Thursday, September 24, 2009

Short Takes


Steve Courtney wins the 2009 Connecticut Book Award in biography/memoir for JOSEPH HOPKINS TWICHELL.

Andrew Porter’s THE THEORY OF LIGHT AND MATTER has been named a finalist for the 2009 Writers League of Texas Book Award.

September’s Mobile Bay Monthly features John Sledge’s forthcoming illustrated book on the Greek Revival architecture of Mobile, THE PILLARED CITY. An interview with Sledge will air on Mobile’s NPR station on Monday, Sept. 28, and a companion exhibit at the Museum of Mobile opens with a book launch October 8.

This month’s Atlanta Magazine features Mrs. S. R. Dull’s SOUTHERN COOKING and Nathalie Dupree’s NEW SOUTHERN COOKING in an article on “Best Georgia Cookbooks.”

Seth Bruggeman’s HERE, GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS BORN positively reviewed in History News and in a forthcoming issue of Material Culture; Choice calls it “a fascinating administrative history.” In The Public Historian, Michael Kammen wrote: “The author has done so much thoughtful work providing context (especially concerning the influence of the Colonial Revival and the evolution of National Park Service policies) that the book really is a ‘must read’ for many public historians. It is also a significant contribution to the flourishing field of memory studies.”

The Public History Podcast from the University of Central Florida features Jack Davis and AN EVERGLADES PROVIDENCE, and poses the question: is it possible to think of the Everglades as a giant public history exhibit, with Marjory Stoneman Douglas as its curator?

NEW ORLEANS AFTER THE PROMISES highlighted as one of “The Best Books About New Orleans” in The Daily Beast.

Maria Rost Rublee’s NONPROLIFERATION NORMS in Foreign Affairs.

Poetry news: Orion Magazine on QUIVER by Susan B.A. Somers-Willett: “Anyone fascinated by what comes of the passionate coupling of science and art will devour this collection of poems. Somers-Willett's poetic imagination plumbs the wonders and mysteries of dark matter, relativity, atomic physics, and natural history with lyricism, reverence, and delight.” FIELD FOLLY SNOW by Cecily Parks reviewed in New Letters: “This poetry collection demands close reading and deep engagement to follow its levels of found material and its internal discoveries, and these poems are worth the effort.”

The Journal of American History reviews DIXIE EMPORIUM: “This delightfully entertaining tour of the South reveals much about the processes of consumption, identity, and memory that apply well beyond the geographical and cultural boundaries of Dixie. But reader beware: do not attempt to enjoy this collection on an empty stomach. A hankering for a Krispy Kreme could arise. Nevertheless, it is a must for scholars of the South or cultural history."

UGA Press authors and books will be featured at several fall book festivals:
Geoff Becker launches BLACK ELVIS at the Baltimore Book Festival this Sunday.

Jim Lorence (THE UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT) will share the stage with David A. Taylor (Soul of a People) at the Wisconsin Book Festival Oct.11.

Three different panels at the Louisiana Festival of the Book on October 17 will highlight LOUISIANA WOMEN – two featuring different contributors to the volume and one focusing on journalist Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer, a.k.a. Dorothy Dix.

Jack E. Davis will showcase AN EVERGLADES PROVIDENCE at the St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading October 24 and the Miami Book Fair November 14.