African American Studies

A book as rich and sprawling as the seductive metropolis it evokes, Rio de Janeiro builds a kaleidoscopic portrait of this city of extremes, and its history of conflict and corruption. Luiz Eduardo Soares tells the story of Rio through the everyday lives...

Combining the ethical clarity of Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals with the disquieting vision of Alan Weissman's bestseller The World Without Us, a thought-provoking, entertaining exploration of a future where animal consumption is a thing of the...

For more than a hundred years, the tales of Joel Chandler Harris have entertained and influenced both readers and writers. Nights with Uncle Remus gathers seventy-one of Harris's most popular narratives, featuring African American trickster tales,...

From bestselling author and beloved New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin, a deeply resonant, career-spanning collection of articles on race and racism, from the 1960s to the present In the early sixties, Calvin Trillin got his start as a journalist covering...

The most comprehensive collection of writing by and about African-Americans ever to appear in one volume Never before has such an impressive and far-reaching mix of writings by African-Americans been gathered together into a single anthology. Combining...

A comprehensive examination of the rituals and philosophies that created and sustained medieval troubadour culture - Debunks the myth of the platonic nature of courtly love, showing the many sexual similarities to the Tantric practices of India - Reveals...

From its first shock waves in 2008, the Great Recession has been reshaping American cities. Detroit collapsed, and the ongoing national rollback in industry has meant the death of factory towns like Greensboro, North Carolina and Reading, Pennsylvania...

"Hart's argument that we need to drastically revise our current view of illegal drugs is both powerful and timely . . . when it comes to the legacy of this country's war on drugs, we should all share his outrage." --The New York Times Book Review From...

"A style that is verve itself." -- New York Times "A perfectly grand piece of historical record and synthetic journalism." -- Chicago Daily Tribune From Frederick Lewis Allen, former editor-in-chief of Harper's magazine, comes a classic history of 1920s...

Why technology is not an end in itself, and how cities can be "smart enough," using technology to promote democracy and equity.Smart cities, where technology is used to solve every problem, are hailed as futuristic urban utopias. We are promised that...

For more than two millennia, African blacksmiths have transformed one of Earth's most basic natural resources into objects of life-changing utility, empowerment, prestige, spiritual potency, and astonishing artistry--shaping African cultures in the most...

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR and THE WASHINGTON POST Compelling, insightful and important, Beneath a Ruthless Sun exposes the corruption of racial bigotry and animus that shadows a community, a state and a nation. A fascinating examination of an...