Following are backlist titles from our publishers that might help shed light on the current oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. This list was compiled by the Association of American University Presses for their ongoing website feature, BOOKS FOR UNDERSTANDING. The complete list on this topic and others may be found at http://www.aaupnet.org/booksforunderstanding.html

The oil list was mentioned in today's issue of Shelf-Awareness.

Energy Metropolis: An Environmental History of Houston and the Gulf Coast

Martin V. Melosi, Joseph Pratt, editors
ISBN-13: 9780822943358 (cloth)
ISBN-13: 9780822959632 (paper)
University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007

Saving Louisiana?: The Battle For Coastal Wetlands
Bill Streever
ISBN-13: 9781578063482 (paper)
University Press of Mississippi, 2001

Black Tides
Miles O. Hayes
ISBN-13: 9780292731240 (paper)
University of Texas Press, 2000

Filling the Ark: Animal Welfare in Disasters
Leslie Irvine
ISBN-13: 9781592138340 (cloth)
Temple University Press, 2009

Drilling Ahead: The Quest For Oil In the Deep South, 1945-2005
Alan Cockrell
ISBN-13: 9781578068111 (cloth)
University Press of Mississippi, 2005

Roughnecks, Drillers, and Tool Pushers: Thirty-three Years in the Oil Fields
Gerald Lynch
ISBN-13: 9780292770522 (paper)
University of Texas Press, 1987

Oil in Texas: The Gusher Age, 1895-1945
Roger M. Olien, Diana Davids Olien
ISBN-13: 9780292760561 (cloth)
University of Texas Press, 2002

Crude Chronicles: Indigenous Politics, Multinational Oil, and Neoliberalism in Ecuador
Suzanna Sawyer
ISBN-13: 9780822332725 (paper)
Duke University Press, 2004

Global Energy Shifts: Fostering Sustainability in a Turbulent Age
Bruce Podobnik
ISBN-13: 9781592132942 (paper)
Temple University Press, 2005

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS PUBLISHES MOVIE TIE-IN EDITION OF A SINGLE MAN BY CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD

The University of Minnesota Press, the publisher of 12 titles by Christopher Isherwood including CHRISTOPHER AND HIS KIND, ISHERWOOD ON WRITING, and MY GURU AND HIS DISCIPLE, has just released a movie tie-in edition of A SINGLE MAN (ISBN 9780816638628) $15.95 paperback. The ISBN has not changed, as they have had the book on their list for about 8 years. The movie is to be released in December and stars Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.

There is much industry "buzz" about the film, about a gay college professor in the early 1960's. The production company that works on the acclaimed television series, MAD MEN also worked on this film. To find out more, please scroll down.

The University of Minnesota Press has just received their first printing of 25,000 copies.


Trailer: http://www.indiewire.com/article/trailer_for_venice_standout_a_single_man/

• Colin Firth won the best actor award at Venice for his portrayal of George, a gay college professor who is coping with the death of his partner.
• It is directed by Tom Ford, a noted fashion designer credited with turning around Gucci in the '90s as Creative Director. Ford's involvement, and the supposed mastery of his direction, has been a much-discussed storyline in and of itself, pushing the coverage into the fashion world.
• Significant Oscar buzz for Firth's performance, and it was the first seven-figure purchase coming out of the Toronto Film Festival.
• Originally set for a limited release, the Weinsteins have moved it to a nationwide release. It will open in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago on December 11th, followed by a wider expansion nationwide close to Christmas.
• We've sold 700 copies in the last month and a half since the Weinstein's announcement.
• Picked by the American Film Institute to close its annual film festival in Los Angeles in early November.

http://movie-critics.ew.com/2009/09/18/toronto-a-single-man/
http://www.indiewire.com/article/2009/10/14/single_man_to_close_afi_fest/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/11/tom-ford-julianne-moore-c_n_283726.html

http://www.style.com/stylefile/2009/10/blasblog-at-a-single-man-screening-colin-firth-says-tom-ford-is-no-novice/
http://www.indiewire.com/article/a_serious_man_art_of_the_steal_tops_with_tiff_critics_bloggers/

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gq-daily-news/articles/090916-andy-morris-a-single-man.aspx

LIBRARY JOURNAL

Kherad, Nastaran. In the House of My Bibi: Growing Up in Revolutionary Iran. Academy Chicago. 2009. c.264p. ISBN 978-0-89733-567-6. $18.95. MEMOIR

First-timer Kherad had the misfortune of being born into an Iran sundered by revolution. With her counterrevolutionary brother, she was imprisoned and brutally tortured by the religious regime. Ultimately, she escaped Iran and established herself as a successful academic in the United States. Readers who devoured Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran will find this book equally intriguing.—L.M.

Editorial: Our community needs a robust Shaman Drum

by The Ann Arbor News

Friday February 13, 2009, 1:45 PM

As a community, Ann Arbor values the concept of locally owned, independent businesses. Some, though, are naturally valued more than others.

In a book-loving town full of cool independent bookstores - and with no disrespect to any of them - Shaman Drum Bookshop stands out as something truly special. The store on South State Street is going through a difficult period, and it would be a substantial loss to the community if it doesn't make it through.

Many bookstores host readings and other events, but Shaman Drum makes this something of a specialty. It sponsors a remarkable number of readings and author receptions - featuring both local and national authors, often ones who might not get a reading elsewhere in town. It also promotes literature and offers classes to develop new writers.

The store's activity and direction has been shaped by owner Karl Pohrt. His dedication to the community is well-known -Â and in fact led to the University of Michigan hosting a conference in his honor last year. Pohrt has served on the Downtown Development Authority and the State Street Area Association, and he has helped organize both the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads program and the Ann Arbor Book Festival.

Bookstores are a tough business these days, thanks to (among other factors) the rise of online shopping and the decline in the economy.

But Pohrt has recognized this for years, and he has a sound plan to evolve with the times. He has applied to the government to convert the bookstore to nonprofit status. Instead of being owned by him, it would become a more public asset run by a board of directors.

It's a great idea and one that should work; this community would surely be willing to support the endeavor. But the government has delayed the processing of Pohrt's application, and now the store is basically out of money. It is looking for investors.

Shaman Drum is exactly the type of business that people mean when they talk about Ann Arbor's unique stores. It's exactly the type of institution the community needs to retain and encourage, whether it's as a traditional business or a nonprofit. And Pohrt has charted out exactly the right course to succeed. We really hope it works out.

Library Journal Starred Review


Garson, Paul. Album of the Damned: Snapshots from the Third Reich. Academy Chicago. 2008. 410p. photogs. bibliog. ISBN 978-0-89733-576-8. $50. HIST

The most remarkable thing about this book is the ordinariness of the pictures. Husbands and wives posing, fathers and sons seated together proudly, groups of smiling soldiers, and, lest we forget where we are, dead bodies. Garson, a well-known photographer and magazine writer, has collected over 400 photographs taken mostly by German soldiers and some civilians that reveal in somber black-and-white tones a part of World War II that has often been overlooked by the numerous published collections of battle photographs. Garson's photographs show a quiet side of the war, one far away from the battlefield but still very much a part of the everyday experience of German and non-German citizens engulfed in a world war. Most striking is a picture of young men in bathing suits laughing and sharing a drink. After a full day spent murdering men, women, and children, these men went home to their wives and families, had a good night's sleep, and then went back to killing again the next day. A stunningly chilling collection of photographs recording the daily lives of ordinary people quietly going about their normal business in the midst of horror, this unforgettable work is recommended for all collections.—Ed Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames

Nonfiction review: history books
by Peggy McMullen, The Oregonian
Friday December 12, 2008


The cover of Paul Garson's "Album of the Damned: Snapshots From the Third Reich" is a photo of an infant in a baby carriage, an anxious look on his young face, a Wehrmacht officer's cap on his head. It's a jarring image, the pampered innocence with the uniform linked to the horrific deaths of millions of people. Garson compiled nearly 400 photos for the book, taken during World War II, mostly by German soldiers, some by civilians, some by professionals embedded with the troops. The photos purport to show everyday life -- sports, weddings, social events -- people at work and play. Few, however, escape the ominous presence of a uniform, or swastika. There are numerous disturbing photos of men brandishing weapons in "playful" games of mock hangings and fighting; worse are the ones of them happily dispatching animals (one involving kittens and knives is especially horrifying). Even the ones of a benign glimpse of life are chilling, seeing the smiling, joking, pleasant faces of men who so readily killed others who simply did not fit their Aryan profile.

Details: ALBUM OF THE DAMNED
Paul Garson, Academy Chicago Publishers, $50, 410 pages

Afro Asia was reviewed in the March 3rd edition of Publishers Weekly

Afro Asia: Revolutionary Political and Cultural Connections Between African Americans and Asian Americans
Edited by Fred Ho and Bill V. Mullen. Duke Univ. Pr, $23.95 (384p) ISBN 978-0-8223-4281-6

This essay collection reveals the historical events, political activities and aesthetic ideas that link African-Americans and Asian-Americans. Although a chasm is sometimes presumed to exist between the two groups, this book reveals the two diasporas' intersecting paths from the 19th century to the present day. Lisa Yun's “Chinese Freedom Fighters in Cuba: From Bondage to Liberation, 1847–1898” is a groundbreaking examination of the treatment of Chinese coolies who “could be brought in as indentured laborers... [and] used as slaves.” Statements (one in 1963, the other after the King assassination) by Mao Zedong in support of the struggle for African-American civil rights introduce essays exploring the ties between black liberation movements and Asian-American activism. Diane Fujino's insightful biographies of Richard Aoki and Yuri Kochiyama are especially fascinating. The essays on the arts, including “crossover” pieces (e.g., African-Americans and the martial arts, Asian-Americans and hip hop), are particularly accessible, and Ishmael Reed's “rare original account of the origins of modern Asian American literary production,” while terse, is of significant historical value. “An eclectic array of creative writing expressing Afro-Asian interaction” includes poems, creative nonfiction and a performance piece by memoirist David Mura and novelist Alexs Pate (Amistad). Readers should not be put off by the occasional Marxist or nationalist tenor of these pieces because Ho and Mullen's collection offers a fresh perspective well worth the effort. (June 08)