answers!!!

Linking in Lincoln: July 10, 2008

New this month from the University of Nebraska Press, Genealogies of Orientalism: History, Theory, Politics edited by Edmund Burke III and David Prochaska is a series of essays that argue for the extension upon Edward Said’s 1978 book, Orientalism, to explore what lies in beyond the title. With this collection they suggest that a look into the past as well as a re-evaluation of the theory is necessary for a multifaceted approach. This week Linking in Lincoln, is also going to take a comprehensive approach to this segment of the world, and see what it has to offer!

Interested in what Orientalism is all about? Check out Emory college for a further description of Edward Said’s book.

For a look at Orientalist art of the nineteenth century please check out this website.

Curious where you come from? Rootsweb: World Connect Project Global Search is a great (and free) place to research your genealogy.

For a more multifaceted look at the orient please check out Orient Magazine for some cuisine articles.

St. Martin’s Orient Beach is a beautiful vacation spot, check out youtube for the virtual tour.

If you need a place to stay while you’re traveling the Orient, then please check out Orient Express Hotel.

What do you think bloggers, do you feel like you’ve acquired a comprehensive perspective of Orientalism? Well, just in case these meager links have fallen short, please check out the University of Nebraska Press for Genealogies of Orientalism: History, Theory, and Politics. Have a great day!

Tuesday Trivia: July 7, 2008

New this month from the University of Nebraska Press is, Their Own Frontier: Women Intellectuals Re-Visioning the American West edited by Shirley A. Leckie and Nancy J. Parezo is dedicated to the female pioneers of the Twentieth Century.  Their philanthropic efforts, study into native studies, folklore, and ethnology have all retained their significance and are pervasive to modern day research.  This week Tuesday Trivia is going to see how much you know about these amazing women.

Match the Woman to her accomplishment:

Annie Heloise Abe
Gertrude Simmons Bonnin
Angie Debo
Isabel T. Kelly
Majorie Ferguson Lambert
Dorothea Cross Leighton
Alice Marriot
Mari Sandoz
Ruth Underhill

A.    Wrote Southern Paiute Shamanism
B.    Is best known by the name Zitkala-Sa
C.    Studied the Navajo, Inuit in Alaska, Papago, Hope and Sioux children.
D.    Is co-founder of the Marriot Hotel Chain
E.    Won the Justin Winsor Prize in 1906 for “The History of Events Resulting in Indian Consultation west of the Mississippi River.
F.    Served as a pastor at her local Methodist church during WWII
G.    Wrote the Ist life history of a Southwestern Indian woman
H.    Was one of the first woman curators in the country at the museum of New Mexico
I.    Won the Indian Achievement award in 1943.
J.    Is famous for her book Crazy Horse: Strange Man of the Oglalas.

Check back tomorrow for the answers!!!

Tuesday Trivia Answers

1. C
2.D
3.A
4.F
5.H
6.E
7.B
8.G

Tuesday Trivia: July 1, 2008

New from the University of Nebraska Press is, Salish Myths and Legends: One People's Stories edited by M. Terry Thompson and Steven M. Egesdal.  This anthology, full to the brim with rich and powerful stories, is translated by close cooperation with actual Salish storytellers.  Featuring memorable characters such as the trickster, Coyote, Mink, and Basket Ogress, the influential stories in this collection provide a timeless interpretation of a culture through its traditions. This week Tuesday Trivia is also going take a look at some myths and legends that other cultures have to offer.

Match the legend, with its description:

1.    Chupacabra
2.    Demeter and Persephone
3.    Oedipus
4.    Bloody Mary
5.    Orpheus
6.    President Lincoln
7.    Antigone
8.    Ghost ship of Captain Sandovate

A.    This young man killed his father and married his mother (hint: psychoanalyst Freud named a complex after him
B.    This young girl was buried alive for breaking the law and burying her traitorous brother.
C.    This fictional “goat sucker” is commonly found in Latin America
D.    This goddess of fertility lost her daughter to the King of the Underworld.
E.    This former president is said to haunt the White House, most frequently the room of the Lincoln bed.
F.    When her name is said three times in front of a mirror, this woman will return from the grave and claim your life.
G.    These crew men murdered their captain, and were sentenced to sail the Atlantic forever searching for water.
H.    This lute player went to the underworld to fetch his wife, but lost her forever when he did not follow Hades commands and looked back.

Join us tomorrow for the answers!!

This Week in History: June 23-27, 2008

Well bloggers, it’s about that time again. Yep, it’s This Week in History! We’ve got the Battle of Okinawa, the Angora Fire, and Veronica Guerin.  Care to stick around?  I think we’ve got quite a week in front of us…..

June 23, 1945: The Battle of Okinawa ends when the Imperial Japanese Army forces fall apart on Mabuni.
The Battle of Okinawa was significant to WWII, as it was just weeks before the atomic bombings.

If you’re interested in this region of the world, wars aside, than please check out Genealogies of Orientalism: History, Theory, Politics, by Edmund Burke III for a close look.

June 24, 2007: Angora Fire starts near South Lake Tahoe, California destroying over two hundred buildings in the first two days alone.

Wildfire and Americans, by Roger G. Kennedy, is an appeal on behalf of the author to begin looking at natural disasters as possessing more of a human origination. How do we contribute as humans to the new face of wildfire?

June 25, 1966: Congolese basketball star, Dikembe Mutombo is born.

Mutombo won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times, and when he was 40 he was the oldest player in the league. To get a closer look on the modern African American basketball player please take a look at Young, Black, Rich, and Famous, by Todd Boyd.

June 26, 1996: Irish Journalist, Veronica Guerin, is shot in her car by drug dealers.

Guerin’s tireless fight against drug dealers in Ireland, ended up in her death, but left a significant mark on the Irish Parliament’s determent and punishment of criminals.  For another book about significant women in history please take a look at Give Me Eighty Men, by Shannon D. Smith

June 27, 1962: Paul Viding, Estonian poet dies today.

Viding was a significant writer who’s work had known influences of T.S. Eliot in it. If poetry is your thing, than you may be interested in Modern Archaist: Selected Poems by Osip Mandelstam  written by Osip Mandelstam.

Ok bloggers, you can find all these books and more at the University of Nebraska Press website. Please join us Tuesday for some more Trivia!

Tuesday Trivia: June 16, 2008

New from the University of Nebraska Press is, Bad Fruits of the Civilized Tree by Izumi Ishii. This book “examines the role of alcohol among the Cherokees through more than two hundred years, from contact with white traders.”  Chronicling the socially destructive aspects of the beverage, Ishii how the brew was integrated into the native community and how this event impacted their economic escalation. This week Tuesday Trivia is going to take a look at this wonder we call alcohol, and see if we can determine just why its history is so pervasive.

1.    True or False: Almost all cultures have some sort of disclaimer against drunkenness.

2.    What is the estimated annual cost of an alcohol addiction (hint: it’s in the billions…)

3.     A bottle of Diva Vodka costs $1,060,000 because of what?

4.    In chemistry, alcohol is a compound where a _____ group is bound to a ____atom creating CnH2nt1OH

5.    1920-1933 refers to what period, where the sale, transportation, and manufacture of alcohol for consumption were illegal.

6.    True or False: Traditional Muslim beliefs were “alcohol is a gift from God that makes life more joyous and over indulgence, which leads to drunkenness, is a sin”

7.    Alcohol was listed as which number on MSN's list of top 5 most expensive addictions?
A.2
B.3
C.1

8.    What percent of health care is spent on drug and alcohol treatment?

9.    True or False: The Marines first recruiting station was in a bar

10.    Among the Lepcha people of Tibet, alcohol is the only form of payment for whom?

Check back tomorrow for the answers!