April 11, 2011

Michael Z. Newman on Lost in Translation

In Indie: An American Film Culture, Michael Newman examines why certain films exhibit the qualities and aesthetics of independent film. In his discussion of Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, Newman argues shows how the film moves away from more conventional...

April 8, 2011

Richard Kahlenberg on Cathie Black

“The qualities needed to run the New York City public school system — not only a knowledge of education, but also some understanding of the circumstances of regular New York City students and their families — are not easily learned...

April 8, 2011

Interview with Loren Ghiglione, author of CBS's Don Hollenbeck

The following is an interview with Loren Ghiglione, author of CBS’s Don Hollenbeck: An Honest Reporter in the Age of McCarthyism. The book is now available in paper. For more on the book you can also an excerpt from the...

April 7, 2011

Interview with Michael Z. Newman, author of Indie: An American Film Culture

The following is an interview with Michael Newman, author of Indie: An American Film Culture. For more on the book you can read read the Introduction or visit Newman’s blog Zigzigger. Question: Why “indie” rather than “independent”? Michael Newman: At...

April 7, 2011

Gary Cross and "The Won't Grow Up Male"

In a feature in The Wall Street Journal , Kay Hymowitz, author of Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men Into Boys chose five books that exemplify the contemporary phenomenon of “The Won’t Grow Up Male.” The...

April 6, 2011

Judith Butler — Implicated and Enraged

“I only feel implicated and enraged when Israel claims to represent the Jewish people, since there are myriad strands of diasporic Judaism and Jewishness that have never felt represented by Israel, that no longer feel represented by that state, and...

April 6, 2011

Interview with Alan Montefiore, Author of A Philosophical Retrospective

The following is an interview with Alan Montefiore, author of A Philosophical Retrospective: Facts, Values, and Jewish Identity. Question: Judging just by the title of your book—A Philosophical Retrospective: Facts, Values, and Jewish Identity—one might suppose it consists of a...

April 5, 2011

The Quest for the Cure, by Brent Stockwell reviewed in Publishers Weekly

A recent Publishers Weekly review praised The Quest for the Cure: The Science and Stories Behind the Next Generation of Medicines, by Brent Stockwell. The review wrote that Stockwell “is impressive in describing a new paradigm of pharmaceutical research that...

April 5, 2011

New Book Tuesday — The Most Important Thing

The following books are now available: The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor Howard Marks From Mao to Market: China Reconfigured Robin Porter The Columbia Anthology of Chinese Folk and Popular Literature Edited by Victor H. Mair...

April 4, 2011

Manning Marable

Columbia University Press mourns the loss of Manning Marable, who died over the weekend. Marable, a leading scholar of black history and a leftist critic of American social institutions and race relations, was a valued member of the Columbia University...

April 4, 2011

Sera Young — Craving Earth

Recently Sera Young’s Craving Earth: Understanding Pica–the Urge to Eat Clay, Starch, Ice, and Chalk, has received attention from a variety of sources. The Week summarized some of the key elements of pica described in Young’s book, including the desire...

March 31, 2011

Wang Anyi Named a Man Booker Finalist

Yesterday, Wang Anyi, author of The Song of Everlasting Sorrow: A Novel of Shanghai, was named a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize. From the Man Booker website: Wang Anyi is among the most widely read and anthologized authors...