Greater than Equal: African American Struggles for Schools and Citizenship in North Carolina, 1919-1965 (UNC Press) by Sarah Caroline Thuesen. The author, who received three history degrees from UNC, explores how black North Carolinians engaged in a dramatic struggle for equal educational opportunity as segregated schooling flourished. Her account gives voice to students, parents, teachers, school officials and civic leaders.
Life in Crisis: The Ethical Journey of Doctors without Borders (University of California Press) by Peter Redfield. UNC anthropologist Redfield tells the story of the international organization founded as a French alternative to the Red Cross, and its effort to save lives on a global scale over more than four decades.
Islamophobia in America (Palgrave Macmillan), edited by Carl W. Ernst, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies. This collection of five essays by six specialists provides important insights into virulent anti-Muslim prejudice, relating it to a conflict over American identity during a time of crisis.
Nineteenth-Century Jewish Literature: A Reader (Stanford University Press), edited by Jonathan Hess, Maurice Samuels and Nadia Vaiman. Recent scholarship has brought to light the existence of a dynamic world of Jewish literature — fiction by Jews, about Jews and often designed largely for Jews. The editors make these texts accessible to English speakers for the first time, with a selection of fiction from France, Great Britain and the German-speaking world. Hess is the Moses M. and Hannah L. Malkin Distinguished Professor of Jewish History and Culture at UNC.
The Structure of Cuban History: Meanings and Purpose of the Past (UNC Press) by Louis A. Pérez, Jr. UNC’s J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of History has written an expansive and contemplative reflection of the impact of Cuba’s 19th century liberation from Spain and the U.S. military intervention that immediately followed.
Caffè Lena: Inside America’s Legendary Folk Music Coffeehouse (powerHouse Books) edited by Jocelyn Arem. UNC folklore alum Arem has produced the first compilation of photos, stories, interviews and memorabilia of the famed Saratoga Springs, N.Y. café that nurtured young folk artists like Bob Dylan, Don McLean, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie and Ani DiFranco before the rest of the world discovered them.
From Brown to Meredith: The Long Struggle for School Desegregation in Louisville, Kentucky, 1954-2007 (UNC Press) by Tracy E. K’Meyer. When the Supreme Court overturned Louisville’s local desegregation plan in 2007, the people of Jefferson County faced the question of whether and how to maintain racial diversity in their schools. The author relies on oral history narratives, newspaper accounts and other documents to highlight the struggle that spanned five decades. K’Meyer has a Ph.D. in history from UNC.
The Feud (Little, Brown) by Dean King. Author of nine previous books of non-fiction, UNC English alumnus Dean King unpacks the true story of the brutal conflict between the legendary Hatfields and McCoys, two frontier families struggling for survival in the heart of Appalachia. Publisher’s Weekly calls it “an outstanding reexamination of a mythic … and savage story.”
Until I Say Goodbye: My Year of Living with Joy (HarperCollins) by Susan Spencer-Wendel. When UNC alum and long-time Palm Beach Post reporter Spencer-Wendel was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), she decided to focus the next year on creating special memories with family and friends — tracking down her roots in Cyprus, visiting the Yukon with her best friend, swimming with dolphins at the request of her youngest son. As she grew weaker, she tapped out this bestselling memoir on her iPhone, using only her right thumb. (Read a story about Spencer-Wendel’s book and her journey with Lou Gehrig’s disease.)
After Hiroshima (Daylight) by elin o’Hara slavick. UNC Art Professor elin o’Hara slavick presents a photo essay to address the aftermath of the 1945 US atomic bombing of Hiroshima — what disappeared as well as what remains.
The Warriors (Putnam), by Tom Young. This is the fourth in a series of military thrillers by UNC alumnus Tom Young, who has flown more than 4,000 hours with the Air National Guard in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia and other hot spots. The latest tale is about the lethal conflict that arises when military personnel investigate the Kyrgyzstan crash of a C-27 loaded with electronics and opium.
Identity, Place and Subversion in Contemporary Mizrahi Cinema in israel (University of Michigan Press) by Yaron Shemer. This new book by Shemer, an assistant professor of Asian studies, provides the most comprehensive, systematic study to date of Mizrahi (Oriental-Jewish or Arab-Jewish) films produced in Israel over the last several decades.Through an analysis of dozens of films, the book illustrates how narratives, characters and space have been used to give expression to Mizrahi ethnic identity, and to situate the Mizrahi within the broader context of Israeli society.