Publius Clodius Pulcher was a prominent political figure during the last years of the Roman Republic. Born into an illustrious patrician family, his early career was sullied by military failures and especially by the scandal that resulted from his allegedly disguising himself as a woman in order to sneak into a forbidden religious ceremony in the ......
What Fungi Taught Me About Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival
Naturalist, forager, and educator Maria Pinto offers a stunning debut book that uncovers strange and beautiful fungal connections between the natural and human worlds. She mingles reportage, research, memoir, and nature writing, touching on topics that range from Black farmers' domestication of the unforgettable aroma of truffles to the history of ......
Sacred Mountains and the Search for Meaning in Post-Disaster Japan
In this compelling narrative of discovery set in Japan's remote Dewa Sanzan mountain range, Shayne A. P. Dahl describes Shugendo, a secretive religious tradition that combines aspects of Shinto, Buddhism, and mountain worship. As a participant-observer, Dahl invites readers into the practices of contemporary ascetics who see the sacred mountains ......
Delving into the intersection of television entertainment and American politics during the 1970s, focusing on the sitcom All in the Family, this book explores how political campaigns, social movements, and legislators leveraged the show's popularity for their own agendas. From Archie Bunker's reactionary bigotry, to Edith Bunker's symbolic role in ......
Evangelical Capitalism and the Fate of an American City
In the years after World War II, American evangelicals flocked to the once-sleepy mountain town of Colorado Springs. Drawn by cheap property, beautiful scenery, and the encouragement of civic leaders who saw religion as a path to prosperity, evangelicals planted new churches and built religious nonprofits with a global reach. They preached their ......
How Medicine Won the Vicksburg Campaign and Changed the Civil War
Between May and May 22, 8 3, Union soldiers marched nearly 2 miles through the hot, humid countryside to assault and capture the fortified city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Upon its arrival, the army laid siege to the city for a grueling forty-seven days. Disease and combat casualties threatened to undermine the army's fighting strength, leaving ......
Founded in 1933 near Asheville, North Carolina, Black Mountain College fostered experimentation and interdisciplinary learning, placing the arts, including poetry, at the heart of its curriculum. As such, the college was home to and served as inspiration for many modern American poets. Some, including Robert Creeley, Denise Levertov, and Edward ......
Renowned human rights activist Michael "Mike" Wilson has borne witness to the profound human costs of poverty, racism, border policing, and the legacies of colonialism. From a childhood in the mining town of Ajo, Arizona, Wilson's life journey led him to US military service in Central America, seminary education, and religious and human rights ......
The Failure of U.S. Migration Policy in an Age of Climate Change
Natural disasters and the dire effects of climate change cause massive population displacements and lead to some of the most intractable political and humanitarian challenges seen today. Yet, as Maria Cristina Garcia observes in this critical history of U.S. policy on migration in the Global South, there is actually no such thing as a "climate ......
