Yale Press Log

Let Freedom Read

While you’re staking out prime fireworks real estate at your local Independence Day celebration, pass the hours before nightfall with some entertaining and thought-provoking reading material from Yale Press’s American Icon Series.

Gore Vidal’s treatment of our Founding Fathers in his book Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson is the Angus steak of historical narratives, compared with, let’s say, the flank or skirt steak varieties, which are only palatable after great effort and careful slicing. But enough about meat! Stylish and immensely readable, reflecting Vidal’s singular grasp of American history and affection for its flawed but visionary cast of characters, Inventing a Nation is a truly beefy account of a place in time we just can’t forget.

Before the real fireworks start, prepare for some mental fireworks once you’ve entered the riveting history of New York City’s iconic Empire State Building in Mark Kingwell’s Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams. Kingwell reveals the layers of meaning that surround what was once conceived as the ultimate symbol of American status and progress.

And it’s the perfect book to complement your skyward neck-craning.

Happy reading! And a happy Fourth!

--Michelle

Zittrain the Internet Slayer

Jonathan Zittrain, author of The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It, appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report (drop those T's and hold out the R's) on Tuesday night this week.

Zittrain, the acclaimed Oxford Professor of Internet Governance & Regulation as well as the co-founder of Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, charmingly countered Stephen Colbert's layered ironic jabs point for point.

Highlights include Colbert equating iPhone paranoia with "being against warm bread," and Zittrain announcing that an alarming number of computers in use are zombies awaiting further instruction. Yikes! Watch the interview below.

Last night I, humble blogger fresh off viewing this riveting clip, was visited in my sleep by the Ghost of Internet Future. He was a ghastly specter, shackled down by labyrinthine protocol and excessive Government regulation, but preached the Gospel according to Zittrain with zeal. He told me to try my hardest to break the Internet so we could start over under the principles of good chaos. How? I asked. By watching the Interview so many times, and from so many computers, that the Servers that Be come crashing down!

--Michelle

[Watch the full episode here.]

ForeWord Magazine Honors YUP

We are pleased to announce that ForeWord Magazine has honored several of our titles with awards in this year's Books of the Year list.

• Dr. Arthur W. Perry's Straight Talk About Cosmetic Surgery took the Gold Prize in the Health category.
• Harold J. Cook's Matters of Exchange: Commerce, Medicine, and Science in the Dutch Golden Age won Gold standing in the category of History.
• David Attenborough, Susan Owens, Martin Clayton, and Rea Alexandratos's Amazing Rare Things
  The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery received Silver in the Nature category.

Check out the full list for other Yale Press books that were named as finalists or honorable mentions. We're delighted to hear this news and recognize independent publishing all around the country for their excellence.

Remembering Robert Rauschenberg

Invention and bold experimentation are the legacy of Robert Rauschenberg's legendary art career. On May 12, 2008, he died of heart failure in his Florida home and studio.

Considered a man of many talents, he had his hand in every thinkable artistic medium, and his notoriety stems from his ability to challenge assumptions about art and its categories. His works meld together sculpture, painting, installation, performance, choreography, and more, and he has placed his mark on over a half-century's art movements, both fleeting and lasting. Open source lovers, who find art in the everyday, have Rauschenberg to thank for reinterpreting the questions of Marcel Duchamp and embodying the spirit of Dada in more contemporary terms. The prefix "neo-" is invariably attached to descriptions of his work.

"People ask me, 'Don't you ever run out of ideas?' In the first place I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea it's too limiting, and usually turns out to be a disappointment. But I haven't run out of curiosity."

 

For a retrospective on the life and work of this remarkable artist, consider the contribution of Yve-Alain Bois, whose book Robert Rauschenberg: Cardboards and Related Pieces locates one exhibition, Cardboards, within the broader scope of Rauschenberg's oeuvre. Bois creates a thorough and precise panorama through both detail and fresh interpretation.

Art historian Robert S. Mattison also delivers original insights on Rauschenberg in his book Robert Rauschenberg: Breaking Boundaries. Mattison focuses on the man himself, his work process, and his astonishing influence on areas not limited to the arts. Enthusiastic praise for this book has labeled it a "tour de force."

As important artists go, Rauschenberg is undeniable.

--Michelle

"Grenadine" author enjoys the sweet taste of victory

Playwright Neil Wechsler has been selected as the second winner of the Yale Drama Series Competition, co-sponsored by the Yale University Press and the Yale Repertory Theatre. Wechsler's original work, Grenadine, has been chosen by Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee as the second installment in the series, following John Austin Connolly's The Boys from Siam, which will be published in the fall.

A Buffalo-based writer, Wechsler graduated from Yale College, where he studied Philosophy and Psychology, in 1996. Grenadine tracks one man's relationships with his three best friends as they journey through an unfamiliar landscape. The formal presentation of Wechsler's award (which carries with it the David C. Horn Prize of $10,000) will take place at the Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park on Sunday, September 14, 2008. A reading of the play will be given by Yale Rep in New Haven on Monday, September 15.

Submissions are now being accepted for next year's competition, which will be judged by British playwright David Hare. All entries must be postmarked no later than August 15, 2008. See here for more details.
 

Summer comes to New Haven

You’ve got your shades, a towel, and plenty of sunscreen. Now the only thing you need to get through the summer is the perfect beach read. Look no further than the Yale Press’s new Summer Reading list . Whether you’re looking for that next vacation destination or have that favorite summer activity on your mind, we’ve got the perfect book to keep you occupied throughout the warmer months.

Gardeners will find a spray of new ideas in the luxurious illustrations of David Attenborough’s Amazing Rare Things, while fellow green thumbs can read up on Yale School of Forestry Dean Gus Speth’s plans for sustainable development in The Bridge at the Edge of the World. Sink your teeth into Josh Ozersky’s The Hamburger while manning the grill, or try to recreate a scene from one of Winslow Homer’s summertime watercolors at your favorite shoreline getaway.

And for the students out there, fear not. There will be no pop quiz when September rolls around.

In Memoriam: Lt. Gen. William E. Odom

The recent passing of retired senior military official and former Yale professor William Odom has given many the chance to reflect on his life of service and scholarship. In his work with the Carter and Reagan administrations, Odom maintained a hard-line stance on the Soviet Union, a nation that had fascinated him since his days as a student at West Point. More recently, Odom had been a staunch critic of the war in Iraq, never sacrificing his independence from political parties to oppose the conflict.

We at the Yale Press are proud that part of Lt. Gen. Odom’s legacy lives on in print. The Collapse of the Soviet Military (8/2000), his first book with YUP, presents his exper t’s argument for the scaling back of the Soviet armed forces after the fall of the Union, drawing upon both field experience and original research. In America’s Inadvertent Empire (2/2004), Odom joins former Council on Foreign Relations fellow Robert Dujarric to argue against American unilateralism and question the conventional wisdom that the spread of democracy serves as a panacea for global conflict. Finally, Odom’s study of American security, Fixing Intelligence (4/2004), offers his post-9/11 suggestions for tightening protocols to encourage more effective cooperation between security and intelligence officials.

Book Expo 2008

Greetings from Los Angeles. Chris Gondek of the Yale Press Podcast, here. I've been asked to give you, the Yale Press Log reader, a sense of what Book Expo is like and what Yale University Press is up to here. So, without further ado...

Book Expo is the yearly gathering of the publishing industry. Part trade show, part fan event, part seminar, think of it as a bazaar for the literate. Almost every publisher in North America sends a representative or twenty, and everyone tries to get the signatures of their favorite authors, while trying to get away with wearing the most comfortable shoes possible, because multiple days standing on thin carpet above concrete will wear you down.

These are the cattle chutes, err, autograph lines. There are 28 lines, and the authors rotate through them every 30 minutes to an hour. Some authors are ticketed, which means that, in order to get in their line, you must have a free ticket that is given out at an absurdly early hour. For instance, this signing with Salman Rushdie (in the striking aqua shirt) was a ticketed event.

As for the booth itself.

Here is the display of our upcoming book on Fred Astaire, part of the Icons of America series.

In-depth discussions about next year's shows. From R to L, Heather D'Auria, Brenda King and me.

Yale and Harvard. Rivals on the gridiron, but much more cordial relations in publishing. Harvard in the foreground, Yale in the background.

Finally, everybody loves to talk about the giveaways from the publishers, and for the centenary, Yale had one of the best with this incredibly cool book/tote bag.

And there you have it, loyal reader, Book Expo without the traffic jams on Pico or Olympic Blvds. or having to dodge the stampede of mindless fans who HAD to have William Shatner's autograph.

For the record, I thought I saw something move ;)

Yale Press Podcast, Episode 16

Episode 16 of the Yale Press Podcast is now available. Download Episode 16.

In Episode 16, Chris Gondek speaks with (1) Jonathan Zittrain about The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It, and with (2) Benny Morris about the founding of Israel and the first Arab-Israeli War.

Download it for free here, on iTunes, and everywhere else that podcasts can be found.

Download it for free here, on iTunes, and everywhere else that podcasts can be found.

Marwan Muasher on WAMU's Diane Rehm Show

Marwan Muasher, the author of The Arab Center, will appear today at 11AM ET on WAMU's The Diane Rehm Show, broadcast nationwide via NPR and Sirius Satellite Radio (you can find a list of participating radios here). Muasher will talk about his twenty-year experience with the peace process in the Middle East and the perspectives for reform and peace in the region, subjects he also covers in his widely praised book. The interview will also be available, for streaming and as a transcript, on The Diane Rehm Show website approximately one hour after the broadcast, around 1PM ET.