College presidents and the struggle for Black freedom December 01, 2020 Some of America’s most pressing civil rights issues—desegregation, equal educational and employment opportunities, housing discrimination, and free speech—have been closely intertwined with higher education institutions. Read More
Books for the scientifically curious November 29, 2020 Is there a reader in your life who is wont to ask why, how, and when? We have gift recommendations just for them! Read More
By Design | Books about books, or the cataloging of ideas November 27, 2020 Sales catalogs have a noble lineage, one that an academic press would gladly embrace. The first catalog was published in Venice in 1498 by Aldus Manutius, founder of the Aldine Press. Read More
Can logic be fun? November 24, 2020 Many people have tried to define logic. James Thurber wrote, “Since it is possible to touch a clock without stopping it, it follows that one can start a clock without touching it.” Read More
Books for curious kids (and grown ups too!) November 23, 2020 These books will appeal to lifelong learners and curious readers of all ages. Wrap up a great idea for the inquisitive person in your life. Read More
Books for history & biography buffs November 19, 2020 From Vienna to Ravenna, this list is rich with possibility for fans of biographies and histories. Read More
Looking at medieval objects November 17, 2020 A few years ago, I was in the Medieval Collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City examining one of the objects I was writing a book about when a father came by with two children, a boy of about 10 and a girl of 7 or 8. He was taking them to see the medieval armor in the next exhibit room. Read More
Conspiracy theories are more dangerous than ever November 16, 2020 Conspiracy theories are as old as politics. But conspiracists today have introduced something new—conspiracy without theory. In the era of Donald Trump’s presidency, this new conspiracism has moved from the fringes to the heart of government. Read More
Great gifts begin with great ideas November 16, 2020 Browse our gift recommendations and wrap up a great idea for every reader on your list. Read More
Leadership in a time of crisis: Nero and the Great Fire of Rome November 13, 2020 There is one political failing that people seem unable to forgive. In the case of George W. Bush it was not the bitterly divisive invasion of Iraq that blighted his presidential image, nor was Donald Trump’s belligerent governing style his most serious liability in the 2020 election. Read More
Six impossible things November 12, 2020 In the Wonderland of her mind, Alice laughed. “One can’t believe impossible things,” she said to the White Queen. The Queen observed that Alice simply lacked discipline and practice, boasting that she sometimes believed “as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” Read More
T.M. Luhrmann on small acts of real‑making November 11, 2020 The most important question to ask about religion is not why but how. “Why” is a skeptic’s question—a puzzle around the seemingly absurd ideas (a talking snake, a virgin birth) that we find in religions. Read More
Eric Cline on Digging Deeper: How Archaeology Works November 10, 2020 To be perfectly honest, this is the book that I wish had been available when I was just starting out in archaeology and before I went on my first dig as a sophomore in college—a book small enough that I could slip it into my back pocket and pull out whenever I had a spare moment to read a couple of pages or a whole chapter. Read More
Our (Un)Civil War November 09, 2020 To say that our nation is politically divided between Democrats and Republicans could not be more of an understatement. How did we get to this point, and is there anything that ordinary citizens can do to reduce or manage the rift? Read More
Conservatism is always evolving November 02, 2020 For two hundred years, conservatism has defied its reputation as a backward-looking creed by confronting and adapting to liberal modernity. By doing so, the Right has won long periods of power and effectively become the dominant tradition in politics. Read More
