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Posts published in “News”

Read an Excerpt from “The Monetarists” by George S. Tavlas

The University of Chicago has a long, storied history within the field of economics. While Milton Friedman looms large within Chicago’s legacy, The Monetarists explores fellow scholars whose work and lives forever influenced and shaped modern economic thought. Read an excerpt below, introducing the incredible intellectual history that marks the

What to Read for National Hispanic Heritage Month

To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, we’ve put together a reading list highlighting the arts and lives of Hispanic individuals from a range of counties and traditions. With these books, you can explore the work of a brilliant Mexican painter, experimental Latin-American poetry, the life of a visionary biologist who

What to Read for National Hispanic Heritage Month

To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, we’ve put together a reading list highlighting the arts and lives of Hispanic individuals from a range of counties and traditions. With these books, you can explore the work of a brilliant Mexican painter, experimental Latin-American poetry, the life of a visionary biologist who

Six Questions with Anthony J. Martin, author of “Life Sculpted: Tales of the Animals, Plants, and Fungi That Drill, Break, and Scrape to Shape the Earth”

Meet the menagerie of life-forms that dig, crunch, bore, and otherwise reshape our planet. Did you know that elephants dig ballroom-sized caves alongside volcanoes? Or that our planet once hosted a five-ton dinosaur-crunching alligator cousin? In fact, almost since its fascinating start, life was boring. More than a billion years

Eleanor of Aquitaine Between History and Legend | A Guest Post from Karen Sullivan

In Eleanor of Aquitaine, as It Was Said: Truth and Tales about the Medieval Queen, Karen Sullivan invites readers on a literary journey through the stories about the famous medieval queen, in order to discover what even the most fantastical tales reveal about Eleanor and life as a twelfth-century noblewoman.

Read an Excerpt from “The Rise of the Masses” by Benjamin Abrams

August 14, 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Egypt’s Rabaa Massacre, which sparked the beginning of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s reign of terror. Under el-Sisi’s command, Egyptian armed forces raided two camps of protesters in Cairo—one at al-Nahda Square and a larger group at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square. This horrific massacre claimed

A Harvest Time Reading List

So here it is, August, that time for the abundance you’ve been working on all summer. But now what? What are you going to do with all those tomatoes, string beans, and—worst of all—the dreaded zucchinis? We offer a selection of books that will tempt your palate and inspire you

Five Questions with Kevin J. Elliott, author of “Democracy for Busy People”

As election season draws ever closer, many voters face the dilemma of balancing being informed citizens with everyday responsibilities that impede their ability to participate in our nation’s government. In Democracy for Busy People, Kevin J. Elliott proposes new methods on how we can make democratic citizenship undemanding. Read on

Five Questions with Sam Stephenson and Alan Thomas about the Work of W. Eugene Smith

This year, the University of Chicago Press is publishing new editions of two stunning photography collections by famed American photographer W. Eugene Smith. We sat down with the author and editor of the books, Sam Stephenson, along with the Press’s editorial director, Alan Thomas, who brought these two books to

Read an Excerpt from “Disputed Inheritance” by Gregory Radick

In 1900, almost no one had heard of Gregor Mendel. Ten years later, he was famous as the father of a new science of heredity—genetics. Even today, Mendelian ideas serve as a standard point of entry for learning about genes. But in Disputed Inheritance: The Battle over Mendel and the

Read an Excerpt from “Darfur Allegory” by Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf

With the current war in Sudan unleashing even more violence and suffering in the West Darfur region, it’s more important than ever to bring attention to this area of the globe. Here, we offer a brief excerpt from the postscript of Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf’s 2021 book about the complex history

A Pride Month 2023 Reading List

In recognition of Pride month, we offer below a reading list of recent books from Chicago and our client publishers that help illuminate LGBTQIA2S+ lives. From inspirational memoirs to gripping histories, original poetry collections, studies of queer representation in media, and crucial reads on the challenges faced by the trans

Read an Excerpt from “The Great American Transit Disaster” by Nicholas Dagen Bloom

Many a scholar and policy analyst has lamented American dependence on cars and the corresponding lack of federal investment in public transportation throughout the latter decades of the twentieth century. But as Nicholas Dagen Bloom shows in The Great American Transit Disaster, our transit networks are so bad for a very

What Exactly Is “Creativity”?

With his new book, The Cult of Creativity: A Surprisingly Recent History, Samuel W. Franklin uncovers how the now-ubiquitous concept of creativity was formed in the mid-twentieth century. Now one of American society’s signature values, creativity as we know it was a concept that didn’t always exist. In this post,

Take a Tour of 5 Independent Bookstores in 5 Different Chicago Neighborhoods

Whether you’re a Chicago native or just passing through for the summer, there is so much to find if you travel through the city’s sprawling neighborhoods and visit their many bookstores! Readers can make an all-day trek from the Northside down to the Southside and discover the wonder of some