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    John Wiley, Jr.The Scarlett Letters: The Making of the Film Gone With the Wind

    January 22, 2015

    [Cross-posted from New Books in Film] Margaret Mitchell’s blockbuster novel was released in 1936 to great acclaim. It immediately drew interest from Hollywood hoping to turn it into an epic film. After its sale, Mitchell began a large series of letters related to the making of the film. GWTW expert John Wiley, Jr. reviewed the large collection of [...]

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    Keith WailooPain: A Political History

    January 20, 2015

    [Cross-posted from New Books in Medicine] Is pain real? Is pain relief a right? Who decides? In Pain: A Political History (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014), Keith Wailoo investigates how people have interpreted and judged the suffering of others in the US from the mid-1940s to the present. While doctors and patients figure in his story, the primary protagonists are [...]

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    Joseph LaycockThe Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle to Define Catholicism

    January 19, 2015

    [Cross-posted from New Books in Religion] In understanding a tradition what is the relationship between the ‘center’ and the ‘periphery’? How do the lived religious lives of practitioners contest or affirm authority? In The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle to Define Catholicism (Oxford University Press, 2014), Joseph Laycock, assistant professor of religious studies at Texas State University, [...]

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    Frank R. Baumgartner and Bryan D. JonesThe Politics of Information: Problem Definition and the Course of Public Policy in America

    January 19, 2015

    [Cross-posted from New Books in Political Science] Frank R. Baumgartner and Bryan D. Jones are the authors of The Politics of Information: Problem Definition and the Course of Public Policy in America (University of Chicago Press 2014). Baumgartner is the Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill and Jones [...]

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    Karen A. Rader and Victoria E. M. CainLife on Display: Revolutionizing U. S. Museums of Science & Natural History in the Twentieth Century

    January 16, 2015

    [Cross-posted from New Books in Science, Technology, and Society] In lucid prose that’s a real pleasure to read, Karen Rader and Victoria Cain’s new book chronicles a revolution in modern American science education and culture. Life on Display: Revolutionizing U. S. Museums of Science & Natural History in the Twentieth Century (University of Chicago Press, 2014) guides readers through a transformation [...]

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    Kenneth PrewittWhat Is Your Race?: The Census and Our Flawed Efforts to Classify Americans

    January 13, 2015

    [Cross-posted from New Books in Education] The US Census has been an important American institution for over 220 years. Since 1790, the US population has been counted and compiled, important figures when tabulating representation and electoral votes. The Census has also captured the racial make-up of the US and has become a powerful public policy tool with [...]

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    Guy WestwellParallel Lines: Post-9/11 American Cinema

    January 13, 2015

    [Cross-posted from New Books in Film] The United States and the world underwent a fundamental change because of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In addition to major wars, the event has brought up themes of security, torture, and the overall issue of terrorism in the 21st century. In Parallel Lines: Post-9/11 American Cinema (Wallflower Press, 2014), Guy Westwell, [...]

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    Sherrie TuckerDance Floor Democracy: The Social Geography of Memory at the Hollywood Canteen

    January 8, 2015

    [Cross-posted from New Books in Pop Music] Cultural memory of World War II frequently draws on swing music and the USO dance floor as symbols of how the country came together in support of the war effort. Frequently, the term “the Greatest Generation” is used to exemplify patriotism and self-sacrifice. Digging beyond nostalgic remembrances, Sherrie Tucker’s Dance Floor Democracy: [...]

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    Glen Jeansonne and David LuhrssenWar on the Silver Screen: Shaping America’s Perception of History

    January 5, 2015

    [Cross-posted from New Books in Film] War has been a constant topic for feature films since the invention of the motion picture camera. These events made for interesting stories and dynamic visual representations. In their book, War on the Silver Screen: Shaping America’s Perception of History (Potomac Books, 2014),  Glen Jeansonne and David Luhrssen discussed a number of films that dealt with conflicts [...]

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    Randy J. SparksWhere the Negroes Are Masters: An African Port in the Era of the Slave Trade

    January 1, 2015

    A kind of biography of the town of Annamaboe, a major slave trading port on Africa’s Gold Coast, Randy J. Sparks‘s book Where the Negroes Are Masters: An African Port in the Era of the Slave Trade (Harvard University Press, 2014) focuses on the African women and men who were the crucial middle figures in the [...]

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