Black Regions of the Imagination
African American Writers between the Nation and the World
Eve Dunbar

Reviewed in the online edition of the literary magazine, MAKE on June 10. The review read, "The depth of her analysis, the adherence to the archive, the continued urgency and importance of the texts Dunbar chooses to analyze — all combine to make Black Regions of the Imagination a compelling, if haunted, and haunting, examination of black literature in this unnamed literary period, and of blackness, itself."

Suspect Citizens
Women, Virtue, and Vice in Backlash Politics
Jocelyn M. Boryczka

Reviewed in the June 2012 issue of Mobilization. The review read, ""Boryczka skillfully examines those intersections where women, who made an attempt at full citizenry, were chastised by the broader public and literally blamed for national upheavals and crises.... This book uses the concepts of virtue and vice to frame women’s relationship to political power offering a fresh perspective on the political landscape available to women who dare to enter the public eye.... While engaging the broad and continuing debates in philosophy, religious studies, political science, and history, this book also provides deep insight into specific turning points in the women’s movement and women’s political involvement in struggle for equality and freedom."

Vigilantes and Lynch Mobs
Narratives of Community and Nation
Lisa Arellano

Reviewed in the June 2013 issue of the Journal of American History . The review read, "Lisa Arellano’s Vigilantes and Lynch Mobs contributes to the recent trend of writing histories of the various species of American mob violence that consider long periods and wide contexts... Her discussion of how Hubert Howe Bancroft wrote his accounts of the San Francisco vigilance committees is a model of careful textual scholarship and should interest anyone concerned with how the craft of history was developing at that time."

Men's College Athletics and the Politics of Racial Equality
Five Pioneer Stories of Black Manliness, White Citizenship, and American Democracy
Gregory J. Kaliss

Reviewed in the June 2013 issue of the Journal of American History. It read, "In his ambitious Men’s College Athletics and the Politics of Racial Equality, Gregory J. Kaliss examines the intersection of race, politics, and manliness in American intercollegiate athletics in the twentieth century. Kaliss’s book stands apart from other works that have tackled those complex issues because of his case study approach, his particular scholarly focus, and the lengthy coverage he gives to his subject matter.... Kaliss offers detailed analyses.... The different strands of Kaliss’s analysis come together best in his case study on Robeson.... In two other strong case studies Kaliss focuses on the 1939 University of California, Los Angeles, football team, which featured Jackie Robinson, and on Wilt Chamberlain’s basketball career at the University of Kansas.... Overall, Kaliss makes a valuable addition to the scholarship on American sports. His work underscores the value of using newspapers, in particular black newspapers, in the pursuit of scholarly analysis."

Transfeminist Perspectives in and beyond Transgender and Gender Studies
edited by Anne Enke

Reviewed in the May/June 2013 issue of the Women's Review of Books. The review read, "The twelve essays in this volume...address a diversity of academic topics and styles ranging from controversial theory to more pedestrian policy advice. All focus on the radical potential of transgender analysis, rather than seeking to recuperate 'transgender' as an individual identity...[T]his book will be a valuable resource in the university library."

No More Invisible Man
Race and Gender in Men's Work
Adia Harvey Wingfield

Reviewed in Diverse, May 9, 2013. The review read, "For those who delve into Wingfield's book, the one thing they are guaranteed to come away with is a greater appreciation for the fact that for Black men who work professional jobs, the work involves so much more than just the work itself.... [No More Invisible Man] shows how entrenched and lingering racial stereotypes about the intelligence and aims of Black men often make the professional jobs they work much more complicated than they would otherwise be."

Dr. Radway's Sarsaparilla Resolvent
Beth Kephart

Reviewed in the May 2 issue of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The review read, "[A] bright, burning novel— intended for a young adult audience but powerful enough to engage any adult is set in the Philadelphia of 1870. Using surprising period details and a gorgeous turn of phrase, Kephart has called forth an interesting time in our city's history and made it live again for just a moment.... While many historical novels, especially those for younger readers, can come across as corny or costumey, this one rings true, its language seeming to have been composed during the era it describes.... These people feel real, and we have no trouble imagining them living out their dramas just as painfully and joyously as we do ours, 100 or more years before we were born."

America's First Adventure in China
Trade, Treaties, Opium, and Salvation
John R. Haddad

Reviewed in the May 1 issue of Library Journal. The review read, "Haddad has again struck the right note with this well-researched work on the first hundred years or so of the U.S. relationship with China. He conveys his narrative with humor...[and] reveals the fascinating story of men such as Anson Burlingame. There are many such informative topics that Haddad shares with readers. His notes and bibliography are rich, while illustrations are few but first-rate. VERDICT Excellent for scholars of Chinese history and ideal for those who desire more than a cursory view of the subject."

America's First Adventure in China also received an online review in Publishers Weekly which read, "Haddad looks at the development of the relationship between China and the United States beginning in 1784. An intensely detailed story.... it provides some interesting descriptions about the beginnings of American trade with China in the late 18th century, when George Washington's aide-de-camp set off for Canton (modern-day Guangzhou).... Informative."

Chang and Eng Reconnected
The Original Siamese Twins in American Culture
Cynthia Wu

Reviewed in the Summer 2013 issue of MELUS. The review read, "Chang and Eng Reconnected is carefully researched and theoretically rich, an essential volume for scholars interested in the construction of US national identity, the history and culture of Asian America, and the social construction and multivalent meanings of bodily difference. Wu is an admirably restrained writer, offering detailed interpretations of the cultural objects she examines without making grand claims for their significance as theoretical interventions.... Wu’s prose is lucid, elegant, and concise, so that despite the complexity of the material, the book will be suitable for undergraduate classes in disability studies, Asian American studies, and American studies, even as it proves an invaluable source for specialists in all three fields."

Black Regions of the Imagination
African American Writers between the Nation and the World
Eve Dunbar

Reviewed in the Summer 2013 issue of MELUS. The review read, "Eve Dunbar’s Black Regions of the Imagination renegotiates the relationship between regionalism in African American literature and ethnography as a practice and form of knowledge production around race in the United States.... Dunbar scrutinizes this intellectual and cultural tension in the critically undertheorized period between major African American literary movements of the twentieth century: the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement.... Dunbar’s necessary reevaluation of regionalism produces nuanced, against-the-grain readings of the canonical authors studied in each chapter.'"

Pushing for Midwives
Homebirth Mothers and the Reproductive Rights Movement
Christa Craven

Reviewed in the Women's Studies in Communication, Vol. 35, No. 2. The review read, "This book offers valuable insight for research activists and scholars by adding to literature that seeks to understand how even good intentions can ultimately harm advocacy movements in the long run. For the feminist scholar, this book indicates that the current framing of reproductive rights under a consumer model serves to disenfranchise specific groups of women, whether intentionally or not. For students, Craven’s book highlights a movement that is not strictly a religious or political issue. There are members who are pro-life, pro-choice, Republican, and Democrat and are able to work together toward a shared goal. Her writing is clear, her examples are thoroughly detailed, and her ideas would serve to stimulate students at a variety of academic levels.... Craven makes a compelling argument for reframing the reproductive rights movement specifically and details a troubling historical pattern of socioeconomic-based rhetorical tactics. More broadly, she offers a cautionary lens through which to analyze the vocabulary and tactics in activist rhetoric that potentially serve to silence those they claim to help."

Hope Is Cut
Youth, Unemployment, and the Future in Urban Ethiopia
Daniel Mains

Reviewed in the May 2013 issue of American Ethnologist. The review read, "Hope Is Cut is a moving ethnographic account of educated but unemployed urban youth in Ethiopia.... Mains provides a nuanced analysis of how unemployed young men construct hope.... [The book] makes an important contribution in terms of challenging existing conceptualizations of the social category 'youth.'... [T]he immense importance of this book [is] as a well-documented study of an urban African youth. Hope Is Cut would be excellent ethnographic material especially for undergraduate courses but also for some graduate classes. The book would be an important reading for both academic and applied anthropologists, Africanists of all social sciences backgrounds, development practitioners, government policymakers, and anybody interested in the everyday life of ordinary youth as they confront the realities of growing up in global times."

The End of White World Supremacy
Black Internationalism and the Problem of the Color Line
Roderick Bush

Reviewed in May 2013 issue of Interface: a journal for and about social movements. The review read, "Bush critically discusses the various social movements that sought to bring about racial equality in the United States. With detailed examples, Bush demonstrates how the 1960s social movements in the United States of America were part of a global social movement that challenged white supremacy the world over.... Although activists and scholars of colour in particular will find this book useful, the book offers critical insight for radical activists who are interested in building social movements that are based on anti-racist values. The most important lesson...is the importance of cultivating solidarity among social movements."

The Package Deal
Marriage, Work, and Fatherhood in Men's Lives
Nicholas W. Townsend

Reviewed in the May 2013 issue of Contemporary Sociology. The review read, "We have far more insight into women’s than men’s work and family lives, which is why one of my favorite books of the past decade is Nicholas Townsend’s The Package Deal. Townsend’s in-depth interviews provide unique insights into how men view their contribution to the family and how they view parenting."

Church and State in the City
Catholics and Politics in Twentieth-Century San Francisco
William Issel

Reviewed in in America on May 27. The review read, "Issel's book represents a fairly new and intriguing thrust among historians to chart religion and politics at local municipal levels."

Refounding Environmental Ethics
Pragmatism, Principle, and Practice
Ben A. Minteer

Reviewed in Environmental Values, Volume 22, 2013. The review read,"This is an important book for anyone wanting to actually apply environmental ethics to public policy and environmental management."

Ecomusicology
Rock, Folk, and the Environment
Mark Pedelty

Reviewed in Environmental Values, Volume 22, 2013. The review read, "Ecomusicology is among the first large-scale works to merge the discourse of environmental justice and ecocriticism with an analysis of the social experience of music... [It] is a welcome addition to the literature that illustrates a plethora of potential approaches to musical ecocriticism. Pedelty’s book opens up new interpretive possibilities for the ongoing study of the relationship between music and the environment."

Church and State in the City
Catholics and Politics in Twentieth-Century San Francisco
William Issel

Reviewed in the May 2013 issue of Choice. The review read,"Issel is concerned with highlighting the importance of Catholic Christianity in the political culture of 20th-century San Francisco. He accomplishes this through a critical, contextualized narrative of various issues in the city's history (1890s-1970s) in which Catholic faith-based politics contributed to defining the city's 'common good.'... Even though Issel's coverage of San Francisco's political history is not comprehensive, his narrative is densely detailed..... this solid book is worth adding to California, religious, and urban collections. Summing Up: Recommended."

Elements of Discipline
Nine Principles for Teachers and Parents
Stephen Greenspan
With a Foreword by Arnold Sameroff

Reviewed in the May 2013 issue of Choice. The review read, "Greenspan offers a guided discussion on an affective-aware approach to disciplinary practices for both school and home. Throughout the book, Greenspan diligently explains key principles critical to understanding the rationale for incorporating a positivistic approach to discipline and the inherent benefits to children, adolescents, and adults. A thorough discussion is meticulously crafted to offer an explanation of concepts, application, and theoretical connections to existing emotional/behavioral perspectives.... A well-rounded index of theories, terminology, and common behavioral practices to assist readers in developing a more comprehensive understanding to successful discipline completes the book. Summing Up: Recommended."

Suspect Citizens
Women, Virtue, and Vice in Backlash Politics
Jocelyn M. Boryczka

Reviewed in the May 2013 issue of Choice. The review read, "Boryczka addresses categories of virtue and vice that operate to render women 'suspect citizens' in the American political script.... The book contains many interesting and provocative juxtapositions. Summing Up: Highly recommended."

Chang and Eng Reconnected
The Original Siamese Twins in American Culture
Cynthia Wu

Reviewedin Disability Studies Quarterly Vol. 33, No. 2. The review read, "Given the amount of time and archival material the book covers, it is a credit to Wu's ability as a writer that she leads readers seamlessly from beginning to end.... Wu's nuanced reading of embodiment provides a way of conceptualizing and analyzing disability diaspora."

The Dance of Politics
Gender, Performance, and Democratization in Malawi
Lisa Gilman

Reviewed in the Journal of American Folklore 126 (2013). The review read, "The Dance of Politics is a valuable contribution to the scholarly literature on gender, performance, and socio-political transformation in Africa.... This book provides a deep exploration of music and dance in the context of a specific African nation during a key moment in its history....The Dance of Politics offers insightful theoretical discussions and concrete examples/experiences that are of great interest for scholars from various disciplines focused on performance, gender, and politics in Africa."

Blue Juice
Euthanasia in Veterinary Medicine
Patricia Morris

Reviewed in the May 2013 issue of Animal Welfare. The review read, "This book may be found useful by clinical veterinarians and by their clients as well. Veterinarians may find some comfort in knowing that their concerns are shared by many other members of their profession and may learn of different alternative options to deal with these issues. Pet owners will similarly benefit by gaining a better appreciation of the complexity of these issues and of the perspective of the veterinarians. In the end, one can hope that this improved understanding of the issues related to companion animal euthanasia by all parties involved will result in a benefit to the animals, and that will be everybody's gain."

Troubling Gender
Youth and Cumbia in Argentina's Music Scene
Pablo Vila and Pablo Semán

Reviewed in the May 2013 issue of Contemporary Sociology. The review read, "Anybody interested in gender, sexuality, and especially how music becomes part of the fabric of everyday life, should read Troubling Gender. The subtlety of its analysis makes the book a must for scholars of what is now called 'music sociology.'"

An Immigrant Neighborhood
Interethnic and Interracial Encounters in New York before 1930
Shirley J. Yee

Reviewed in the May 2013 issue of Contemporary Sociology. The review read, "An Immigrant Neighborhood is an excellent addition to historical studies in community and urban racial and ethnic relations. It provides us with rich stories of individual daily lives in pre-1930 New York’s Lower Manhattan and with various analyses of class, ethnicity, race, and gender. It would be particularly useful for an advanced undergraduate course in American studies, ethnic studies, history, or sociology, and it would also be appropriate for a graduate course."

Transnationalizing Viet Nam
Community, Culture, and Politics in the Diaspora
Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde

Reviewed in Amerasia, Volume 39, No. 1. The review read, "The book offers the first 'insider' perspective that grapples candidly with Vietnamese American community formations, particularly its anticommunist politics. It serves as an invaluable resource for students and researchers interested in understanding the Vietnamese American community, but also offers a model that adeptly bridges Area Studies research with Asian American Studies through the framework of transnationalism.... [A]n important foundation for the study of Vietnamese diaspora."

The Public and Its Possibilities
Triumphs and Tragedies in the American City
John D. Fairfield

Reviewed in American Studies, Vol. 52, No. 2. The review read, "An ambitious work of scholarly synthesis, The Public and its Possibilities braids together descriptions of socioeconomic trends, cultural conflicts and political philosophy from the late colonial era to the present... Resting on vast historical scholarship, The Public and its Possibilities would provide a useful interpretive spine for an undergraduate history course, comparable in some ways to Eric Foner’s The Story of American Freedom."

Oye Como Va!
Hybridity and Identity in Latino Popular Music
Deborah Pacini Hernandez

Reviewed in American Studies, Vol. 52, No. 2. The review read, "To take on the task of explicating or analyzing Latin popular music presents a difficult endeavor; with the hybrid nature of the Latin music and US adaptations and appropriations, one could easily get lost in the array of musical styles, genres, artists, and record labels. Yet, in her book Oye Como Va, Deborah Pacini Hernandez provides an organized, concise, and informative overview of Latin popular music, specifically in regards to the recording industry’s relationship to Latina/o musicians and audience in the United States....[T]his text offers valuable histories and perspectives on the performance, recording, and marketing of Latin popular music."

To the City
Urban Photographs of the New Deal
Julia L. Foulkes

Reviewed in American Studies, Vol. 52, No. 2. The review read, "As a collection of photographs To the City comprises a useful complement to the many anthologies emphasizing the FSA’s rural pictures."

Selecting Women, Electing Women
Political Representation and Candidate Selection in Latin America
Magda Hinojosa

Reviewedin April 2013 issue of the Journal of Politics. The review read, "Selecting Women, Electing Women argues that the rules for candidate selection affect the election of women to political office in Latin America. Hinojosa’s overall approach and the substantive argument she makes represent significant innovations.... In addition to providing a persuasive explanation of the puzzle of variation in women’s representation in the region, the book provides ample background on the status of women overall, a clear description of the political terrain in two important countries in the region, and a sense of how the same issues play out in other countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, Guatemala, and Peru. Her interview data provides the kind of detail that illuminates important differences within and across countries and makes the book easily accessible to readers unfamiliar with political parties in Latin America."

Dr. Radway's Sarsaparilla Resolvent
Beth Kephart

Reviewed in the April 15 issue of Kirkus Reviews'. The review read, "Playing masterfully with words, knitting them into new and deliciously expressive forms, Kephart's story is one of loss and then redemption.... Like the very best of historical fiction, this effort combines a timeless tale with a vividly recreated, fascinating world. An outstanding and ultimately life-affirming tale"

"We Live in the Shadow"
Inner-City Kids Tell Their Stories through Photographs
Elaine Bell Kaplan

Reviewed in the April 15 issue of Publishers Weekly. The review read, "Kaplan gives a group of preteens from South Central L.A. the chance to document their lives in this moving work. After telling them to 'take pictures of anything you want to show me about your experiences,' Kaplan uses the results to assemble a well-researched narrative examining how the subjects 'experience and react to the social problems associated with South Central,' their reflections on living there, and how they deal with daily challenges, including gang violence and drug warfare.... [Kaplan] interweaves her subjects’ stories and pieces from their photo essays with her research, reflections, and observations, confronting issues of class, race, and identity. Even casual anecdotes point to larger problems—teachers who don’t care and schools that don’t work."

Sustainable Failures
Environmental Policy and Democracy in a Petro-dependent World
Sherry Cable

Reviewed in the April 2013 issue of CHOICE. The review read, "Cable offers a sweeping analysis of how humans live outside their means, fostering a false duality between society and biosphere with decidedly unsustainable technological and petroleum energy dependence.... Written for a broad audience, the work deftly combines a jargon-free sociological lens on human behavior with biophysical science questions of sustainability. Summing Up: Recommended."

Catheters, Slurs, and Pickup Lines
Professional Intimacy in Hospital Nursing
Lisa C. Ruchti

Reviewed in the April 2013 issue of Gender & Society. The review read, "[A] compelling ethnography that skillfully explores the work of professional intimacy in hospital nursing.... The book is a major contribution to the newly burgeoning scholarship on care work, and Ruchti’s findings pose numerous questions to anyone interested in bringing recognition to professionally intimate labor.... This book is a must-have for those of us teaching and researching in medical worlds. Our students will gain valuable insight into the day-to-day work of caring for patients, and our research will benefit from consideration of the many lessons contained in this richly documented exploration of professional intimacy."

Modeling Citizenship
Jewish and Asian American Writing
Cathy Schlund-Vials

Reviewed in the Spring 2013 issue of MELUS. The review read,"[Schlund-Vials] read[s] Jewish and Asian American texts side-by-side to investigate how both ethnic groups have participated in and been shaped by model-minority discourse.... [Her] book is organized historically around a number of couplings between Jewish and Asian American writing that prove particularly fruitful for analyzing how shifting attitudes toward naturalization and immigration policy have determined whether or not, and to what degree, these two minority groups can obtain the status of model citizens.... [She] provid[es] nuanced, historically contextualized readings of literary works... [and] yield[s] strong insights into how cross-ethnic relations have bearing on the meanings of whiteness, transnationalism, model-minority identity, and citizenship."

A Midwestern Mosaic
Immigration and Political Socialization in Rural America
J. Celeste Lay

Reviewed in the Spring 2013 issue of International Migration Review. The review read, "A Midwestern Mosaic makes important contributions to several literatures. To political scientists, the book offers insights about the roles of time and racial context in the political socialization of adolescents and the importance of systematically analyzing rural politics. Contributions to immigration research focusing on non-traditional destinations includes information about how quickly adolescents can adapt to demographic change, the emphasis on political socialization, and the formal comparison of immigrant-receiving communities that, on their face, might appear to be quite similar. [Lay's] qualitative data also yield important insights about what high schools and other institutions in rapidly changing communities can do to encourage positive relationships between long-time residents and newcomers. For all of these reasons, this book will be of great interest to scholars, community leaders, policymakers, and others."

Reading Up
Middle-Class Readers and the Culture of Success in the Early Twentieth-Century United States
Amy L. Blair

Reviewed in the Spring 2013 issue of American Periodicals. The review read, "Blair is detailed in her examination of [Hamilton Wright] Mabie's opinions and in her analysis of how he misread or reinterpreted his subjects in service of his goals.... What is most significant for periodical studies in Blair's work is the insight it provides into the culture wars of the turn of the last century."

Governing How We Care
Contesting Community and Defining Difference in U.S. Public Health Programs
Susan J. Shaw

Reviewed in the March/April 2013 issue of Public Administration Review. The review read, "This book is a must-read for policy makers, researchers, health care administrators, public officials, and others who are interested in the complex issues surrounding health care delivery in the United States.... [Shaw] explores the risks and norms of drug prevention research... [Her] illumination of this phenomenon in the injection drug user population provides a challenging perspective to the field.... Governing How We Care provides a concretely rooted lesson about the experience of vulnerable populations in public health programs. Readers will gain valuable insight into programs that aim to correct short-term behavior and long-term behavior adaptations."

Race Appeal
How Candidates Invoke Race in U.S. Political Campaigns
Charlton D. McIlwain and Stephen M. Caliendo

Reviewed in the March 2013 issue of Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. The review read, "McIlwain and Caliendo’s research expands our knowledge and understanding of how language, images, and race interact to influence election outcomes.... In their study, McIlwain and Caliendo painstakingly ask new and different questions while testing old arguments and theories to arrive at rational conclusions.... Race Appeal is a must-read for political science and communication students seeking to expand their understanding of the role race plays in U.S. political campaigns."

Body Language
Sisters in Shape, Black Women's Fitness, and Feminist Identity Politics
Kimberly J. Lau

Reviewed in the March 2013 issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly. The review read, "This engaging, thoughtful book interweaves theory, history, and the heartfelt by using the reflective words of the Black women who participated in the program [Sisters in Shape].... Readers will be inspired by the narratives as the participants share their challenges not just around weight but issues of oppression and the search for community. Their stories are largely triumphant as the author weaves a story of women countering a culture of competition with the strength of community support.... Overall, the reader will come away with a more feminist view of the pathways needed to attain greater health and well-being for Black women, body and soul."

Speaking of Race and Class
The Student Experience at an Elite College
Elizabeth Aries with Richard Berman

Reviewed in the March 28 issue of Times Higher Education. The review read, "One of the study’s strengths lies in its research design....The book can also be recommended for its breadth of coverage of students’ experiences and the consideration of the salience of race and class across a wide range of situations.... [T]he authors...aim primarily to document the challenges of class and race at an elite college, for both the privileged and the less privileged. In this, they have admirably succeeded."