In the 1970s, Manhattan's west side waterfront was a forgotten zone of abandoned warehouses and piers. Though many saw only blight, the derelict neighborhood was alive with queer people forging new in
One of the Top 10 Politics and Current Events Books of Fall 2019 (Publishers Weekly)An incisive cultural history that captures a fractious nation through the prism of television and the rattled mind o
The 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, ignited nationwide protests and brought widespread attention to tragically relevant issues like police brutality and institutional racism. But Fe
During global capitalism's long ascent from 1600-1850, workers of all kinds-slaves, indentured servants, convicts, domestic workers, soldiers, and sailors-repeatedly ran away from their masters and bo
In recent years, tech companies have been teaching robots to drive. Those who would sell us self- driving cars promise that they will reduce pollution, eliminate traffic, and prevent countless injurie
Today's science tells us that our bodies are filled with molecular machinery that orchestrates all sorts of life processes. When we think, microscopic "channels" open and close in o
Empire of Defense is an extensive and multilayered critique of the past seventy years of American military engagement. Joseph Darda exposes how the post-World War II formation of the Department of Def
Synthesizing Hope opens up the material and social world of pharmaceuticals by focusing on an unexpected place: iThemba Pharmaceuticals. Founded in 2009 with a name taken from the Zulu word for hope,
We all have the sense that the American economy—and its government—tilts toward big business, but as Joseph E. Stiglitz explains in his new book, People, Power, and Profits, the situation is dire. A f
Revolution in the Echo Chamber is a sociohistorical analysis of British and American radio and audio drama from 1919 to present day. This volume examines the aesthetic, cultural, and technical element
In the decades following World War II, a movement of clergy and laity sought to restore liberal Protestantism to the center of American urban life. Chastened by their failure to avert war and the Holo
A ragtag group of women behind a police line in the rain. A face in a crowd holding a sign that says, “Hi Mom, Guess What!” at an LGBT rights rally. Two lovers kissing under a tree. These indelible im
Context and situation always matter in both human and animal lives. Unique insights can be gleaned from conducting scientific studies from within human communities and animal habitats. Inside Science
Knowledge matters, and states have a stake in managing its movement to protect a variety of local and national interests. The view that knowledge circulates by itself in a flat world, unimpeded
Over the past few decades, US business and industry have been transformed by the advances and redundancies produced by the knowledge economy. The workplace has changed, and much of the work differs fr
When millions of people took to the streets for the 2017 women’s marches, there was an unmistakable air of uprising, a sense that these marches were launching a movement. But the enduring work t
From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, Europeans struggled to understand their identity in the same way we do as individuals: by comparing themselves to others. In Savages, Romans, and Despot
How could Northern California, the wealthiest and most politically progressive region in the United States, become one of the earliest epicenters of the foreclosure crisis? How could this region conti
Expertise and Architecture in the Modern Islamic World explores how architectural traditions and practices were shared and exchanged across national borders throughout the world, departing from a narr
Does science aim at providing an account of the world that is literally true or objectively true? Understanding the difference requires paying close attention to metaphor and its role in science. In T
A provocative new look at concepts of the present, their connection to ideas about time, and their effect on literature, art, and cultureThe problem of the present—what it is and what it means—is one
A leading economist offers a radically new approach to the economic analysis of the lawIn The Republic of Beliefs, Kaushik Basu, one of the world's leading economists, argues that the traditional econ
Immigration policy is one of the most contentious public policy issues in the United States today. High-skilled immigrants represent an increasing share of the U.S. workforce, particularly in sc
The entertaining story of four utopian writers—Edward Bellamy, William Morris, Edward Carpenter, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman—and their continuing influence todayFor readers reared on the dystopian vi
Why is it so hard for us to connect on a deep level with others, particularly those who are suffering? We constantly find ourselves interrupted and inundated with tasks and stresses. We are disconnect
An inspiring account of ordinary teachers who are doing extraordinary things that could transform educationWhat School Could Be offers an inspiring vision of what our teachers and students can accompl
Nearly a decade after his triumphant Charlie Chan biography,Yunte Huang returns with this long-awaitedportrait of Chang and Eng Bunker (1811–1874), twinsconjoined at the sternum by a band of cartilage
Mice are used as model organisms across a wide range of fields in science today—but it is far from obvious how studying a mouse in a maze can help us understand human problems like alcoholism or
What, if anything, does biological evolution tell us about the nature of religion, ethical values, or even the meaning and purpose of life? The Moral Meaning of Nature sheds new light on these endurin
The United States incarcerates more people per capital than any other industrialized nation in the world—about 1 in 100 adults, or more than 2 million people—while national spending on pri
In this fresh and powerful work of environmental history, Martin Doyle exploreshow rivers have often been the source of arguments at the heart of theAmerican experiment—over federalism, taxation, regu
The Ben cao gang mu, compiled in the second half of the sixteenth century by a team led by the physician Li Shizhen (1518–1593) on the basis of previously published books and contemporary knowle
In the decades after World War II, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilian contractors across Asia and the Pacific found work through the U.S. military. Recently liberated from colonial rule, these
Los Angeles Documentary and the Production of Public History, 1958–1977 explores how documentarians working between the election of John F. Kennedy and the Bicentennial created conflicting
Strategies of Segregation unearths the ideological and structural architecture of enduring racial inequality within and beyond schools in Oxnard, California. In this meticulously researched account, w
The social practice of tact was an invention of the nineteenth century, a period when Britain was witnessing unprecedented urbanization, industrialization, and population growth. In an era when more a
There are moments when we forget how fortunate we are to have the California coast. The state is home to 1,100 miles of uninterrupted coastline defined by long stretches of beach and jagged rocky clif
Over the course of his twenty-five-year career, Jeffrey J. Kripal’s study of religion has had two major areas of focus: the erotic expression of mystical experience and the rise of the paranorma
Heralded as America’s most quintessentially modern city, Chicago has attracted the gaze of journalists, novelists, essayists, and scholars as much as any city in the nation. And, yet, few histor
College sports have never been bigger. Once a roughneck intercollegiate pastime, football now commands millions of fans and generates massive revenues. New York Times investigative reporter Mike McInt
