Short Takes

Kirkus Reviews has given Sarah Gorham's forthcoming creative nonfiction book, STUDY IN PERFECT, a starred review! "Fear during a daughter's life-threatening illness, grief over her mother's death, nostalgia for family gatherings in summers past: All lead Gorham to consider how perfection is interlaced with pain, desire and even sin. A contemplative, lyrical, splendid collection."

THE WORLD OF THE SALT MARSH by Charles Seabrook is a "delightful read," according to Georgia Library Quarterly. "Seabrook's love for these areas is abundantly clear . . . in this beautiful elegy to the important and endangered salt marshes found on our southeastern coast."

On last Tuesday's (June 3) program of "Against the Grain," Sebastian Kaempf answered questions about the chapter he contributed to the volume THE FUTURE OF JUST WAR on KPFA-FM in Berkeley. Listen and/or download the program here.

Dr. Louis Sullivan, founding dean and first President of the Morehouse School of Medicine and former Secretary of Health and Human Services says the VA Hospital problem is fixable. Find out how and more about his new book, BREAKING GROUND, on Doc Talk.

USCatholic.org recommends Lawrence J. McAndrews' WHAT THEY WISHED FOR as a good summer read. "WHAT THEY WISHED FOR maps these movements [by Catholics] of presidential policies and politics, and shows how American Catholics have successfully shaped the political dialogue starting with the election of President John F. Kennedy."

In David Correia's PROPERTIES OF VIOLENCE, "[o]ne of the book's strengths lies in its ability to deconstruct the social production and articulation of property rights as a set of privileges conferred by a particular nation-state," according to a recent review in Western Historical Quarterly. The Journal of American History call it a "must-read for historians of the American Southwest."

The Journal of American History names SIGNPOSTS "a worthwhile collection" and praises co-editors Sally E. Hadden and Patricia Hagler Minter for "help[ing] generate new ways of thinking about southern legal history that are sure to yield similarly fascinating efforts in the future."

The Journal of American History also reviews Robert J. Cottrol's THE LONG, LINGERING SHADOW:

This book represents the most coherent, lucid, and explicit update of Frank Tannenbaum's famous thesis concerning comparative slavery and race relations in the Americas to date. . . . THE LONG, LINGERING SHADOW is an important, ambitious, and thought-provoking book that offers a comprehensive comparison of slavery, race, and the law in the Americas. For scholars and students of race and inequality. . .this book is a must-read.

Co-editors Carmaletta M. Williams and John Edgar Tidwell were interviewed about their book, MY DEAR BOY, by Hopeton Hay Monday (June 9) morning for the KAZI Book Review on KAZI 88.7FM in Austin. A link to the interview will be available soon.

Congratulations, Jingle Davis! Her book, ISLAND TIME, is the winner of the 2014 Georgia Author of the Year Award in the Specialty Book category given by the Georgia Writers Association. Winners were announced at Saturday night's banquet at Kennesaw State University.

In the News: Dr. Louis W. Sullivan and his new book, Breaking Ground

Dr. Louis W. Sullivan's unusual yet innovative stance on the Affordable Care Act has captured the attention of many healthcare journalists in recent weeks. Unlike most, Dr. Sullivan is one Republican that is a strong supporter of Obama's healthcare law. At the opening session of the Association of Health Care Journalists 2014 conference in Denver last month, Sullivan discussed his unique stance and talked about his experience with health care. The Huffington Post reported, "[Sullivan] noted that many of the major provisions of the Affordable Care Act are based on the reform proposals he and other Republicans crafted more than two decades ago." (Click here to read the full article.)

Sullivan also talked about his perspectives of the Affordable Care Act during his interview with WGBH News in Boston last week. 

Along with Dr. Sullivan's insights on current healthcare provisions, Sullivan also spoke about his experience with major healthcare issues from the past. Reuters quoted Sullivan's remarks of his experience with the HIV/AIDS Crisis at the 1990 International Conference on AIDS, "I wanted to have that conversation to try and establish a better relationship with AIDS groups." (Click here to read the full article.) Reuters noted the conflict between the George H.W. Bush Administration and AIDS groups that arose surrounding the healthcare issues of the time.

Other articles from the conference in Denver announced Dr. Sullivan's predictions and plans for the future. The St. Louis American quoted Sullivan who said:

We need to be sure that our population 50 years from now is educated and also has good health; and that population is going to be Latino, African American, Native American, as well as white, so from the standpoint of investing our future as a country, we need to be sure that all segments of our society are well-educated and also are healthy. (Click here to read the full article.)

Sullivan is working toward the goal of health awareness as Chairman of the Atlanta-based National Health Museum. Georgia Health News wrote that the museum "will have a global online network and digital information hub called the Cyber Museum, and a visitor center at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park called the Experience Museum . . . [which] is expected to offer a series of self-guided journeys focused on life, health, and the human body." (Click here to read the full article.)

Following his speech at the opening session of the Association of Health Care Journalists 2014 conference, Dr. Sullivan signed copies of his new book, BREAKING GROUND, which reports on his life and involvement with medicine and healthcare.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

We're giving away advance reader copies of BREAKING GROUND! To enter, click on the "Enter to win" button below or look under the giveaways section on Goodreads. Winners will be selected at the end of January. Good luck!

The compelling life's story of a towering champion of higher education, medicine, and accessible health care for all.

"I don't think I really appreciated the man Louis Sullivan is until I read BREAKING GROUND. He is a true American hero, and Barbara and I are proud we have played a small part in his life's journey."--President George H.W. Bush

BREAKING GROUND is not just an autobiography of Dr. Louis W. Sullivan. It is also a history of how the south has changed, as well as an inspirational story for future generations of all backgrounds. Sullivan began his path to becoming the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary as a young boy growing up in Jim Crow south Georgia. He was HHS secretary during the George H. W. Bush administration, and, during that time, he made efforts to push through comprehensive health care reform decades before the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Sullivan’s life—from Morehouse to the White House and his ongoing work with medical students in South Africa—is the embodiment of the hopes and progress that the civil rights movement fought to achieve.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Breaking Ground

by Louis W. Sullivan

Giveaway ends January 31, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win