Book reviews

Check out the latest reviews of University of Minnesota Press books.
American Songwriter on Love in Vain
Arguably the most notorious screenplay to never be filmed, Love in Vain is nearly as mythic as its subject, the doomed bluesman Robert Johnson.
Amherst Bulletin: A literary update: UMass professor offers first English translation of noted Danish novel since 1845
On THE IMPROVISATORE.
Ampers: Johnny's Pheasant
Interview with Cheryl Minnema, author of Johnny's Pheasant
"An all-senses-engaged trip into Burroughs’ beautiful, tragic Mexican world."
Empty Mirror on THE STRAY BULLET.
An Art Historian Reflects on the Beauty and Significance of Hubble Telescope Imagery
io9 on Elizabeth Kessler's Picturing the Cosmos.
"An evocative novel that draws together past and present."
Scandinavian Crime Fiction reviews Vidar Sundstol's THE LAND OF DREAMS.
"An excellent exploration of what makes an undeniably talented author unique": Review of 'The Forbidden Worlds of Haruki Murakami'
James Orbesen from PopMatters review's 'The Forbidden Worlds of Haruki Murakami' by Matthew Carl Strecher.
An honest look at POW experience
On Catherine Madison's THE WAR CAME HOME WITH HIM.
An interview with Brian Hochman on 'Savage Preservation'
An interview with Brian Hochman by Brian Lennon, Director, Digital Culture and Media Initiative, Department of English, Pennsylvania State University.
An Ocula conversation with Joan Kee
“Ironically, the biggest obstacle in the promotion of Korean art is the endless insistence on putting the 'Korean' before the art ”
"An unusual and rather good memoir"
The Arctic is the front line of climate change. Because of global weather patterns, heat accumulates at the poles and the climate is changing twice as fast in the Arctic. The consequences are stark, and The Right to be Cold details them in this striking personal account of environmentalism in the North.
An Urban Teacher's Education: Police in the Hallways
"The knowledge and insights I gained could have helped me not only this past year, but my entire career."
Anderson Cooper, Opacity, and the Loss that is Queerness
Blog post discussion features Nicholas de Villiers' OPACITY AND THE CLOSET: Queer Tactics in Foucault, Barthes, and Warhol.
Andrew Jones's Circuit Listening reviewed in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture
Jones’s book deserves to be read widely. It is a book that presents an important and urgent intervention in the Euro- and Anglo-centric histories of popular music that dominate the field. At a time when the trope of the “rise of China” is almost omnipresent, this book shows how the Chinese-speaking world has always already been part and parcel of the world of popular music. Review by Jeroen de Kloet.
Andrew Zitcer for Next City: What We Learn From Black- and Women-Led Cooperative Practice
The following is an excerpt from the book “Practicing Cooperation: Mutual Aid Beyond Capitalism,” by Andrew Zitcer, published by the University of Minnesota Press. In it, the author offers an ethical and practical guide to “inspiring cooperative practice,” as both response and alternative to extractive models of neoliberal capitalism that exacerbate income inequality and stagnate wages.
Andy Gilats interviewed in the Kenyon Leader
Andy Gilats discusses her book, After Effects: A Memoir of Complicated Grief.
Andy Gilatz discusses Prolonged Grief Disorder on Shapes of Grief Podcasts
We know that grief never really goes away, we learn to live with it and accommodate it in our lives. For some people, about 5-10%, their grief can remain very intense and cause major disruption in their lives for a prolonged period of time; years and even decades. It is normal for grief to endure for years, but when it is debilitating and people find it impossible to readjust to the world after a loss, perhaps it is what has become known as Prolonged Grief Disorder.
Animal Media with Parikka and Benson
In this episode dedicated to animals and media, historian Etienne Benson discusses the electronic surveillance of wildlife and media theorist Jussi Parikka talks about insects as technology. We also chat about animal studies, surveillance, biopolitics, Deleuze & Guattari, and why tracking technology isn't so creepy. For more, get a copy of Benson's Wired Wilderness and Parikka's Insect Media.
Animation World Network reviews Anime's Media Mix
Marc Steinberg’s book discusses the importance of character merchandising on the popularity and cultural influence of anime.
Anomaly: Hybrid Child
Review of Hybrid Child by Mariko Ōhara
Another Man: Scenarios III
Excerpt from Scenarios III by Werner Herzog
Antennae on Tom Tyler's Ciferae
"An important addition to the literature on human knowledge and epistemology."
Anthony Ryan Hatch on Rising Up with Sonali
An interview on America's metabolic health crisis with the author of BLOOD SUGAR.
Antipode: Abolitionist Geographies
Review of the book by Martha Schoolman.
Antipode: Renew Orleans?
Aaron Schneider’s central argument is that post-Katrina New Orleans represents, in concentrated form, broader capitalist globalization processes taking place around the world.
Antipode: The Anti-Black City
A tragically timely contribution to the hypervisibility of violence in Brazil.
"Anyone who is even vaguely interested in Japanese literature should definitely read this book."
The Modern Novel reviews The Book of the Dead.
Anything but bland: Beatrice Ojakangas on 'Breakfast with Beatrice'
Scandinavia is known for many things — cross-country skiing, wool sweaters, blond hair and ABBA. But, perhaps unfairly, the foods of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland are stereotyped as slightly uninspired, white and bland. "It's not bland!" says Beatrice Ojakangas. "Maybe it's the way we've started to prepare it lately, but it's real, natural, good food, and it is so tasty."
Appetites: A simpler way of preserving
Take all your old notions of preserving and throw them away, says Beth Dooley.
Archaeologist of the Future Present: Mark Dery’s Visions of American Dread, American Dreams
The Verge interviews Mark Dery, author of I MUST NOT THINK BAD THOUGHTS.