February 26, 2010

Avner Cohen on Iran, the bomb, and its threat to Israel

“What if our leaders and pundits had reacted to the Iranian nuclear program in a completely different way than they actually have?”—Avner Cohen, from a recent op-ed in Haaretz In a recent op-ed, Iranian threat to destroy Israel doesn’t hold...

February 25, 2010

Arab responses to Elizabeth Suzanne Kassab's Contemporary Arab Thought

Elizabeth Kassab How have Arab readers and critics responded to Kassab’s new book Contemporary Arab Thought: Cultural Critique in Comparative Perspective? The book was recently reviewed in in the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat (review is in Arabic). For those who cannot...

February 24, 2010

Believing in Tiger Woods — Mark Hulsether in Religion Dispatches

With seemingly everyone in the world weighing in on Tiger Woods, we thought we would add a new perspective via Mark Hulsether, professor of Religious Studies and American Studies at the University of Tennessee and author of Religion, Culture and...

February 23, 2010

The China we're stuck with — A post by Warren I Cohen

The following is a post from Warren I. Cohen, author of America’s Response to China, Fifth Edition: A History of Sino-American Relations In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt spoke to a Chinese emissary of America’s hope for a strong, stable, and...

February 22, 2010

Robert Barnett on the Dalai Lama's meeting with Barack Obama

Last week, Democracy Now interviewed Robert Barnett, author of Lhasa: Streets with Memories, about Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama. The meeting occurred over the protest of the Chinese government and represents, Barnett suggests, a more muscular approach from the...

February 19, 2010

CUP Award-Winning Covers!

The Association of American University Presses recently announced winners from its book, jacket, and journal show, awarding four awards to Columbia University for jacket design. Congratulations to our excellent design department! Here are the winning jackets: (Designer: Chang Jae Lee)...

February 18, 2010

My Life with the Taliban on Leonard Lopate and the New Republic

Yesterday, the editors of My Life with the Taliban, Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn, appeared on The Leonard Lopate Show to discuss the book, its origins, the history of the Taliban and Afghanistan, present-day condition, and the extraordinary...

February 17, 2010

Best Translated Book Award 2010

Last night the shortlist for The Best Translated Book Award was announced at Idlewild Books. Unfortunately (for us), There’s Nothing I Can Do When I Think of You Late at Night, by Cao Naiqian, which was on the longlist did...

February 16, 2010

Interview with Sophie Richardson, author of China, Cambodia, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence

The following is an interview with Sophie Richardson, author of China, Cambodia, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Question: What are the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence? Are they really still relevant to China’s leaders, especially given that the...

February 12, 2010

Abdul Salam Zaeef on Hamid Karzai

Reuters recently joined the New York Review of Books, the Sunday Times of London, and others in praising Abdul Salam Zaeef’s memoir My Life with the Taliban. (The editors of the book have also been speaking in England about the...

February 11, 2010

Warren I. Cohen interviewed on The China Beat

On The China Beat Jeffrey Wasserstrom recently interviewed Warren I. Cohen about the forthcoming new (fifth) edition of his book America’s Response to China: A History of Sino-American Relations. Here are some excerpts from the interview: Jeffrey Wasserstrom: Looking back...

February 10, 2010

Interview with Daniel Rigney, author of The Matthew Effect

The following is an interview with Daniel Rigney author of the just-published The Matthew Effect: How Advantage Begets Further Advantage. Question: What is the “Matthew effect”? Daniel Rigney: The distinguished sociologist Robert Merton coined the term “Matthew effect” in 1968...