Friend – A Novel from North Korea by Paek Nam-nyong

Jul 30, 2020 | New Release

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/06/friend-by-paek-nam-nyong-review-a-bestseller-from-north-korea

https://cup.columbia.edu/book/friend/9780231195614

A best-seller in North Korea, where Paek continues to live and write, Friend illuminates a side of life in the DPRK that Western readers have never before encountered. Far from being a propagandistic screed in praise of the Great Leader, Friend describes the lives of people who struggle with everyday problems such as marital woes and workplace conflicts. Instead of socialist-realist stock figures, Paek depicts complex characters who wrestle with universal questions of individual identity, the split between public and private selves, the unpredictability of existence, and the never-ending labor of maintaining a relationship. This groundbreaking translation of one of North Korea’s most popular writers offers English-language readers a page-turner full of psychological tension as well as a revealing portrait of a society that is typically seen as closed to the outside world.

Britain’s Birds – Second Edition. Review in Bird Guides

Jul 30, 2020 | Coverage

A bestselling guide since it was first published, Britain’s Birds has quickly established itself as the go-to photographic identification guide to the birds of Great Britain and Ireland—the most comprehensive, up-to-date, practical and user-friendly book of its kind. Acclaimed by birdwatchers of all kinds, from the beginner to the most experienced, the guide has now been thoroughly revised and updated to make it even better than before. Combining the finest of identification guide content and presentation, this eagerly awaited second edition preserves the best of the first edition while covering twelve newly recorded species and offering a host of improvements that make identification easier.

https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691199795/britains-birds

https://www.birdguides.com/reviews/britains-birds-second-edition/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter240620&eid=599117&_ccCt=xIvqGlpgYUNbFl3QHB1KWKToS1wYXalSyQ9F8Vlsgstv6_DzYsVNxd~gqpRqXqVn

Rethinking Readiness

Jul 30, 2020 | Further Reading

“This timely book both looks ahead to the mega-disasters on the horizon—disasters that tank economies, shred infrastructure, and take lives—and outlines how communities can start preparing now. It is an essential guide for policy makers and concerned citizens alike who want to build a better future.”

~Alice C. Hill, former senior director of resilience policy on the National Security Council

Read an article by the author on the Columbia University Press Blog:

https://www.cupblog.org/2020/07/29/why-it-takes-more-than-stockpiling-supplies-and-first-responder-training-to-prepare-for-megadisasters-by-jeff-schlegelmilch/

A Brief History of Fascist Lies

Jul 30, 2020 | Event

In this short book, world-renowned historian Federico Finchelstein explains why fascists regarded simple and often hateful lies as truth, and why so many of their followers believed the falsehoods. Throughout the history of the twentieth century, many supporters of fascist ideologies regarded political lies as truth incarnated in their leader. This history continues in the present, when lies again seem to increasingly replace empirical truth, and has a long political and intellectual lineage that we cannot ignore.

Booksmith and UC Press present a 6-part series of virtual events focused on urgent societal issues, broadcasting every Monday at 11am PST. This second event in the series features Federico Finchelstein discussing his book A Brief History of Fascist Lies. It’s on August 10th at 11am San Francisco time (7pm UK time).

This is a free event, but RSVP is required. RSVP here.

https://www.booksmith.com/event/virtual-federico-finchelstein-brief-history-fascist-lies

Making All Black Lives Matter

Jul 10, 2020 | Further Reading

The breadth and impact of Black Lives Matter in the United States has been extraordinary. Between 2012 and 2016, thousands of people marched, rallied, held vigils, and engaged in direct actions to protest and draw attention to state and vigilante violence against Black people. What began as outrage over the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin and the exoneration of his killer, and accelerated during the Ferguson uprising of 2014, has evolved into a resurgent Black Freedom Movement, which includes a network of more than fifty organizations working together under the rubric of the Movement for Black Lives coalition. Employing a range of creative tactics and embracing group-centered leadership models, these visionary young organizers, many of them women, and many of them queer, are not only calling for an end to police violence, but demanding racial justice, gender justice, and systemic change.

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The Uncertainty Mindset – Innovation Insights from the Frontiers of Food

Jul 10, 2020 | Coverage

How can people and businesses become more innovative and more adaptable in highly uncertain situations? In The Uncertainty Mindset, Vaughn Tan provides an answer based on years of unprecedented access to some of the most influential culinary R&D teams in the world, including The Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen, ThinkFoodTank, and The Cooking Lab (creators of Modernist Cuisine and Modernist Bread).

The Uncertainty Mindset, Innovation Insights from the Frontiers of Food, Vaughn Tan, Columbia University Press 9780231196895

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Anne Case, author of Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, profiled in the Weekend FT

Mar 2, 2020 | Coverage

Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism paints a troubling portrait of the American dream in decline. For the white working class, today’s America has become a land of broken families and few prospects. As the college educated become healthier and wealthier, adults without a degree are literally dying from pain and despair

Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism (Princeton University Press) 9780691190785

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Dreamers and Schemers (University of California Press) reviewed in the Wall Street Journal

Mar 2, 2020 | Reviews

Dreamers and Schemers chronicles how Los Angeles’s pursuit and staging of the 1932 Olympic Games during the depths of the Great Depression helped fuel the city’s transformation from a seedy frontier village to a world-famous metropolis. Leading that pursuit was the “Prince of Realtors,” William May (Billy) Garland, a prominent figure in early Los Angeles. In important respects, the story of Billy Garland is the story of Los Angeles.

Dreamers and Schemers (University of California Press) 9780520298583

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