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!

Linking in Lincoln: July 24, 2008

New from the University of Nebraska Press, is Chief Bender’s Burden: The Silent Struggle of a Baseball Star by Tom Swift.  Charles Albert Bender was the greatest American Indian Baseball Player of all time. His career unfolded in a time of great prejudice but his reputation for possessing an “unflappable demeanor” garnered him respect from the sporting world. This remarkable story told by journalist Tom Swift is sure to show you a side of baseball that is often overlooked, and his talent of utilizing both storytelling and the objectiveness of journalism recreates the “silent struggle” this sports hero endured. This week Linking in Lincoln will take a closer look at the player, the writer, and all the things in between!

Care to brush up on your Chief Bender bio?  If so then do it here at Wikipedia.

For you sports fanatics out there, you can take a look at his stats here.

Tom Swift is an award winning journalist and freelance writer. For more info take a look at his website, “Writers Notebook”.

Curious about other American Indian baseball players? Check out Baseball Almanac for a more comprehensive list.

There are numerous sports heroes out there, but My Hero-sports gives bios and introductions to who they consider to be the most significant.

Chief Bender grew up on the White Earth Reservation. Go to their website for a closer look at their significant history.

Hope you enjoy bloggers! Join us tomorrow for a little TWIH

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!!!

Hamlin Garland Biographer Interviewed on the Donna Seebo Show

Keith Newlin, author of the biography Hamlin Garland: A Life, was recently interviewed on the Donna Seebo Show. The author discusses a variety of topics during the program, including how he discovered Hamlin Garland as well as the agricultural environment in which Garland grew up and then chose to leave for a writing career. Listen to the interview from the BBSRadio link at the bottom of the author's web page:

http://people.uncw.edu/newlink/Garland_Bio_info.htm

Keith Newlin's biography of Hamlin Garland is the first to be published in over 40 years. In recognition of his achievements in literature, Hamlin Garland (1860–1940) received four honorary doctorates and a Pulitzer Prize. Newlin traces the rise of this prairie farm boy with a half-formed ambition to write who then skyrocketed into international prominence before he was forty.

The University of Nebraska Press is the publisher of several Garland books, including Main-Travelled Roads, Boy Life on the Prairie, The Book of the American Indian, Rose of Dutcher's Coolly, and Selected Letters of Hamlin Garland. Keith Newlin is also the editor of the new book, A Summer to Be: A Memoir by the Daughter of Hamlin Garland by Isabel Garland Lord, available through Whitston Publishing Company.

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!

This Week in History: June 16-10, 2008

What do Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Abraham Lincoln, and Juliano Belletti all have in common? Well, other than This Week in History, not a whole lot. They are all, however, very significant to our humble blog as their endeavors give us reason to exist. So in honor of their efforts, we will proceed with another session of This Week in History.

June 16, 1859: Abraham Lincoln gives his famous speech House Divided in Springfield, Illinois.

Whether you are a fan or not, the legacy President Lincoln has left on this country has been considerable to say the least. For a look at an equally important figure on the opposite side, check out Rebel: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby, by Kevin H. Siepel

June 17, 1631: Mumtaz Mahal dies giving birth. Her husband, Mughal  Emperor Shah Jahan I, then spends the next twenty years building her tomb. We know this as the Taj Mahal.

Now THAT is a love story, and if romance is your thing you might be interested in Valentines, by Ted Kooser.
June 18, 1981: The AIDS epidemic is formally recognized by the medical professionals of San Francisco.

The tragedy of disease has had its affects all over the world, and we are weighted down with the stories of loss. The miracles are less frequent, however,  so if you’re in the mood for one then please check out  It’s Good to Know a Miracle: Dani’s Story, by Jay and Sue Shotel.

June 19, 1953: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are put to death at Sing Sing in New York.

Their tale of Soviet espionage, with regards to the Atomic Bomb, gained international attention during the cold war. If seedy crime, and even seedier trials are your thing then have a look at Atrocities on Trial, by Patricia Herbre and Jurgen Matthaus.

June 20, 1976: Today Brazillian Juliano Bellitti was born.

Are you a fan of South America, and perhaps also athletics? If so, then Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom by Milton H. Jamail may just be the book for you!

You can find all these and more at the University of Nebraska Press website. Otherwise, we’ll see you on Tuesday for a little trivia!

Linking in Lincoln: June, 11 2008

What’s that scratching under your bed…..it’s Linking in Lincoln!

New this month from the University of Nebraska Press, is The Chichi Hoohoo Bogeyman by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve. This children’s book takes us back to our own adolescence, when the dark was filled with all things terrifying. This new edition of the well received tale follows four little girls who encounter a strange man one day and name him the Chichi Hoohoo Bogeyman. Swearing themselves to secrecy, they become further unsettled when they return home and hear the adults talk of recent unexplained occurrences at home, perhaps driven by spirits. When one of the young girls goes missing, the secret of the Chichi Hoohoo Bogeyman must be uncovered.
This week, in the spirit of the paranormal, LIL is going to take a walk on the supernatural side. Care to join me?
What is the bogeyman? We may remember him well from terrified nights as six year olds, but the origins are actually quite distinctive. Find out more about them here.

Like scary movies? Check out this four minute film about the bogeyman on youtube.

“Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the lights?” Nothing beats a good urban legend. Read all about them here…but maybe make sure the lights are on?

John Bellairs wrote thrillers for children.  Stories filled to the brim with witches, mummies, haunted houses, and enchanted objects. Check out the New York Times for a closer look at this unique author.

It’s a well known belief that America is a melting pot. In addition to the numerous benefits this has had on our culture, folklore is just one. It might be one of the more interesting though, so check out this American Folklore website and see what the Native Americans, African Americans, and even the French-Canadian have to offer in terms of mythology. P.S.  You might want to take a look at the American Spooky Series as well.
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve is the author of many children’s books. Find out more about this author, and her other works at the VG website.

Well bloggers, scared yet? If not, then you’re made of stronger stuff than me! Join us again Friday for another dose of TWIH.

Tuesday Trivia: June 9, 2008

World War I had a profound effect on the world, one that ventured out of politics and into, science, education, ethics, and art. In a new book from the University of Nebraska Press is, Imagining the Unimaginable, by Aaron J. Cohen. This book takes a critical look at the effect this war had on the Russian culture.  The wartime culture superseded traditional artistic outlooks and “destabilized conventional patterns in cultural politics and aesthetics.” In and attempt to lure your interest (incase we have not already done so) this week’s Tuesday Trivia is going to test you on all facts Russia. A little history, a little language, and a few fun facts and before you know it we’ll all be Эксперты во всем русском вещей!  (Experts in all things Russian). Shall we begin?

1.    What is the national symbol of Russia?

2.    True or false: Russia covers 1/8th of the world and crosses 11 time spans?

3.    Catherine the Great of Russia was actually from what country?

        A. Germany
        B. England
        C. Spain

4.     What is considered to be the most romantic castle in St. Petersburg?
5.    Russia has how many seas?

6.    What is the official language of Russia?

7.    The first and last Tsar of Russia had the same name, what was it?
        A. Peter
        B. Michael
        C. Joseph

8.    True or false: It’s a criminal offense to drive around in a dirty car?

9.    Russian card decks only have how many cards?

10.     The most popular candy bar in Russia is what?
        A.    Almond Joy
        B.    Hershey’s
        C.    Snickers

Well bloggers, check your answers tomorrow to see how you did!

Praise for The Golden Volcano

The Golden Volcano by Jules Verne, translated and edited by Edward Baxter

“Proof that the Frenchman’s fiction never disappoints, this version is the first authentic English translation of Verne’s original manuscript and restores the story as he originally wrote it. . . . Full of adventure and action, the novel also succeeds in providing social commentary on the evils of greed and debauchery. The differences between Verne’s manuscript and his son’s are highlighted in the preface and demonstrate how his son’s unfortunate rewrites completely altered a wonderful story that includes fascinating depictions of the arctic wilderness and the hardships of living there.”—Erica Swenson, Library Journal