New Books Highlights July-December 2024

July–December 2024

The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is a leading independent publisher with offices in Maryland and London. Sales and marketing outside of North America is handled by the London team at Rowman & Littlefield International Sales, Marketing & Rights.

A number of well-established hallmark imprints fall under the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group umbrella. These include, but are not limited to:

Applause

Backbeat

Brookings Institution Press

Falcon Guides

Lyons Press

McBooks Press

Prometheus

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Stackpole Books

In addition, the London team market and sell some of the client publishers of RLPG's distribution National Book Network under the TradeSelect programme, such as:

IT Revolution Press

Brewers Publications

Eclipse Press

This guide introduces a range of top trade titles publishing July to December 2024, paying particular attention to key trade imprints such as those named above. You can find all of our catalogues online at www.rowmaninternational.com/catalogues.

RLPG's titles are distributed outside North America by Ingram Publisher Services UK and our global network of partners. Please see the Sales & Distribution section at the back catalogue for more contact information.

We are pleased to be part of Edelweiss. You can find our catalogues on our publisher page at www.edelweiss.plus/#publisher=GLRU.

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Cover illustration from Being Muslim Today: Reclaiming the Faith from Orthodoxy and Islamophobia by Dr. Saqib Iqbal Qureshi, page 103

Business

Crafts

Family

Fiction

Health

History

Music Theatre

Where the Evidence Takes Us

A Memoir of a Scotland Yard Detective

By Kevin O'Leary

Told over a period of public service spanning thirty years, this compelling true story unravels the nuts and bolts of policing, providing an insider's perspective on the challenges, triumphs, and transformations that shaped an era. Join Kevin O’Leary as he recounts his remarkable career ascent to the prestigious rank of Detective Chief Superintendent within the Metropolitan Police of London. Immerse yourself in the heart-pounding narratives of high-profile cases, including the intensity of the Broadwater Farm riots, the relentless pursuit of serial murderers, the cloak-and-dagger world of undercover operations, and the delicate art of negotiations during harrowing kidnappings. With a seasoned detective's keen eye for detail, O’Leary deftly weaves together the intricate threads of investigations, offering readers a front-row seat to the pulse-quickening realities of policing.

Beyond the crime scenes and investigations,Where the Evidence Takes Us uniquely intertwines O'Leary's personal and professional experiences with the broader arc of societal change. Against the backdrop of shifting public perceptions of law enforcement, this book navigates through landmark moments perpetrated by serving officers, such as the tragic killing of George Floyd, and explores how these events, alongside other scandals, have profoundly impacted public trust in the police.

Kevin O'Leary, a former senior detective at New Scotland Yard, served as the operational commander for crime and intelligence during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Internationally recognized, he chaired an alliance of senior leaders across 40 countries aligned with Interpol. Kevin now delivers leadership development programs and serves as the series consultant for acclaimed UK TV shows, including Hunted and The Heist

This raw and unfiltered account provides an unprecedented glimpse into the life of a Metropolitan Police detective.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

October 2024

246 Pages 4 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 7485 2

$32.00 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 5381 7486 9

$30.00 / £25.00

Biography & Autobiography • Law Enforcement

The Silenced Muse

Emily Hale, T. S. Eliot, and the Role of a Lifetime

By Sara Fitzgerald

In January 2020, the T. S. Eliot estate finally opened the largest and most eagerly awaited cache of new materials written by the Nobel-Prize-winning poet: the 1,131 letters he sent Emily Hale, his little-known American love. But even as Eliot scholars explore Hale’s impact on Eliot’s work, a tantalizing question has not been fully answered: who was Emily Hale?

Sara Fitzgerald’s The Silenced Muse: Emily Hale, T. S. Eliot, and the Role of a Lifetime is the first full-length biography devoted to Hale, telling her side of a complicated relationship. Based on the embargoed letters and Fitzgerald’s extensive research into Hale’s life and times, this book brings to light that Hale was much more than just a muse to a literary celebrity. Hale overcame personal hardship to pursue a career as a professor of speech and drama at prominent American women’s colleges and schools. She was a talented amateur actress and director, sharing the stage with others who went on to notable professional careers. Behind the scenes, she also guided Eliot as he began to explore playwriting with works such as Murder in the Cathedral The Silenced Muse finally reveals that Hale’s story is not that of a lover scorned, but rather a woman who was herself gifted and celebrated by her students and peers.

Sara Fitzgerald is a retired journalist whose career included fifteen years as an editor and new media developer for the Washington Post. In 2020, she published Conquering Heroines: How Women Fought Sex Bias at Michigan and Paved the Way for Title IX and The Poet’s Girl: A Novel of Emily Hale and T. S. Eliot. Fitzgerald’s essays about Hale have appeared in the Journal of the T. S. Eliot Society; the T. S. Eliot Studies Annual; and Exchanges, the newsletter of the T. S. Eliot Society (UK). Learn more at www.sarafitzgerald.com

The first full-length biography of the longtime secret love of the celebrated poet T. S. Eliot.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

September 2024

296 Pages 21 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 9035 7

$35.00 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 5381 9036 4

$33.00 / £25.00

Biography & Autobiography • Historical

The Unraveling

Reflections on Politics without Ethics and Democracy in Crisis

By Bob Bauer, foreword by Jon Meacham

Part memoir, part rumination on the declining moral compass of the American political class, The Unraveling is the first book to place restoring political ethics at the center of the renewal of American democracy. Politics is a brutal game, but Bauer asks where does the line fall between the “hardball” of politics and attacks on the very foundation of democracy? Looking back on 46 years in the political arena, Bauer tries to better grasp what has gone wrong and to understand what shaped his own decisions and actions. He offers anecdotes, perspectives, and insights that are vitally relevant in our world today, including efforts in 2020 (and 2024) to stop one president from overturning democratic elections, and the struggles with social media, such as Meta, to combat disinformation in a post-truth politics. He writes about the various personal experiences along the way— the highs, the lows, and the absurd. The Unraveling will be essential reading for anyone interested in American politics of the last 50 years—and the next.

Bob Bauer has been involved in many of the biggest political struggles of the past five decades. He was counsel to the Democratic Senate Leader during Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. He was an advisor during the 2000 election vote count. He worked on releasing President Obama’s long-form birth certificate and shepherded the Supreme Court nomination of now-Justice Elena Kagan. He was a senior advisor to the Biden presidential campaign and was a leader of the process for vetting President Biden’s vice-presidential choices. He was White House Counsel to President Barack Obama, the chief lawyer for his presidential campaign, and for many years has been his personal counsel. Bauer currently represents President Biden in the special counsel investigation in the matter of classified documents.

An inside look at the declining ethics of America’s political class.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

August 2024

240 Pages 10 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 9184 2

$26.00 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 5381 9185 9

$24.50 / £18.99

Biography & Autobiography • Political

The Phoenix Project

A Graphic Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win, Volume 1-3

Adapted by Gene Kim, illustrated by Mike Collins

Bill, an IT manager at Parts Unlimited, has been tasked with taking on a project critical to the future of the business, code named Phoenix Project. But the project is massively over budget and behind schedule. The CEO demands Bill must fix the mess in ninety days or else Bill's entire department will be outsourced.

Adapted from the acclaimed bestselling book, The Phoenix Project graphic novels introduce readers to the Three Ways and the Theory of Constraints.

Gene Kim is a multi–award-winning CTO, researcher, and author. He is the founder of Tripwire and served as CTO for thirteen years. He is the author of six books, which have sold over one million copies, including The Unicorn Project (2019) and The DevOps Handbook (2016). Since 2014, he has been the organizer of DevOps Enterprise Summit, studying the technology transformations of large, complex organizations. He lives with his wife and children in Portland, OR.

Mike Collins moved to Wales in 1985 after an abortive stab at a career in the law, in London. Despite his law degree Mike decided that he enjoyed the fiction-based life of comic book characters over the fiction-based statements of clients. He has since illustrated for such comic book publishers as DC and Marvel among others and for such popular characters as Superman, Spiderman, and Dr. Who. Mike was married to Karen Collins and they have three daughters and a granddaughter. He lives in Cardiff in the United Kingdom.

Cover coming soon

A stalwart cast of characters are challenged by the four types of work that impact complex workflows.

IT Revolution Press

Volume 1

August 2024 • 112 Pages

$26.00 / £19.99

Paperback 978 1 9505 0891 4

Volume 2

December 2024 • 80 Pages

$26.00 / £19.99

Paperback 978 1 9505 0892 1

Volume 3

April 2025 • 96 Pages

$26.00 / £19.99

Paperback 978 1 9505 0893 8

Business & Economics • Management

Crochet Monsters

With more than 35 body patterns and options for horns, limbs, antennae and so much more, you can mix and match options for thousands upon thousands of possibilities!

By Megan Lapp

With 37 Monster body options, plus myriad variations for limbs, mouths and teeth, horns, antennae, tails, scales, and so much more, you will never make the same Monster twice. Choose from wide open mouths with fangs to adorable Monsters with bunny ears and a cat tail to Monsters with hair poufs and scales. Make oneeyed spiders or three-eyed aliens, dragons with scales or little friends that don’t match any known monster to date. There is nearly no limit to the variations you can combine!

All Monsters use worsted weight and/or sport weight yarn and a size G-6 (4 mm) hook. Patterns are appropriate for beginner through advanced crocheters. If a stitch is new to you, just turn to the Glossary for detailed instructions on how to work it. Photos are included for each pattern piece and any complex stitches so you can be sure you are on the right track as you work.

Megan Lapp of Crafty Intentions has been creating crochet creatures from her imagination since 2017 and has amassed thousands of fans who just can’t wait for her next exciting design. Megan’s background is in the Fine Arts, having graduated with honours from Lafayette College, USA, with a double major in Art and Music.

Combine with sheer limitless variation for a unique monster every time you return to this book!

Stackpole Books

September 2024

360 Pages

1600 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7162 7

$32.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 0 8117 7163 4

$31.00 / £25.00

Crafts & Hobbies • Needlework / Crocheting

My Child Is Trans, Now What? A

Joy-Centered Approach to Support

By Ben V. Greene

As a full-time public speaker specializing in spreading awareness and understanding of the transgender community, what Ben Greene hears most from parents and loved ones is “I’m sorry.” They’re sorry for using the wrong word, sorry for asking an offensive question, sorry for not knowing this already, sorry for asking a question at all. The combination of exhaustion from trans people who have become their community’s designated educator and the growing trend of “canceling” anyone who says anything wrong has created a culture where people who have good hearts and minimal access to information are so afraid to make a mistake they don’t even try.

In My Child is Trans, Now What? A Joy-Centered Approach to Support, Greene breaks the mold by offering a judgement-free guide to people across generations, from millennial parents to members of older generations who may not have had previous positive exposure to the trans community. Greene focuses on providing two key resources in this book: information and emotional support. He explains what to expect, what systems exist to support trans youth, and what loved ones can do to help.

Using a combination of personal stories and experiences, definitions, and additional resources, My Child is Trans, Now What? is an essential guide for anyone looking to help trans youth thrive.

Ben V. Greene is a public speaker, LGBTQ+ inclusion consultant, and openly transgender man. He is active on the speaking circuit, with audiences ranging from the UK’s Diversity Live! to NASA. Ben is a guest lecturer on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Cornell University in addition to serving on the board of the Tufts Master’s Degree in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He resides in St. Louis, Missouri.

A gentle and informative guide for parents of trans youth.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

July 2024

224 Pages

5 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 8645 9

$26.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 5381 8646 6

$25.50 / £19.99

Family & Relationships • LGBT

Raising LGBTQ Allies

A Parent's Guide to Changing the Messages from the Playground

By Chris Tompkins

No matter who we are or where we come from, we all play on the same playground. There are certain collective societal messages we hear growing up that we either consciously or subconsciously believe. As a result, we develop certain belief systems from which we operate our lives.

Raising LGBTQ Allies sheds light on the deeper, multifaceted layers of homophobia. It opens up a conversation with parents around the possibility they may have an LGBTQ child, and shows how heteronormativity can be harmful if not addressed clearly and early. Although not every parent will have an LGBTQ child, their child will jump rope or play tag with a child who is LGBTQ. By showing readers the importance of having open and authentic conversations with children at a young age, Chris Tompkins walks parents through the many ways they can prevent new generations from adopting homophobic and transphobic beliefs, while helping them explore their own subconscious biases.

Offering specific actions parents, family members, and caregivers can take to help navigate conversations, address heteronormativity, and challenge societal beliefs, Raising LGBTQ Allies serves as a guide to help normalize being LGBTQ from a young age. Creating allies and a world where closets don’t exist happens one child at a time. And it begins with each of us and what we say, as much as what we choose not to say.

Chris Tompkins is a teacher, TEDx speaker, spiritual life coach, and LGBTQ inner-advocate based in Los Angeles, California. More importantly, he’s an uncle of five. Chris believes all kids are the future and teaches socialemotional learning throughout Southern California.

A practical guide for raising LGBTQ allies and creating a more inclusive future.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

December 2024

256 Pages 1 Illustration

Paperback

978 1 5381 9274 0

$17.95 / £13.99

eBook

978 1 5381 3627 0

$17.00 / £12.99

Previously published in hardback (2021)

978 1 5381 3626 3

$22.00 / £16.99

Family & Relationships • LGBT

Unequal Neighbors

The United States and Mexico

By Jürgen Buchenau

That Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump could found his campaign on a promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border shows that Americans have Mexico on their minds. The border between the two countries is the world’s longest between a wealthy industrialized nation and one generally considered a part of the Global South. The economy, society, culture, and politics of the two nations have become inextricably linked to one another. But how many of those who call themselves “Americans” could name the current president, let alone the ruling political party, of this North American nation that also has every right to call itself “America”? On the other hand, most Mexicans are painfully aware of a relationship that has been both unequal and asymmetrical. In this book Jurgen Buchenau provides a lively, accessible primer on the emergence of the asymmetrical relationship between the United States and Mexico, aimed at students and general readers who want to learn more about one of the most formative international relationships in geopolitics today.

Jürgen Buchenau is Professor of History and Latin American Studies at UNC Charlotte. He is the author of numerous books, including The Last Caudillo: Alvaro Obregón and the Mexican Revolution, Mexican Mosaic: A Brief History of Mexico, and Plutarco Elías Calles and the Mexican Revolution.

Cover coming soon

A lively, accessible primer on the emergence of the asymmetrical relationship between the United States and Mexico.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

December 2024

250 Pages

Hardback

978 1 5381 0058 5

$36.00 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 5381 0059 2

$34.00 / £25.00

History • North America

Photo by Greg Bulla on Unsplash.

My Presidential Life

The Showdown at Putin's Dacha and Other Misadventures on the Diplomatic Road

By Judd Swift

My Presidential Life: The Showdown at Putin’s Dacha and Other Misadventures on the Diplomatic Road is a whirlwind tour of a side of presidential history not found in presidential papers or biographies.It is a wry insider’s look at iconic American presidents on the world stage and the unseen events that occurred off-camera. My Presidential Life is an entertaining and informative account that offers front-row seats to the dynamics of world leaders and events that shaped the world as we know it today.

Among the tales told by Judd Swift include an obstreperous Lech Walesa threatening to disrupt George H.W. Bush’s mission to end Soviet control of Poland; Peru’s Shining Path guerillas setting off a car bomb outside the advance team’s hotel; an endless number of supposedly ultra-secret meeting rooms filled with electronic eavesdropping devices; an imperious Franco loyalist who did her best to sabotage a successful summit at El Pardo Palace between Ronald Reagan and the king and president of Spain; and the day Vladimir Putin had George W. Bush trapped inside the Russian president’s dacha without Secret Service protection and the man who carries the nuclear football; and many others.

Judd Swift spent years on advance teams arranging meetings for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush that took him to all corners of the world. He was also appointed by G.W. Bush as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy. Today he is CEO of Synfuels Americas Corporation, a technology platform to promote international research and business developments to support sustainable, clean fossil fuel energy for the future. He lives in Washington, Virginia.

An intimate look at events the public and historians rarely, if ever, see.

Lyons Press

July 2024

256 Pages 18 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 8148 6

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 8149 3

$28.50 / £19.99

History • United States / General

Gimme All Your Lovin’

The Blues, Boogie, and Beard of ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbons

By Christopher McKittrick

Before launching the iconic Texas blues-rock trio ZZ Top, a young Billy Gibbons was hustling through the Lone Star State with a band named the Moving Sidewalks. The small-time band had the chance of a lifetime when they opened for legendary rock guitar maestro Jimi Hendrix, who took the teenage Gibbons under his wing. Over 50 years later, Gibbons is one of the most recognizable rock musicians in American history. From ZZ Top’s early work in creating classic rock radio staples like “La Grange” and “Tush” in the 1970s to becoming a global phenomenon with innovative music videos in the early years of MTV, Gibbons has been the guiding hand behind ZZ Top’s evolution from the “Little Ol’ Band from Texas” to pop culture behemoth with the 1983 album Eliminator, which has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. As the guitarist and main singer of ZZ Top, Gibbons has led the band to popularity and has gained immense respect among other music luminaries with guest appearances and collaborations with legends like B.B. King, Les Paul, John Mayall, and Sammy Hagar before releasing two solo albums, Perfectamundo (2015) and The Big Bad Blues (2018), the latter being named Blues Rock Album of the Year by the Blues Music Awards. He has continued to lead ZZ Top in the aftermath of the death of longtime bandmate Dusty Hill in 2021 and shows no signs of slowing down from bringing his unique brand of Texas blues to the world.

Christopher McKittrick is the author of Can’t Give It Away on Seventh Avenue: The Rolling Stones and New York City (Post Hill Press, 2019), Somewhere You Feel Free: Tom Petty and Los Angeles (Post Hill Press, 2020), and Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away (University Press of Kentucky, 2023). He has appeared on TV shows including HLN’s How It Really Happened, and various radio shows and podcasts. He lives in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The story of American rock legend Billy Gibbons.

Backbeat

August 2024

256 Pages

20 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 4930 7443 3

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 7444 0

$28.50 / £19.99

Biography & Autobiography • Music

Cranking Up the History of Stevie Wonder, Pop Music, and the Whole Wide World in 11 Songs

By Arthur Lizie

The first entrant in Backbeat Books’ new “Goes to 11” series, this fun and informative book explores Stevie Wonder’s place in pop music history through eleven of his most important songs. Track by track, it offers a telescopic look at each star in Wonder’s brilliant, funky constellation, giving the backstory of every song along with an explanation of the musical and cultural environment into which it was released. Together they form a composite picture of an artist who is a veritable pop vortex: an artist among artists, continually drawing in and disseminating musical influence.

Arthur Lizie is a Professor of Communication Studies at Bridgewater State University. He is the author of the books Prince FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Purple Reign and Neil Young on Neil Young: Interviews and Encounters.

coming soon

Discover Stevie Wonder through 11 of his most important songs.

Backbeat

November 2024

144 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 7209 5

$19.95 / £14.99

eBook

978 1 4930 7210 1

$14.50 / £10.99

Music • History & Criticism

Cover

Photo by israel palacio Unsplash.

If Pink Floyd Starts Playing 11 Different Tunes

By Ric Dube

The quintessential “album act,” Pink Floyd are legendary for Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and landmark live performances of The Wall. Yet, the band is currently a top-20 ranked rock act on Spotify, based on individual plays of tracks such as “Money” and “Comfortably Numb.”

This entry in the “Goes to 11” series provides essential background and additional information to present a unique point of view on the band’s music, its impact and famous history of tense personal relationships.Was Syd Barrett’s greatest contribution to Pink Floyd an early composition in its repertoire—such as “See Emily Play” or the improvisational “Interstellar Overdrive”—or was it forcing the circumstances that established its classic lineup of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright? Is “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” the showcase moment from the greatest rock opera since the Who’s Tommy—or is it just a pompous novelty record? Nearly 20 years after Roger Waters first “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,” did David Gilmour decide “Learning to Fly” would be a step forward for Pink Floyd? Get Ric Dube’s unfiltered perspective here.

Ric Dube is a writer and social scientist currently living in Massachusetts. His humor and writing about rock and roll and technology has appeared online and in print, in the US and EU, since 1998.

coming soon

A unique look at Pink Floyd in 11 songs.

Backbeat

December 2024

144 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 8476 0

$16.95 / £12.99

eBook

978 1 4930 8477 7

$15.50 / £11.99

Music • History & Criticism

Cover

Photo by Karl Hörnfeldt on Unsplash.

Room 100

Sid, Nancy, and the Night Punk Rock Died

By Jesse P. Pollack

Room 100 chronicles the tragic story of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, punk rock’s very own Romeo and Juliet. Through a wealth of archival material, plus new and exclusive interviews from rock luminaries such as Television guitarist Richard Lloyd, iconic photographer Robert Bayley, and PUNK magazine co-creator John Holmstrom, critically acclaimed true-crime writer Jesse P. Pollack’s book is the first to be solely devoted to popular music’s darkest hour—the murder of Nancy Spungen. Did Sid kill the love of his life in a drug-induced stupor, or had Nancy been the victim of a robbery gone wrong? Was there a death pact? Did the police ignore crucial evidence? This comprehensive journalistic account will be the definitive book on one of rock ‘n roll’s most intriguing and enduring mysteries.

Jesse P. Pollack was born and raised in the garden state of New Jersey and has served as a contributing writer for Weird NJ magazine since 2001. His first book, Death on the Devil’s Teeth, coauthored with Mark Moran, was published in 2015 to critical acclaim and was nominated for a New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance Author Award. His 2018 follow-up, The Acid King, was hailed by the School Library Journal as an “exciting and captivating true crime page-turner.” Also an accomplished musician, Pollack’s soundtrack work has been heard on Driving Jersey, an Emmy-nominated PBS documentary series. He is married with two children, three dogs, three fish, and a cat and lives in Fort Recovery, Ohio.

The gripping first account of one of the darkest days in pop music history: the murder of Nancy Spungen.

Backbeat

August 2024

200 Pages

30 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 4930 5063 5

$24.95 / £18.99

eBook

978 1 4930 5064 2

$23.50 / £17.99

Music • History & Criticism

Bruce Willis

Celebrating the Cinematic Legacy of an Unbreakable Hollywood Icon

By Sean O'Connell

On a nondescript Wednesday morning in the waning days of March 2023, one of the biggest movie stars on the planet called it quits. No press conference had been organized, the Hollywood trades received no advance notice, and there was a conspicuous lack of the fanfare that usually accompanies such bombshell announcements. Instead, the news that Bruce Willis was retiring from acting came in a simple statement on his ex-wife Demi Moore’s Instagram page—along with the tragic news that Willis was suffering from aphasia, a cognitive disorder that subsequently worsened to become frontotemporal dementia.

It was a sad conclusion to the storied career of a man who had once been the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. In Bruce Willis, O’Connell compiles exclusive, original interviews with directors who have worked with Willis, as well as film critics and journalists who have analyzed his career, into a celebratory compendium. It also features the author’s analysis of Willis’s films, his career arc, and the industry that made him a star. And it includes capsule reviews of every Bruce Willis film, making this a complete handbook to a true American original.

Sean O’Connell is the author of two books with Applause: Release the Snyder Cut (2021), which documents the fight by DC Comics fans to get Zack Snyder’s lost cut of Justice League released, and With Great Power, which traces Spider-Man’s complete journey through Hollywood. O’Connell also serves as the Managing Director of CinemaBlend, a globally recognized entertainment news website. He has been covering the film industry since 1999, both in print and online, with bylines in outlets such as USA Today, The Washington Post, and Fandango. He lives in Charlotte, NC.

A retrospective on the career of one of the most successful and versatile leading men in Hollywood.

Applause

August 2024

264 Pages 20 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 7633 8

$32.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 7634 5

$31.00 / £25.00

Biography & Autobiography • Entertainment & Performing Arts

Audrey Hepburn

A Life of Beautiful Uncertainty

By Tom Santopietro, commentaries by Jeffrey Banks

Audrey Hepburn was a fairy-tale princess, onscreen and off. Academy Award-winning actress, fashion icon, ethereal beauty, wife, mother, World War II resistance activist, UNICEF champion—she transcended her era to become a global icon whose appeal continues to soar in the twenty-first century.

Packed with beautiful photographs of the star at her most captivating, and supplemented with incisive commentary from award-winning fashion designer Jeffrey Banks, Audrey Hepburn: A Beautiful Uncertainty is a one-of-a-kind exploration of Audrey’s glamorous image and remarkable life. Always leading with her heart, Hepburn is shown here fully captured in all her complexity: an often selfdoubting but brilliant and genuinely kind woman who used her fame and activism to change the world.

Slipping behind the scenes of Hollywood’s Golden Age, author Tom Santopietro details Audrey’s legendary dance partnership with Fred Astaire on the classic Funny Face, her lifelong friendship with Roman Holiday co-star Gregory Peck, and her love affairs with Albert Finney and William Holden. Throughout, Audrey’s life and career is juxtaposed with a deep look at the unerring taste of a fashion icon who played muse to the brilliant designer Hubert de Givenchy. Rich in biographical detail and full of new photographs and stories, this is a fitting tribute to an enchanting and beloved icon.

Tom Santopietro is the author of nine previous books, including The Sound of Music Story, the New York Times Editor’s Choice Considering Doris Day, and, most recently, The Way We Were: The Making of a Romantic Classic. Over the past thirty years, he has managed three dozen Broadway shows.

A stunning celebration of Audrey Hepburn.

Applause

November 2024

256 Pages

68 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 6808 1

$45.00 / £35.00

eBook

978 1 4930 6809 8

$43.50 / £35.00

Biography & Autobiography • Entertainment & Performing Arts

Damn You, Entropy!

1,001 of the Greatest Science Fiction Quotes

By Guy P. Harrison

Science fiction has hosted some of the greatest minds and most innovative thinkers in human history. From H.G. Wells to Octavia Butler, Star Trek to Star Wars, in books, on television, and at the movies, science fiction has shaped our future, pushed the limits of human imagination, and guided us within ourselves to examine universal truths of life. In this smartly curated book, author Guy P. Harrison collects 1,001 of the most influential and transformative quotations spanning four centuries of sci-fi, such as:

• "Better to make a good future than predict a bad one.”―Isaac Asimov, Prelude to Foundation, 1988 novel

• "Hope clouds observation.”―Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965 novel

• "No amount of money ever bought a second of time.”― Avengers: Endgame, 2019 film, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Whether you are a Dr. Who superfan, a diehard sci-fi reader, or an outer space film buff—or are simply curious about the cosmos—Damn You, Entropy! is an essential addition to every science fiction fan’s library.

Guy P. Harrison is an award-winning science writer and author. He is the author of Think, At Least Know This, and many other books. His writing has appeared in Reader's Digest, Skeptical Inquirer, Skeptic, Free Inquiry, and more.

1,001 of the most iconic quotations spanning four centuries of sci-fi.

Prometheus

August 2024

178 Pages

Hardback

978 1 6338 8984 2

$20.00 / £14.99

eBook

978 1 6338 8985 9

$19.00 / £14.99

Performing Arts • Film / Genres / Science Fiction & Fantasy

Acting with Adler

Expanded and Updated Edition

By Joanna Rotte, foreword by Isaac Butler

Stella Adler towers high among the memorable acting teachers in American theatre. Her methods of training, her principles of acting and character interpretation, and her analyses of the seminal plays of the modern theatre comprise a legacy for everyone who followed her. Acting with Adler looks at that legacy through the particular immediacy and authenticity of her own spoken words. Over three years in the 1970s, author Joanna Rotté worked under the direction of Adler as a student and actor, all the while taking copious notes that form the heart of this book. Rotté’s recounting of her time with Adler reveals a teacher speaking about her principles in a tough-minded, demanding manner, inspired by her overriding conviction that an actor “becomes bigger through working.”

This new edition of Rotté’s acclaimed text includes an entirely new foreword from Isaac Butler, author of The Method; a preface that places Adler more fully in her historical context; and an afterword that reflects on Adler’s philosophical and practical contributions, considering what her teachings have to offer performers working today.

Joanna Rotté is Professor Emerita of Theatre at Villanova University, where she taught in the graduate theatre program and served as artistic director and head of the Theatre Department. A former student of Adler’s, she has served as a guest lecturer for the Adler Conservatory in New York. She holds a doctorate in theatre history and production from the CUNY Graduate Center.

An expanded and updated edition featuring new reflections on Adler in her historical context and from the vantage point of today.

Applause

November 2024

216 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 8511 8

$17.95 / £13.99

eBook

978 1 4930 8512 5

$16.50 / £12.99

Performing Arts • Acting & Auditioning

Jimmy The Secret Life of James Dean

By Jason Colavito

Although he died at a heartbreakingly young age and appeared in only a handful of movies, James Dean revolutionized American manhood. As a celebrity and icon, he melded vulnerability with determination, sensitivity with strength, in a way that offered a bracing and—for some—threatening new vision of masculinity. His massive influence and the fascination he continues to inspire is inseparable from his secret life as a queer man contending with the homophobia of midcentury America.

Today, even though it is widely accepted that Dean was gay or bisexual, the story of his life and his personal character continue to be colored by the tropes and prejudices of an earlier era. Drawing on more than four hundred previously secret pages of Dean’s personal and business records, Jimmy is a necessary and essential corrective to the biographical-historical record. A modern, twenty-first century approach, informed by contemporary ideas about sexual diversity transforms our understanding James Dean’s story, and the stories of boys and men like him.

Jason Colavito is a writer whose work has appeared in major magazines like Esquire and The New Republic. He has been interviewed widely in media that include CNN, the BBC, The New York Times, Discovery Network documentaries, and many others. He is the author of several critically acclaimed nonfiction titles, including Legends of the Pyramids (Red Lightning/Indiana UP, 2021), The Mound Builder Myth (Oklahoma UP, 2020), and The Cult of Alien Gods (Prometheus, 2005).

A fresh and long-overdue reassessment of James Dean, examining his life and legacy as a queer man.

Applause

December 2024

272 Pages

15 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 8565 1

$32.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 8566 8

$31.50 / £25.00

Performing Arts • Film / History & Criticism

Videotapes From Hell

Edited by Stephen Jones

For anyone who frequented a video store in the ‘80s or ‘90s, the styles are instantly recognizable: surprisingly beautiful paintings of fanged and winged monster; ridiculously lurid depictions of young men and women in peril; illustrations so incompetently drawn as to qualify as outsider art; absurdly overstuffed photomontages. The home video revolution was accompanied by an explosion of all kinds of cover art, embodying the anything-goes ethos of an era when obscure, cheaply produced movies— usually with supernatural storylines and bottom-drawer special effects—could be distributed throughout the world and watched from the comfort of one’s living room.

Videotapes from Hell provides an illustrated history of VHS cover art, from direct-to-video oddities to major studio releases. Drawing on the expansive collection of world-renowned horror expert Stephen Jones, it collects nearly 500 pieces of period artwork, accompanied by detailed captions that give the history of the movie and its release dates in video format. In addition to front-cover images and full-sleeve spreads, it includes examples of promotional posters and freestanding original artwork that was incorporated into box designs.

Including a foreword from beloved cult director Joe Dante (Gremlins, The ‘Burbs) and commentary from horror luminaries such as Stephen King, Mick Garris, Ramsey Campbell, and many more, Videotapes from Hell is a celebration of a lost genre ripe for rediscovery.

INTER NATIONAL AUTHOR

Stephen Jones is a Hugo Award nominee and the winner of four World Fantasy Awards, three International Horror Guild Awards, five Bram Stoker Awards, twenty-one British Fantasy Awards, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers Association. One of Britain’s most acclaimed horror and dark fantasy writers and editors, he has more than 160 books to his credit, including the The Art of Horror and The Art of Horror Movies.

An illustrated history of VHS cover art in all its gory glory.

Applause

December 2024

224 Pages

500 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 7795 3

$39.95 / £30.00

Performing Arts • Film / Genres / Horror

The End of Immunity

Holding World Leaders Accountable for Aggression, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity

By Chile Eboe-Osuji

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has shown the world the critical importance of whether and how to punish heads of state, heads of government, and sundry strong men when accused of crimes of aggression, genocide, war crimes, and other crimes against humanity. In The End of Immunity, former President of the International Criminal Court, Chile Eboe-Osuji, probes the history and theory of the concept of immunity for heads of state, underscoring tribunal achievements, pointing out gaps in the existing framework of accountability and the hypocrisies that produced them, and offering workable solutions to the loopholes that government leaders still use to escape consequences today.

Going as far back as the Middle Ages, and concluding with a fresh new proposal for the ways in which international law can be shored up to prosecute those leaders who wage wars of aggression, Eboe-Osuji investigates the journey of international law’s rejection of immunity for anyone – including heads of state in particular – when they are suspected or accused of atrocities that international law has proscribed as crimes. The result is the definitive account of a profoundly vital principle for international relations and global humanity.

Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji is the former President of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and served as the senior legal advisor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. Eboe-Osuji is a Senior Fellow of the Carr Center at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and is the editorin-chief of the Nigerian Yearbook of International Law Eboe-Osuji is the 2022 recipient of the Goler T. Butcher Medal of the American Society of International Law for outstanding global contribution to human rights.

An important and timely investigation into how government leaders escape the consequences of their crimes.

Prometheus

December 2024

424 Pages

Hardback

978 1 6338 8990 3

$34.95 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 6338 8991 0

$33.50 / £25.00

Political Science • Genocide & War Crimes

Our Fictional Minds

Myths of Perception and a New Model of Consciousness

By David Fisher

Our Fictional Minds examines and challenges our most common—and seemingly common-sense—ideas about human consciousness. Drawing on developments in neuroscience, psychology, and monitoring technology, psychologist David Fisher shows how and why our usual takes on the human mind both serve us and limit us.

Seeing our models of the human mind as myths instead of accurate descriptions of discrete entities can help us to better understand ourselves and the world. However, such an understanding requires us to think differently, and a willingness to experience some discomfort about who and what we are. The resulting framework shows that we are much different from what we usually imagine ourselves to be. By examining our models of the mind, and inviting new models to the fore, we arrive at a more realistic view of our psychology and what it means to be human.

David Fisher, Ph.D., LP, APBB is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, a member of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, and a recipient of the American Psychological Association's Clinical Practice Award. Fisher practiced at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis and was a psychologist in private practice. He has published articles in many professional journals and has spoken at conferences and other venues around the world. He was the co-founder of, and Managing Director of Assessment for, International Claims Solutions LLC in Australia. He also co-founded and was Chairman of the Board of PsyBar LLC, a network of 1,800 MDs and Ph.D. psychologists who provide psychological and psychiatric services in the US and abroad.

The case for a more complete and all-encompassing way to understand consciousness.

Prometheus

October 2024

208 Pages

Paperback

9781493085330

$24.95 / £18.99

eBook

9781493085347

$23.50 / £17.99

Psychology • Cognitive Psychology & Cognition

Everyday Rituals

The Liberating Power of Our Routines

By Pearl Katz Ph.D

When we are in painfully difficult or confusing life situations, especially amidst ever-uncertain times, our minds grapple for structure: a funeral ceremony definitively lays the dead to rest; the exaggerated choreography of a surgical room confirms its sterility; and a daily schedule gives prisoners a sense of normalcy. These practices, these rituals, give us peace.

Though it might seem contradictory, ordered rituals actually bring us freedom, creativity, and mental wellbeing. Rituals aren’t a thing of history or belonging to elaborate ceremonies. Rituals can be at a family dinner table or in a morning bathroom routine. In Everyday Rituals, Pearl Katz shows us just how transformative rituals are, no matter what kind.

Katz applies her years of fieldwork and psychiatric study to tangible, everyday life. She writes a thoroughly persuasive argument, using poignant case studies, to truly inspire readers. It’s in the ordinary that Katz discovers unlimited potential: mundane routine actually sparks incredible imagination. With scientific evidence, case studies, personal narrative, and guiding wisdom, Katz enlightens us as to how and why we can feel true freedom.

Pearl Katz has been on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine since 1985. She teaches residents in Psychiatry about how culture and ethnicity influence mental illness and therapy. In 2018, she received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.

How ordered rituals bring us freedom, creativity, and mental well-being.

Prometheus

October 2024

280 Pages

4 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 6338 8954 5

$26.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 6338 8955 2

$25.50 / £19.99

Psychology • Creative Ability

Psychology According to Shakespeare

What You Can Learn about Human Nature from Shakespeare’s Great Plays

By Philip G. Zimbardo Ph.D and Robert L. Johnson Ph.D

Psychology According to Shakespeare is an interdisciplinary project that bridges psychological science and literature, bringing together for the first time in one volume, the breadth and depth of the Bard’s knowledge of love, jealousy, dreams, betrayal, revenge, and the lust for power and position. Zimbardo and Johnson reveal the many different forms of mental illness the Bard described in terms that are now identifiable in the modern manual of disorders known as the DSM-5, and show that the playwright’s fascination with human nature extended far beyond mental disorders, ranging across the psychological spectrum, from brain anatomy to personality, cognition, emotion, perception, lifespan development, and states of consciousness. THe authors reveal how his interest in mind and behavior ranged across the full spectrum of psychology, including topics that we now call biopsychology and neuroscience, social psychology, thinking and intelligence, motivation and emotion, and reason vs intuition.

Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo is emeritus professor of psychology at Stanford University, where he conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment. He also served as president of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Robert L. Johnson obtained a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Oregon and has taught psychology at the college level for twenty-eight years. He has given presentations on Shakespeare's psychology at regional and national psychological conventions.

Shows how Shakespeare’s ideas would become important in psychological science centuries later.

Prometheus

August 2024

312 Pages 52 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 6338 8960 6

$28.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 6338 8961 3

$27.50 / £19.99

Psychology • Cognitive Neuroscience & Cognitive Neuropsychology

Being Muslim Today

Reclaiming the Faith from Orthodoxy and Islamophobia

By Dr. Saqib Iqbal Qureshi

The truths of every religion are typically challenged and rewritten, serving as potent grounds for some of history’s most enduring debates and conflicts. Perhaps no other religious tradition suffers as much from the dualistic fallacy of good and evil than does Islam. What does it mean to be Muslim today? Orthodoxy’s interpretation is idyllic and omniscient, simplistic to a fault. Islamophobes at the opposite end of the spectrum, cultivating damaging stereotypes that present a religion that most Muslims cannot relate to.

In Being Muslim Today, Dr. Saqib Qureshi silences the noise that obscures the message of Islam. He provides a compelling and accurate presentation of the faith’s beginnings, its evolution throughout the last 1,400 years, and its relevance for today. Qureshi also describes the twin perils of Orthodoxy and Islamophobia and confronts the stereotype of Islam as an inherently violent religion, asking the West to hold a mirror to its own voracious appetite for conflict and colonization. Throughout, Qureshi encourages Muslims to reject pious certitude—the faithful must acknowledge the diversity of approaches and principals in the Islamic tradition, he writes, and adopt an attitude of theological humility.

Dr. Saqib Iqbal Qureshi is a bestselling author, film producer, and Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he received his PhD in International Relations and Epistemology. His work has been featured in The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Spectator, Entrepreneur, and The Independent. Qureshi produced the 1996 BBC One documentary Al Dawaah, the first television documentary about the Muslim community in any Western country. Visit saqibqureshi.com.

Accessible introduction to Islam and the Qur’an that explains how Muslims live and avoids the extremes of orthodoxy and Islamophobia.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

July 2024

328 Pages 14 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 5381 8932 0

$25.00 / £18.99

eBook

978 1 5381 8933 7

$23.50 / £17.99

Religion • Islam / General

Early Days of ESPN

300 Daydreams and Nightmares

By Peter Fox

The tales of early ESPN people who gambled their careers while critics carped that “all-sports television will never work” are full of guile, luck, fear, fun, and unbridled optimism. As ESPN’s founding executive producer, Peter Fox was privy to some spectacular professional efforts by a cadre of Connecticut locals who made the dream real. The first 300 days of the fledgling network were filled with mayhem, on-air gaffes, and the slowest instant replay in television. What started as a humble idea in the late spring of 1978 to capitalize on the brand-new mania for UConn men’s basketball soon morphed into ESPN and a plan to begin airing a series of “test broadcasts” in the fall. This is the story of the early days at ESPN, told by one on the network's launching pad, and how a conversation over a couple of martinis in 1978 led to the creation of a broadcast juggernaut.

After selling his advertising agency in the 1970s, Peter Fox became an independent television producer, winning Clio, Addy, and Golden Pen awards. He was the founding executive producer of ESPN, and later became producer, director, and writer of corporate communications materials for Lloyds of London Correspondent, DuPont, United Technologies, and PPG Industries among others. He is currently Editor in Chief of SportsEdTV, the leader in online sports instruction, and managing director of SportsEdTV’s Learn to Win peak performance training, powered by HeartMath research and technology. He lives in North Carolina.

The story of early ESPN, told by one of its founders.

Lyons Press

August 2024

200 pages

45 illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 7957 5

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 7958 2

$28.50 / £19.99

Sports & Recreation • History

Outdoor Skills for Kids

The Essential Survival Guide to Increasing Confidence, Safety, and Enjoyment in the Wild

By Buck Tilton and Christine Conners

Buck Tilton, co-founder of the Wilderness Medicine Institute and author of over 40 outdoor books, shares his decades of wilderness experience with young readers in Outdoor Skills for Kids. Partnering again with author and artist Christine Conners, this book offers over 100 important wilderness lessons including:

• What to do when you get lost

• How to respond to wild animals

• Basic first aid

• Ways to stay positive in a survival situation

Buck Tilton teaches at Central Wyoming College and has authored more than 1,300 magazine articles and more than 40 books, including Knack Knots You Need, Knack Hiking & Backpacking, and Knack First Aid. His many books for FalconGuides, including the award-winning Wilderness First Responder, have sold more than 300,000 copies combined.

Experienced backpacker, camper, outdoor chef, and artist Christine Conners is the author of the nationally popular Lipsmackin’ outdoor cookbook series. If you’d like to see more of her work across other mediums, visit Christine at www.artbyconners.com.

Buck and Christine are the creators of the highly successful Knots for Kids. This is the second in their series of outdoor skills books for educating young readers.

Loaded with fun facts, games, safety tips and inspiring true stories of kids who used these same skills successfully in survival situations.

Falcon Guides

August 2024

128 pages

175 illustrations

Paperback

978 1 4930 7386 3

$16.95 / £12.99

eBook

978 1 4930 7387 0

$16.00 / £11.99

Sports & Recreation • Outdoor Skills

Where the Evidence Takes Us

A Memoir of a Scotland Yard Detective

By Kevin O'Leary

Told over a period of public service spanning thirty years, this compelling true story unravels the nuts and bolts of policing, providing an insider's perspective on the challenges, triumphs, and transformations that shaped an era. Join Kevin O’Leary as he recounts his remarkable career ascent to the prestigious rank of Detective Chief Superintendent within the Metropolitan Police of London. Immerse yourself in the heart-pounding narratives of high-profile cases, including the intensity of the Broadwater Farm riots, the relentless pursuit of serial murderers, the cloak-and-dagger world of undercover operations, and the delicate art of negotiations during harrowing kidnappings. With a seasoned detective's keen eye for detail, O’Leary deftly weaves together the intricate threads of investigations, offering readers a front-row seat to the pulse-quickening realities of policing.

Beyond the crime scenes and investigations,Where the Evidence Takes Us uniquely intertwines O'Leary's personal and professional experiences with the broader arc of societal change. Against the backdrop of shifting public perceptions of law enforcement, this book navigates through landmark moments perpetrated by serving officers, such as the tragic killing of George Floyd, and explores how these events, alongside other scandals, have profoundly impacted public trust in the police.

Kevin O'Leary, a former senior detective at New Scotland Yard, served as the operational commander for crime and intelligence during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Internationally recognized, he chaired an alliance of senior leaders across 40 countries aligned with Interpol. Kevin now delivers leadership development programs and serves as the series consultant for acclaimed UK TV shows, including Hunted and The Heist

This raw and unfiltered account provides an unprecedented glimpse into the life of a Metropolitan Police detective.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

October 2024

246 Pages 4 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 7485 2

$32.00 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 5381 7486 9

$30.00 / £25.00

Biography & Autobiography • Law Enforcement

The Silenced Muse

Emily Hale, T. S. Eliot, and the Role of a Lifetime

By Sara Fitzgerald

In January 2020, the T. S. Eliot estate finally opened the largest and most eagerly awaited cache of new materials written by the Nobel-Prize-winning poet: the 1,131 letters he sent Emily Hale, his little-known American love. But even as Eliot scholars explore Hale’s impact on Eliot’s work, a tantalizing question has not been fully answered: who was Emily Hale?

Sara Fitzgerald’s The Silenced Muse: Emily Hale, T. S. Eliot, and the Role of a Lifetime is the first full-length biography devoted to Hale, telling her side of a complicated relationship. Based on the embargoed letters and Fitzgerald’s extensive research into Hale’s life and times, this book brings to light that Hale was much more than just a muse to a literary celebrity. Hale overcame personal hardship to pursue a career as a professor of speech and drama at prominent American women’s colleges and schools. She was a talented amateur actress and director, sharing the stage with others who went on to notable professional careers. Behind the scenes, she also guided Eliot as he began to explore playwriting with works such as Murder in the Cathedral The Silenced Muse finally reveals that Hale’s story is not that of a lover scorned, but rather a woman who was herself gifted and celebrated by her students and peers.

Sara Fitzgerald is a retired journalist whose career included fifteen years as an editor and new media developer for the Washington Post. In 2020, she published Conquering Heroines: How Women Fought Sex Bias at Michigan and Paved the Way for Title IX and The Poet’s Girl: A Novel of Emily Hale and T. S. Eliot. Fitzgerald’s essays about Hale have appeared in the Journal of the T. S. Eliot Society; the T. S. Eliot Studies Annual; and Exchanges, the newsletter of the T. S. Eliot Society (UK). Learn more at www.sarafitzgerald.com

The first full-length biography of the longtime secret love of the celebrated poet T. S. Eliot.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

September 2024

296 Pages 21 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 9035 7

$35.00 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 5381 9036 4

$33.00 / £25.00

Biography & Autobiography • Historical

The Unraveling

Reflections on Politics without Ethics and Democracy in Crisis

By Bob Bauer, foreword by Jon Meacham

Part memoir, part rumination on the declining moral compass of the American political class, The Unraveling is the first book to place restoring political ethics at the center of the renewal of American democracy. Politics is a brutal game, but Bauer asks where does the line fall between the “hardball” of politics and attacks on the very foundation of democracy? Looking back on 46 years in the political arena, Bauer tries to better grasp what has gone wrong and to understand what shaped his own decisions and actions. He offers anecdotes, perspectives, and insights that are vitally relevant in our world today, including efforts in 2020 (and 2024) to stop one president from overturning democratic elections, and the struggles with social media, such as Meta, to combat disinformation in a post-truth politics. He writes about the various personal experiences along the way— the highs, the lows, and the absurd. The Unraveling will be essential reading for anyone interested in American politics of the last 50 years—and the next.

Bob Bauer has been involved in many of the biggest political struggles of the past five decades. He was counsel to the Democratic Senate Leader during Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. He was an advisor during the 2000 election vote count. He worked on releasing President Obama’s long-form birth certificate and shepherded the Supreme Court nomination of now-Justice Elena Kagan. He was a senior advisor to the Biden presidential campaign and was a leader of the process for vetting President Biden’s vice-presidential choices. He was White House Counsel to President Barack Obama, the chief lawyer for his presidential campaign, and for many years has been his personal counsel. Bauer currently represents President Biden in the special counsel investigation in the matter of classified documents.

An inside look at the Declining Ethics of America’s Political Class.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

August 2024

240 Pages

10 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 9184 2

$26.00 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 5381 9185 9

$24.50 / £18.99

Biography & Autobiography • Political

Photo by Andy Feliciotti on Unsplash.

REVOLUTION IT

Helping technology leaders achieve their goals through publishing, events, and research

Beginning with the publication of the bestselling book The Phoenix Project, IT Revolution has continued to elevate the practice of IT organizations through DevOps principles and practices. Our goal is to elevate the state of technology work, quantify the economic and human costs associated with suboptimal IT performance, and improve the lives of IT professionals around the world.

For more information on IT Revolution Press and to view the imprint’s full range of publishing, please visit www.itrevolution.com.

Backlist highlights

Top author

Gene Kim is the founder of IT Revolution. He is a multiple award-winning CTO, researcher and author, and has been studying high-performing technology organizations since 1999. He was founder and CTO of Tripwire for 13 years. He has written six books, including The Unicorn Project (2019), The Phoenix Project (2013), The DevOps Handbook (2016), the Shingo Publication Award winning Accelerate (2018), and The Visible Ops Handbook (2004-2006) series.

Since 2014, he has been the founder and organizer of the DevOps Enterprise Summit, studying the technology transformations of large, complex organizations.

In 2007, ComputerWorld added Gene to the “40 Innovative IT People to Watch Under the Age of 40” list, and he was named a Computer Science Outstanding Alumnus by Purdue University for achievement and leadership in the profession.

He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and family.

IT Revolution Press books are distributed outside North America by Rowman & Littlefield International Sales, Marketing & Rights and Ingram Publisher Services UK as part of the National Book Network’s TradeSelect programme.

Unbundling the Enterprise

APIs, Optionality, and the Science of Happy Accidents

By Stephen Fishman and Matt McLarty

Drawing on real-world examples of both innovative “digital pirates” and legacy “digital settlers,” authors Stephen Fishman and Matt McLarty articulate strategies to unbundle business capabilities into reusable digital assets. These building blocks can then be combined and recombined to capitalize on new opportunities and innovations as they emerge. For business and technology leaders, Unbundling the Enterprise provides an actionable methodology to engineer “happy accidents” and sustainable success in turbulent times. Underpinning their strategy are techniques tailored for digital business, like using APIs to create widespread optionality, designing digital business models focused on value exchange, and optimizing outcomes through tight feedback loops.

Stephen Fishman (Fish) is the global practice lead for MuleSoft's success architect practice. Throughout his career, Stephen has consulted with organizations desiring to transform their technology-based offerings to better meet the needs of organizations and the people they serve. He lives in Atlanta with his family and when he's not working can be found biking trails in Georgia.

Matt McLarty is the Chief Technology Officer for Boomi. He has led global technical teams at Salesforce, IBM, and CA Technologies. Matt is an internationally known expert on APIs, microservices, and integration. He is co-author of the O'Reilly books Microservice Architecture and Securing Microservice APIs, and co-host of the API Experience podcast. He lives with his wife and two sons in Vancouver, BC.

A blueprint for companies to remain relevant and maximize growth in the digital economy by embracing the flexibility and optionality enabled by APIs. IT Revolution Press

December 2024

272 Pages

30 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 9505 0887 7 $28.00 / £19.99

Business & Economics • Strategic Planning

The Phoenix Project

A Graphic Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win, Volume 1-3

Adapted by Gene Kim, illustrated by Mike Collins

Bill, an IT manager at Parts Unlimited, has been tasked with taking on a project critical to the future of the business, code named Phoenix Project. But the project is massively over budget and behind schedule. The CEO demands Bill must fix the mess in ninety days or else Bill's entire department will be outsourced.

Adapted from the acclaimed bestselling book, The Phoenix Project graphic novels introduce readers to the Three Ways and the Theory of Constraints.

Gene Kim is a multi–award-winning CTO, researcher, and author. He is the founder of Tripwire and served as CTO for thirteen years. He is the author of six books, which have sold over one million copies, including The Unicorn Project (2019) and The DevOps Handbook (2016). Since 2014, he has been the organizer of DevOps Enterprise Summit, studying the technology transformations of large, complex organizations. He lives with his wife and children in Portland, OR.

Mike Collins moved to Wales in 1985 after an abortive stab at a career in the law, in London. Despite his law degree Mike decided that he enjoyed the fiction-based life of comic book characters over the fiction-based statements of clients. He has since illustrated for such comic book publishers as DC and Marvel among others and for such popular characters as Superman, Spiderman, and Dr. Who. Mike was married to Karen Collins and they have three daughters and a granddaughter. He lives in Cardiff in the United Kingdom.

Cover coming soon

A stalwart cast of characters are challenged by the four types of work that impact complex workflows.

IT Revolution Press

Volume 1

August 2024 • 112 Pages

$26.00 / £19.99

Paperback 978 1 9505 0891 4

Volume 2

December 2024 • 80 Pages

$26.00 / £19.99

Paperback 978 1 9505 0892 1

Volume 3

April 2025 • 96 Pages

$26.00 / £19.99

Paperback 978 1 9505 0893 8

Business & Economics • Management

Authoritative books of the highest quality, on a diverse range of subjects

Stackpole Books is a trade book publisher with a proud 90-year history of publishing titles in the categories of Outdoors, Craft and Military History.

Strong in Fly Fishing, Nature Guides, Civil War and World War II History, Military Reference and Specialty Crafts and Hobbies, we publish deep in our niche areas, releasing 60 new titles a year and maintaining a solid backlist of 1,500 titles. Founded in the late 1920s by the Stackpole family, the company grew under the leadership of three generations of Stackpoles.

For more information on Stackpole Books and to view the imprint’s full range of publishing, please visit www.stackpolebooks.com

Backlist highlights

Top authors

Megan Lapp of Crafty Intentions has been creating crochet creatures from her imagination since 2017, and has amassed thousands of fans who just can’t wait for her next exciting design. Megan’s background is in the Fine Arts. Most of her artwork was three-dimensional in nature, but while she could always envision what she wanted to make, she could never get it to turn out quite the way she saw it in her head—until she discovered crochet! With time, she was able to translate her ideas into patterns for others to follow, and Crafty Intentions was born.

Beverley Driver Eddy is professor emerita of German studies at Dickinson College, with seven books to her credit, including Ritchie Boy Secrets (Stackpole, 2021). She has spoken widely on this topic, including at the U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center, and has appeared on C-SPAN’s BookTV podcast. Eddy lives in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Colorful Crochet Cables

How to Crochet Celtic Cabled Designs in Vibrant Multicolored Hues, Paperback Original

By Noelle R. B. Stiles

Don't be afraid to mix colors and cables!

The often-repeated advice that it is best to choose solidcolor yarns when you crochet cables is not always true. With a little bit of knowledge and planning, you can crochet beautiful Celtic cables and enhance the design with your choice of a multicolored yarn.

Author Noelle R. B. Stiles is a vision scientist and has done extensive research into the art and science of color play (so that you don't have to!). What she brings to this book is the practical side of color usage. She gives you a broad look at how colors and designs work together and illustrates how color choices affect the final outcome of your crochet pieces. She specifically sets out to prove that multicolored yarns should not be sidelined in your textured crochet pieces and can be used to great advantage. With practical examples and 20 patterns, she shows how crochet designs can feature both a multicolored yarn and an intricate cable to gorgeous effect. Patterns include eye-catching scarves, hats, mitts, blanket, cardigan, and more. If you are new to cabling, there are step-by-step instructions and several beginner patterns. Pull out your favorite hand-painted or variegated yarn and give it a try!

Noelle R. B. Stiles is Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University, with a joint appointment in at New Jersey Medical School. She has been crocheting for two decades and designing awardwinning crochet items for over eight years.

Learn to use multicolored yarns to crochet stunning Celtic cables.

Stackpole Books

September 2024

176 Pages

175 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7290 7

$26.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 0 8117 7291 4

$26.00 / £19.99

Crafts & Hobbies • Needlework / Crocheting

Cottage Cross-Stitch

20 Designs Celebrating the Simple Joys of Home, Paperback Original

By Gail Bussi

Cross-stitch your cottage life!

Whether you live in a cottage or an urban apartment, if you daydream of a simple life in a little house on a hill or near the sea, this book is full of designs that will inspire and feed your love of all things homey and sweet. The 20 stitchings feature a variety of tiny homes—from cabins with beautiful gardens to hobby farms and even a little camper home—and the relaxing rituals of cottage living, such as baking, gardening, and enjoying wildlife and sunshine.

Every project includes chart, finished photo, materials, and full instructions. Find your peace as you make each stitch, and then display your work where you can be transported to your cottage dream every time you see it!

Gail Bussi is well known as a cross-stitch designer, starting her work in the early 1990s, and has had her work published in all of the major needlework magazines in the US, UK, and France, and is the author of several needlework books, including Inspired Cross-Stitch and Enchanted Garden Cross-Stitch. Her unique images and artwork are also featured on greeting cards and other items.

Cosy cottage designs that will inspire your cross stitch!

Stackpole Books

August 2024

120 Pages 90 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7359 1

$26.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 0 8117 7360 7

$25.50 / £19.99

Crafts & Hobbies • Needlework / CrossStitch

Crochet Christmas Stockings

10 Delightful Designs to Fill with Holiday Cheer

By Salena Baca

Whether you are looking for a stocking reminiscent of Christmases past or love a fresh twist on tradition such as the Santa hat or mitten "stocking," you'll find just what you need in this collection. Styles include colorful textured patterns, granny squares, stripes, bobbles, cables, and more; some with tassels and ties and all with a loop for hanging. Change up the colors to go with any holiday color scheme.

All patterns are achievable by a beginner to intermediate crocheter, and small projects like this are the perfect place to learn and practice new skills. Your unique stocking may also give Santa a clue as to what he should put in your stocking—more yarn!

Salena Baca is the author of Crochet for Christmas; My Crocheted Home; Crochet Market Bags; Learn to Crochet in 10 Easy Lessons; Two Simple Shapes = 26 Crocheted Cardigans, Tops & Sweaters; Build Your Skills: Crochet Tops; My Crocheted Closet; Crochet in a Day; and other crochet books. She resides in Bend, Oregon, happily spreading the joy of crochet far and wide.

Adorn your mantle with handmade crocheted stockings!

Stackpole Books

November 2024

32 Pages

31 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7282 2

$12.95 / £9.99

eBook

978 0 8117 7283 9

$12.00 / £8.99

Crafts & Hobbies • Needlework / Crocheting

Crochet Hats and Mittens for Everyone

Winter Essentials in Sizes Newborn to Adult Large

By Sascha Blase-Van Wagtendonk

With all patterns sized for newborn through adult large, you can make warm and woolly mittens and hats for all. Novice crocheters can start with the easy December Hat and Mittens or a simple headband, while those with more advanced skills may want to jump right in with the Celtic Cable. Most items are unisex; personalize with color choices to make each item one of a kind.

There are 7 designs for hats and headbands in a variety of styles and 4 mitten patterns, including one in the popular fingerless style that can also have a flap to keep fingers warm. Most are in the intermediate skill range, and illustrated tutorials for basic stitches and techniques make the patterns accessible for beginners. More complex stitches are given in written instructions as well as being illustrated in crochet stitch diagrams.

With classic styles in a wide range of sizes, Crochet Hats and Mittens for Everyone is sure to become your go-to book for all your gift-giving needs.

Sascha Blase-Van Wagtendonk is the author of Crochet Ragdolls, Comfortable Crochet Socks, and Crochet Ragdoll Friends. She is also known for her crochet blog A La Sascha (www.alasascha.com). She publishes a variety of crochet patterns in both Dutch and English.

Crochet hats and mittens for the whole family!

Stackpole Books

October 2024

128 Pages

165 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7471 0

$22.95 / £17.99

eBook

978 0 8117 7472 7

$21.50 / £16.99

Crafts & Hobbies • Needlework / Crocheting

Crochet Messy Bun Hats

12 Quick & Easy Designs to Keep Out the Cold

By Kristi Simpson

Secure your hair in a messy bun, slide on your hat, and you are out the door in style!

Love warm winter hats but struggle to make them work with a ponytail or quick bun? Crochet messy bun hats are the answer! These hats have a hole at the top for a bun or ponytail to slip through—no more odd bump in your hat. With more coverage than a headband, messy bun hats are the perfect solution for your carefree style!

A variety of interesting yet easy stitch patterns in medium-weight solid and self-striping yarns make these hats quick and entertaining to crochet. Each pattern includes gorgeous photos of the finished piece and rowby-row instructions. Make a variety of styles and colors for yourself and to give as gifts. You'll find these hats as delightful to wear as they are to crochet!

Kristi Simpson is the author of Supersize Crochet Animals, Sweet & Simple Baby Crochet, Adorable Baby Crochet, Ultimate Crochet Nursery, and Crochet Stitch Sampler Baby Blankets. Known for her fresh and modern style, Kristi's patterns have been published in magazines, books, catalogs, and online venues.

Easy to follow patterns and stylish designs!

Stackpole Books

December 2024

32 Pages

48 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7469 7

$12.95 / £9.99

eBook

978 0 8117 7470 3

$12.00 / £8.99

Crafts & Hobbies • Needlework / Crocheting

Crochet Monsters

With more than 35 body patterns and options for horns, limbs, antennae and so much more, you can mix and match options for thousands upon thousands of possibilities!

By Megan Lapp

With 37 Monster body options, plus myriad variations for limbs, mouths and teeth, horns, antennae, tails, scales, and so much more, you will never make the same Monster twice. Choose from wide open mouths with fangs to adorable Monsters with bunny ears and a cat tail to Monsters with hair poufs and scales. Make oneeyed spiders or three-eyed aliens, dragons with scales or little friends that don’t match any known monster to date. There is nearly no limit to the variations you can combine!

All Monsters use worsted weight and/or sport weight yarn and a size G-6 (4 mm) hook. Patterns are appropriate for beginner through advanced crocheters. If a stitch is new to you, just turn to the Glossary for detailed instructions on how to work it. Photos are included for each pattern piece and any complex stitches so you can be sure you are on the right track as you work.

Megan Lapp of Crafty Intentions has been creating crochet creatures from her imagination since 2017 and has amassed thousands of fans who just can’t wait for her next exciting design. Megan’s background is in the Fine Arts, having graduated with honours from Lafayette College, USA, with a double major in Art and Music.

Combine with sheer limitless variation for a unique monster every time you return to this book!

Stackpole Books

September 2024

360 Pages

1600 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7162 7

$32.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 0 8117 7163 4

$31.00 / £25.00

Crafts & Hobbies • Needlework / Crocheting

Crochet Nativity

Complete Instructions for 10 Dolls

By Bianca Santos

Crochet the holy family and their visitors for your Christmas display!

Patterns include Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, three wise men, angel, sheep, cow, and donkey. Each pattern includes row by row instructions and photos as needed to explain details. Each character has special details that set them apart, such as crocheted hair, robe, crown, and accessories. The animals are adorable and ready for play!

Bianca Santos is a former military sergeant who is passionate about arts and teaching. Crochet started as a stress relief from her air traffic controller job, won her heart, and soon gained exclusive dedication in her life. Her creative and somewhat restless mind is always looking for more, and so her business, Crocheniacs, was born. She says, “Writing this book is a dream and by far one of the most amazing accomplishments of my life.”

Crochet your own Nativity!

Stackpole Books

November 2024

32 Pages

250 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7498 7

$12.95 / £9.99

eBook

978 0 8117 7499 4

$12.00 / £8.99

Crafts & Hobbies • Needlework / Crocheting

Crochet Stars

25+ Customizable Projects Full of Love, Laughter, and Inspiration, Paperback Original

By Noreen Crone-Findlay

These easy and fun to crochet stars can be used for so many things! Start by making the seven star designs in various sizes. Then use your stars to create projects such as a picture frame for your favorite "star," a holiday ornament, or a magic wand. Decorate a journal cover or make earrings. Make multiple stars into a garland or mobile. The stars can be sewn or pinned onto clothing as mending patches or a fashion accessory. Once you've mastered the basic stars, customize with beads, ribbons, lace, and other embellishments to make each one your unique creation!

These little stars are perfect for using up small bits of yarn and for keeping in your bag for crocheting on the go. The 28 ideas presented in the book are a great place to start, but once you start crocheting stars, the sky is the limit!

Noreen Crone-Findlay is a fiber artist, author, designer, weaver, YouTube video-tutorial diva, loom designer, workshop facilitator, crocheter, doll maker, and knitter. Over the last 45+ years, her designs have appeared in many magazines. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and maintains an active website and blog, www.tottietalkscrafts.com, and is also on Facebook, Etsy, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Adorn your life with crochet stars!

Stackpole Books

September 2024

32 Pages

34 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7422 2

$12.95 / £9.99

eBook

978 0 8117 7423 9

$12.00 / £8.99

Crafts & Hobbies • Needlework / Crocheting

It's a Wrap

Sewing Fabric Purses, Baskets, and Bowls

By Susan Breier

Wind, wrap, and sew fabric strips into fantastic containers! Start with a plate shape to learn the technique. Then experiment with four basic container styles to create round, oval, square, and other shapes.

·Create purses, baskets, and bowls in an endless variety of sizes, shapes, and colors

·Simply wrap fabric strips around cotton clothesline, coil into the desired shape, and secure with machine stitching

·Special sections on lids, handles, and embellishments offer unlimited options for your own variations

Susan Breier's desire to sew resurfaced after an early retirement. The colors and the various textures of fabrics had fascinated her since childhood. Hand stitched doll clothes, embroidery work, beading, knitting and weaving, all paved the way to using a sewing machine. As an adult, classes in garment and drapery construction filled her extra time. Later, quilt making left many usable scraps and a large fabric stash. The inability to part with these scraps lead to using them in this beginner friendly method.

Learn to wind, wrap, and sew fabric strips into purses, baskets and bowls!

Stackpole Books

September 2024

80 Pages

168 Illustrations

Paperback (re-issue)

978 0 8117 7495 6

$24.95 / £18.99

eBook

978 0 8117 7496 3

$23.50 / £17.99

Crafts & Hobbies • Sewing

Knit Wild

21 Wander-full Sweater Designs

By Anna-Sofia Vintersol

With animal and nature-inspired themes, the sweater designs of Anna-Sofia Vintersol share your love of all things wild and free. Delightful designs feature yokes of dog faces and pawprints, foxes, bears, whales, and other colorwork patterns. A favorite pattern is sure to be Kitulo, a "choose your own adventure" sweater which can be endlessly customized with myriad mix-and-match charts. Every sweater from this design is one of a kind!

Beautifully detailed, colorful, and robust when knitted in hardy wool yarns, these sweaters are ready for outdoor adventures and will keep you toasty on hikes and when camping. Prefer to sip cocoa indoors when temperatures dip? Knit them in a less-insulating wool and you'll be quite comfortable. The color work keeps the knitting interesting; you'll love watching the patterns emerge. Sizes range from 2XS to 4XL and are unisex--ready to be knit and enjoyed by all!

Anna-Sofia Vintersol is a knitwear designer and artist, also known as “@loparefur” (“wool fox” in Icelandic) on Instagram and social media. She lived in Norway the past six years before moving to the US with her husband Calvin and four-month old son Waya Riverdancer. Her Fair Isle knitwear designs are inspired by beautiful, wild nature, the animals living in it, her dogs, and indigenous cultures such as Anishinabe and Cherokee—her husband’s tribes.

Embrace the outdoors with these nature-inspired knit projects!

Stackpole Books

October 2024

240 Pages

200 Illustrations

Hardback

978 0 8117 7467 3

$34.95 / £30.00

eBook

978 0 8117 7468 0

$33.00 / £25.00

Crafts & Hobbies • Needlework / Knitting

Rug Tufting

By Guillaume Neves

Tufting is a way of making wall art, rugs, and more by inserting yarn on a stretched canvas with a tufting gun. This book shows you all you need to know to make your first rug, from buying the material to using the tufting gun, assembling the frame, and finishing. For advanced tufters, Gillaume Neves shares all his workshop secrets to help you take your tufting to the next level. Eight practice projects with complete step-by-step instructions are included to teach new skills and show you how to play with textures, shapes, and colors so that you can then give free rein to your creative desires!

After a first career in communication and fashion, Guillaume Neves became passionate about textile arts. Disappointed not to find the carpet of his dreams, he tried tufting and fell in love with the technique. Under his brand Atelier Paolo, he creates rugs and other tufted creations with sunny designs and vibrant colors. He teaches tufting to others in his workshop in Bordeaux and on the online creative course platform Domestika.

Learn all you need to know to make your first tufted rug.

Stackpole Books

October 2024

160 Pages

150 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7574 8

$26.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 0 8117 7595 3

$26.00 / £19.99

Crafts & Hobbies • Rugs

Radical Potholder Weaving

Techniques and Inspiration for the Potholder Loom; 100+ Weaving Patterns, Paperback Original

By Deborah Jean Cohen

Inside this book you’ll find more than 100 patterns for your potholder looms: in plain weave, shadow weave, and twill. The majority of these are new, never charted for the small loom before, and the rest are strong classic patterns chosen to complete the collection. One chapter teaches you how to convert floor loom drafts for the potholder loom, reverse engineer any potholder, and chart your own design. Others introduce you to intriguing weaving techniques—and of course basics are explained: sources, tips, heads-up advice. Look inside!

Deborah Jean Cohen began designing potholder weaving patterns when she was disappointed in the number of patterns available and began to convert other weaving patterns to work on her potholder loom. She found that the possibilities were endless, and she soon found others online who were also excited by what you could weave on a small loom. She is the founder and administrator of Radical Potholder Weavers, a dynamic, fastgrowing Facebook Group, and she has also given Zoom workshops through The Weaving Way Community. IG @ deborahjeancohen and @radicalpotholderweavers

Make the journey from potholders to woven art!

Stackpole Books

September 2024

240 Pages

1050 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7274 7

$26.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 0 8117 7275 4

$25.50 / £19.99

Crafts & Hobbies • Weaving & Spinning

Weaving Hand Towels Simply

43 Designs for 4- and 8-Shaft Looms

By Susan Kesler-Simpson

Every weaver weaves hand towels!

They are small in size and weave quickly, are perfect for using up small amounts of yarn, make great gifts, are perfect for beginners and for learning new techniques, and they are eminently practical and you need new ones now and then. This collection of hand towel patterns is just the reference you need! With 43 designs in a variety of weave structures, from easy to advanced patterns, for both 4- and 8-shaft looms, there are plenty of patterns to explore and learn from while you make practical towels.

Since kitchen towels are often undertaken as a first weave, the book includes an introductory section explaining how to read and work from weaving drafts, the best fiber choices for towels, how to combine colors in pleasing combinations, finishing techniques, and troubleshooting tips.

Susan Kesler-Simpson is passionate about fiber arts and breaking down complex weaving techniques so that even beginners can learn the basic concepts. She is the author of the successful Overshot Simply, Shadow Weave Simply, Crackle Weave Simply, and Creative Treadling with Overshot, and has a B.S. and M.A. in Clothing, Textiles, and Design from the University of Nebraska. She enjoys teaching weaving and working in other crafts such as knitting, spinning, and crocheting. She resides in Danville, Pennsylvania.

A fun and practical guide for weavers of all levels.

Stackpole Books

December 2024

198 Pages

250 Illustrations

Paperback

978 0 8117 7286 0

$32.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 0 8117 7287 7

$31.00 / £25.00

Crafts & Hobbies • Weaving & Spinning

My Child Is Trans, Now What?

A Joy-Centered Approach to Support

By Ben V. Greene

As a full-time public speaker specializing in spreading awareness and understanding of the transgender community, what Ben Greene hears most from parents and loved ones is “I’m sorry.” They’re sorry for using the wrong word, sorry for asking an offensive question, sorry for not knowing this already, sorry for asking a question at all. The combination of exhaustion from trans people who have become their community’s designated educator and the growing trend of “canceling” anyone who says anything wrong has created a culture where people who have good hearts and minimal access to information are so afraid to make a mistake they don’t even try.

In My Child is Trans, Now What? A Joy-Centered Approach to Support, Greene breaks the mold by offering a judgement-free guide to people across generations, from millennial parents to members of older generations who may not have had previous positive exposure to the trans community. Greene focuses on providing two key resources in this book: information and emotional support. He explains what to expect, what systems exist to support trans youth, and what loved ones can do to help.

Using a combination of personal stories and experiences, definitions, and additional resources, My Child is Trans, Now What? is an essential guide for anyone looking to help trans youth thrive.

Ben V. Greene is a public speaker, LGBTQ+ inclusion consultant, and openly transgender man. He is active on the speaking circuit, with audiences ranging from the UK’s Diversity Live! to NASA. Ben is a guest lecturer on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Cornell University in addition to serving on the board of the Tufts Master’s Degree in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He resides in St. Louis, Missouri.

A gentle and informative guide for parents of trans youth.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

July 2024

224 Pages

5 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 8645 9

$26.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 5381 8646 6

$25.50 / £19.99

Family & Relationships • LGBT

by

Photo

Alexander Grey on Unsplash.

The world-leading publisher of new nautical fiction

The beloved McBooks Press list of nautical fiction includes perennial best-selling series such as The Kydd Sea Adventures by Julian Stockwin; The Bolitho novels by Alexander Kent; The Lord Ramage novels by Dudley Pope; and The Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures by Dewey Lambdin.

With the addition of Richard Woodman’s Nathaniel Drinkwater novels from Sheridan House, and Pineapple Press novelist Robert Macomber’s Honor Series of American Navy thrillers, McBooks now offers the most illustrious list of naval fiction available anywhere.

For more information on McBooks Press and to view the imprint’s full range of publishing, please visit www.mcbooks.com.

Backlist highlights

Top authors

David Donachie was born in Edinburgh in 1944. He has always had an abiding interest in British naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as the clandestine services during the Second World War. He has 51 published novels to his credit. David lives in Deal, the historic English seaport on the border of the English Channel and the North Sea, with his partner, the novelist Sarah Grazebrook.

Seth Hunter is the pseudonym of London-based Paul Bryers, the author of six highly acclaimed naval adventures set against the canvas of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. One of his children’s stories, In a Pig’s Ear, was named as one of the Guardian’s six best novels of the year. He has written and directed many historical dramas for British television, radio, and the theatre.

A Return to Duty

By William C. Hammond

A Return to Duty, the eighth volume in the award-winning Cutler Family Chronicles series, is set in Massachusetts and the Orient in the early 1850s during the aftermath of the First Opium War fought between China and Great Britain. The subsequent flood of opium into North America and Europe, from Turkey and the eastern provinces of India through China, threatens the very fabric of America. As a premier carrier of goods along Far Eastern trade routes, Cutler & Sons, in league with the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy, plays a key role in the struggle to eliminate the scourge of narcotics. Family loyalties, core values, and passions are woven into a plot that takes the reader from Boston to Washington, and from Java to Hong Kong and the Gulf of Tonkin, in a savage conflict with cutthroats and brigands who defy their emperor to amass huge fortunes by ransoming sailors and smuggling opium. The fate of Cutler & Sons and the future of Western civilization hang in the balance.

William C. Hammond was born in 1947 in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. An amateur historian and sailing enthusiast, he is the author of the Cutler Family Chronicles, which take place amid the rise of the American Navy. Hammond now lives in New Zealand with his wife, Sheree.

The eighth Cutler Family Chronicles novel is set in Massachusetts and the Orient in the early 1850s as the influx of opium into New England endangers the very fabric of America.

McBooks Press

November 2024

272 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 8734 1

$25.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 4930 8735 8

$14.99 / £11.99

Fiction • Sea Stories

The Force of Fate

By Seth Hunter

1806: The United States faces an existential threat from within. Vice President Aaron Burr, feeling cheated of the presidency, conspires to destroy the Union. At the same time, President Jefferson’s plan to outlaw the Atlantic slave trade provokes a secessionist movement in the southern states. Mere decades after achieving independence from Great Britain, the young nation is in serious danger of falling apart.

To further complicate matters, a French fleet escapes the British naval blockade and heads westward across the Atlantic. Onboard is Emperor Napoleon’s younger brother, Jerome, intent on exploiting America’s internal divisions to his and his country’s advantage. And in their wake, on a mission to assist the beleaguered President Jefferson, is the newly promoted commodore Nathan Peake with a small squadron of British warships led by the seventyfour-gun Scipio. Nathan has his own problems to contend with. They include his pregnant lover who is under suspicion of being a French agent, his secretive and complicated association with the Bonaparte family, his own dissident officers, the pro-slavery faction in the British Navy, and an American double agent.

The scene is set for an epic clash between the British Navy, Napoleonic France, and the forces driving America apart. And as the 1806 Battle of the Atlantic reaches the mouth of the Chesapeake, the eastern seaboard is about to be hit by one of the worst hurricanes in history.

Seth Hunter is the pseudonym of Londonbased Paul Bryers, the author of the highly acclaimed Nathan Peake Novels. Bryers won an English arts council award for Best First Novel for his political thriller Hollow Target, and his next thriller, In A Pig's Ear, was named as one of the Guardian's best six novels of the year. He has written and directed many historical dramas for television, radio, and the theatre. You can connect with him through his website, www.sethhunterbooks.com.

The ninth volume in the thrilling adventure series featuring Nathan Peake, British naval officer and spy.

McBooks Press

November 2024

272 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 7784 7

$25.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 4930 7785 4

$14.99 / £11.99

Fiction • Sea Stories

The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 st October

1805 (1836) by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield

Herding Immunity

The Startling History of Life Before and After Vaccines

By Stacy Mintzer Herlihy

Once largely an issue for parents and children, vaccines now occupy a central space in the very heart of our national conversation. We’ve all been forced to think about this subject closely for over two years. In the absence of a COVID-19 vaccine, thousands of deaths from a single virus once again swept the earth. Millions of Americans now suffer from the aftermath as they cope with the effects of long haul COVID.

Herding Immunity moves the reader from the early history of vaccines into modern conversations about this subject. In the book, the author connects the dots between the modern anti-vax movement and previous anti-vax movements. She will help readers understand the history of vaccines and the equally long history of vaccination opposition.

Herding Immunity also explores the many large and small ways that lack of access to vaccination has meant societal change, and includes updates on several of the topics in the author's previous work.

Stacy Mintzer Herlihy is a freelance writer and public health advocate. She is a Shot@Life Champion and founder of New Jersey Parents For Vaccines. Stacy is the co-author of Your Baby’s Best Shot: Why Vaccines are Safe and Save Lives (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012), finalist for the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year (Adult Health Non-Fiction) award.

A look at the long history of vaccines, yesterday, today and still to come.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

November 2024

200 Pages

Hardback

978 1 5381 7543 9

$34.00 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 5381 7544 6

$32.00 / £25.00

Health & Fitness • Vaccinations

Photo by CDC on Unsplash.

Cover coming soon

Race for a Remedy

The Science and Scientists behind the Next LifeSaving Cancer Medicine

By Makhdum Ahmed M.D.

How does a mere molecule—a chemical structure— become a drug? And, how do we know that it works safely? In a one-trillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry with high-stakes profits and perils, battles are raging every day to successfully bring a molecule to its birth: an FDA-approved medicine.

In Race for a Remedy, internationally renowned expert in cancer treatment and drug development Makhdum Ahmed, MD, takes readers behind the scenes of the fascinating and intense world of cancer drug development. Whether it’s a small molecule, a versatile monoclonal antibody, or the fancy, poster child of cutting-edge cell therapy, modern drugs are built upon a centuries-old solid foundation set by the pioneers of medicine and immunology. This revealing book also explores the struggles for current-day pharmaceutical and biotech industries to overtake competitors and make sure their molecule reaches the finish line first. For leading cancer drug developers, that means achieving the ultimate goal: creating the next live-saving medicine.

Makhdum Ahmed, MD, PhD is an award-winning physician-scientist and a drug development executive. He is an Executive Director in AstraZeneca’s research and development in blood cancers. A former Director for the Cancer Moonshots program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, he was the recipient of the Australian Leadership Awards (2009) and Global Health Corps Fellowship (2011). Ahmed lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife, Zakia and three children: Mayameen, Myreen and Manseeb.

Explores basic pharmacological insights, cutting-edge science, and the development of new cancer drug treatments.

Prometheus

September 2024

242 Pages

Hardback

978 1 6338 8952 1

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 6338 8953 8

$28.50 / £19.99

Health & Fitness • Health Care Issues

Unequal Neighbors

The United States and Mexico

By Jürgen Buchenau

That Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump could found his campaign on a promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border shows that Americans have Mexico on their minds. The border between the two countries is the world’s longest between a wealthy industrialized nation and one generally considered a part of the Global South. The economy, society, culture, and politics of the two nations have become inextricably linked to one another. But how many of those who call themselves “Americans” could name the current president, let alone the ruling political party, of this North American nation that also has every right to call itself “America”? On the other hand, most Mexicans are painfully aware of a relationship that has been both unequal and asymmetrical. In this book Jurgen Buchenau provides a lively, accessible primer on the emergence of the asymmetrical relationship between the United States and Mexico, aimed at students and general readers who want to learn more about one of the most formative international relationships in geopolitics today.

Jürgen Buchenau is Professor of History and Latin American Studies at UNC Charlotte. He is the author of numerous books, including The Last Caudillo: Alvaro Obregón and the Mexican Revolution, Mexican Mosaic: A Brief History of Mexico, and Plutarco Elías Calles and the Mexican Revolution.

Cover coming soon

A lively, accessible primer on the emergence of the asymmetrical relationship between the United States and Mexico.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

December 2024

250 Pages

Hardback

978 1 5381 0058 5

$36.00 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 5381 0059 2

$34.00 / £25.00

History • North America

Photo by Greg Bulla on Unsplash.

My Presidential Life

The Showdown at Putin's Dacha and Other Misadventures on the Diplomatic Road

By Judd Swift

My Presidential Life: The Showdown at Putin’s Dacha and Other Misadventures on the Diplomatic Road is a whirlwind tour of a side of presidential history not found in presidential papers or biographies.It is a wry insider’s look at iconic American presidents on the world stage and the unseen events that occurred off-camera. My Presidential Life is an entertaining and informative account that offers front-row seats to the dynamics of world leaders and events that shaped the world as we know it today.

Among the tales told by Judd Swift include an obstreperous Lech Walesa threatening to disrupt George H.W. Bush’s mission to end Soviet control of Poland; Peru’s Shining Path guerillas setting off a car bomb outside the advance team’s hotel; an endless number of supposedly ultra-secret meeting rooms filled with electronic eavesdropping devices; an imperious Franco loyalist who did her best to sabotage a successful summit at El Pardo Palace between Ronald Reagan and the king and president of Spain; and the day Vladimir Putin had George W. Bush trapped inside the Russian president’s dacha without Secret Service protection and the man who carries the nuclear football; and many others.

Judd Swift spent years on advance teams arranging meetings for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush that took him to all corners of the world. He was also appointed by G.W. Bush as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy. Today he is CEO of Synfuels Americas Corporation, a technology platform to promote international research and business developments to support sustainable, clean fossil fuel energy for the future. He lives in Washington, Virginia.

An intimate look at events the public and historians rarely, if ever, see.

Lyons Press

July 2024

256 Pages 18 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 8148 6

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 8149 3

$28.50 / £19.99

History • United States / General

Project Mayflower

Building and Sailing a Seventeenth-Century Replica

By Richard A. Stone - Foreword by James W. Baker

The origins of the Mayflower II—the replica of the 1620 ship that brought the Pilgrims to America and launched a nation—began in the 1950s not with an American, but with a British World War II veteran named Warwick Charlton. Charlton had what seemed an impossible dream: to build a historically accurate replica, sail her across the Atlantic, and present the finished product as a thank-you to his country’s wartime ally.

What Charlton didn’t know was that the son of a powerful New England financier had the same idea. Henry “Harry” Hornblower II wanted a replica just as badly, though for a different reason: as the star attraction for a new museum he was building in Massachusetts, where the original Mayflower had landed centuries before. Despite clearly different personal motives, Charlton and Hornblower agreed to join forces when they met by chance in 1955.

Project Mayflower recounts the never-before-told story of a grand adventure, from the origins of the idea and the challenges of building an accurate replica, to the Mayflower II’s dramatic seven-week ocean voyage from Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, and finally the Mayflower II’s lasting—and ongoing—impact on the United States of America.

Richard A. Stone is the founder of Mayflower Event News, an information platform devoted to stories related to the Mayflower and Mayflower II. A graduate of Harvard and the University of California,he worked for decades with America’s premier media groups, including NBC, HBO, Time Inc., and ESPN/Disney. Originally from Southern California, he now lives in Cos Cob, Connecticut.

The never-before-told story of Project Mayflower—the building and sailing of the replica ship from England to America.

Lyons Press

July 2024

288 Pages

65 Illustrations

Hardback

9781493084364

$32.95 / £25.00

eBook

9781493084371

$31.00 / £25.00

History • Maritime History & Piracy

Admiral Canaris

How Hitler's Chief of Intelligence Betrayed the Nazis

By David Alan Johnson

Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, Adolf Hitler’s chief of military intelligence, saved the lives of hundreds Jewish refugees and other racial and political undesirables by rescuing them from Nazi Germany and Nazi-occupied countries.

Initially a supporter of Hitler and the plan to re-arm Germany, Canaris was appointed to direct the Abwehr – Germany’s miliary intelligence agency. But when the Nazis began their campaign of assassination and terror, including the systematic murder of thousands of Jews and other “undesirables,” the admiral became determined to do everything possible to fight Hitler and the Nazis. After the failure of Operation Pastorious, a spy mission to disarm American manufacturing plants, Hitler extolled his executive committee for risking German lives instead of the lives of “criminals or Jews.” That speech gave Canaris an idea. He would go on to disguise refugees as Abwehr agents and sent them to South America, under the official designation of “infiltration agents,” where they joined hundreds of authentic German agents.

Canaris’ anti-Nazi activities, along with some health issues, finally resulted in his dismissal as head of the Abwehr. He was suspected of incompetence by senior Nazi officers and exiled to a desk-job in the Economic Warfare Department. Little did the Führer know, this placement was the best thing that could have happened to Canaris’ resistance efforts. Through in-depth research and affirming storytelling, author David Alan Johnson paints the picture of a driven and devious mind working amidst the darkest evil to save all those that he could.

David Alan Johnson is the author of eleven books, including The Last Weeks of Abraham Lincoln and Decided on the Battlefield: Grant, Sherman, Lincoln, and the Election of 1864.

A page-turning story of one of the most important and least likely saboteurs within the Third Reich.

Prometheus

August 2024

272 Pages 14 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 6338 8998 9

$32.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 6338 8999 6

$31.50 / £25.00

History • Modern / 20th Century

Becoming Eisenhower

How Ike Rose from Obscurity to Supreme Allied Commander

By Michael Lee Lanning

When Dwight Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915, few would have predicted he was destined for greatness. A middling student, he was denied his first choice of posting, missed overseas service in World War I, spent a dozen years as a major, and never commanded a unit larger than a battalion. Yet the young officer made the most of the opportunities he was given, made a lasting impression on superiors including George Marshall, and eventually gained a reputation as an excellent staff officer with a knack for administration, loyalty, and “getting along.” Eisenhower was promoted to colonel in March 1941 and, sixteen months later, was a lieutenant general in command of the European Theater of Operations. His rise through the ranks was first painfully slow, then meteoric. It is one of the great, and most important, stories in military history, and Michael Lee Lanning tells it vividly, with an eye for the dramatic turning points in Eisenhower’s rise.

Michael Lee Lanning served more than twenty years in the U.S. Army, where he commanded an infantry platoon, a recon platoon, and a rifle company in Vietnam and went on to serve as public-affairs officer for Norman Schwarzkopf. He has appeared on NPR, CBS, and the History Channel and has written more than twentyfive books including the classic Vietnam, 1969–1970: A Company Commander’s Journal, which the New York Times called “one of the most honest and horrifying accounts of a combat soldier’s life to come out of the Vietnam War.”. Lanning lives in Lampasas, Texas.

Essential reading for World War II buffs, people interested in American presidents, and readers looking for the leadership lessons of history.

Stackpole Books

December 2024

288 Pages

21 Illustrations

Hardback

978 0 8117 7387 4

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 0 8117 7388 1

$28.50 / £19.99

History • Military / World War II

American Thunder

U.S. Army Tank Design, Development, and Doctrine in World War II

By Richard C. Anderson Jr.

If the machine gun changed the course of ground combat in the First World War, it was the tank that shaped ground combat in World War II. The tank was introduced in World War I in an effort to end the stalemate of the machine gun versus barbedwire trenches, and by World War II, the tank’s mobility and firepower became a rolling, thundering difference-maker on the battlefield. In this detailed, deeply researched, and heavily illustrated book, tank expert Richard Anderson tells the story of how the United States developed its armored force, turning it into a war-winning weapon in World War II that powered American ground forces and supplied armies around the world, including the British and Soviets.

For decades, American tanks of World War II have been undervalued in comparisons with German and Soviet tanks— and it’s true that the best of American armor tended to underperform the best of German and Soviet armor during the war. That’s because the U.S. had a different goal: not only to create battleworthy tanks like the Sherman, and to develop other tanks, but also to supply American allies with serviceable, combat-ready tanks. The United States did all this, but until now the complete story of American tanks in World War II has yet to be told.

Anderson’s book is deeper and more thorough a chronicle of American tanks in World War II than has ever been done. This book is colorful, vivid, and thought-provokingly insightful on how the U.S. produced a tank force capable of conducting its own battlefield efforts and sustaining key allies around the world. This will be the go-to volume on American tanks for years to come.

Richard C. Anderson Jr. is a historian with degrees from George Mason University and American Military University. He is the author of Artillery Hell (with Curt Johnson), Hitler's Last Gamble (with Trevor N. Dupuy and David Bongard), and Cracking Hitler's Atlantic Wall. After nearly thirty years as a military analyst for the U.S. government, he is now a full-time writer. He lives in Bremerton, Washington.

A vivid and insightful look at how the U.S. produced a tank force capable of conducting its own battlefield efforts and sustaining key allies around the world during World War II.

Stackpole Books

July 2024

752 Pages

510 Illustrations

Hardback

978 0 8117 7381 2

$75.00 / £58.00

eBook

978 0 8117 7382 9

$71.00 / £55.00

History • Military / Vehicles / Land

Through Hell to Dunkirk

A Frontline Story of the Miraculous Evacuation of France in World War II

By Henry de la Falaise

In the spring of 1940, the Germans invaded France, and the British army crossed the English Channel to fight alongside its ally. But the blitzkrieg quickly punched through French defenses and threatened to cut off and trap the British in France—until the British managed to escape at Dunkirk. The dashing Henry de la Falaise, a French marquis, World War I hero, and Hollywood director, served in a British armored car regiment, with which he fought in the Battle of France, the retreat to the Channel, and the miraculous evacuation from Dunkirk. This is his story: a dramatic firsthand account of one of the pivotal moments of World War II.

Henry de la Falaise won the Croix de Guerre for heroism in both world wars. Between the wars he directed several films and was married to Gloria Swanson. He died in 1972.

A dramatic firsthand account of the miraculous evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk, a pivotal moment of World War II.

Stackpole Books

December 2024

500 Pages

Paperback

978 0 8117 7660 8

$22.95 / £17.99

History • Military / World War II

Besieged Beachhead

The Cold War Battle for Cuba at the Bay of Pigs

By J. J. Valdés

Uncovering what really happened at the Bay of Pigs disaster and how this went on to shape U.S.-Cuba relations.

Decades in the making, Besieged Beachhead draws from English and Spanish sources in the United States and Cuba to tell the story of this Cold War debacle as it has never been told before, shedding light on events that have been shrouded in secrecy, myth, and propaganda for six decades.

J. J. Valdés is a writer with over thirty years of experience in historical research for government agencies including the Department of Defense. Born in Cuba, he came to the United States with his family in the 1960s and later attended Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. He is a member of the Conference on Latin American History and the Southern Historical Association. Valdés lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

Stackpole Books

November 2024 • 336 Pages • 23 Illustrations

Hardback 978 0 8117 7679 0 • $32.95 / £25.00

eBook 978 0 8117 7680 6 • $31.00 / £25.00

History • Cold War

Dive Bomber

How Low-Level Attacks Changed World War II in the Air

By Peter C. Smith

Details on planes and Riveting accounts of aerial combat.

For many, it is a dive bomber that conjures the most dramatic, quintessential image of World War II: a screaming German Stuka hurtling toward the ground as part of the frightening blitzkrieg that opened the war. In this illustrated history of Allied and Axis dive bombers, Peter C. Smith traces these formidable aircraft from the earliest experiment, through the planes' first operation, to their emergence as devastatingly effective tools of aerial warfare in World War II.

Peter C. Smith is a well-known authority on the history of dive-bombing and is the author of over sixty naval history books that are published on four continents. He currently lives with his wife and two Labradors in Bedfordshire, England.

Stackpole Books

October 2024 • 368 Pages

Paperback 978 0 8117 7659 2 • $24.95 / £18.99

History • Military / World War II

Great American World War II

Stories

Edited by Tom McCarthy

Here are stunning long-buried stories that give proof to the words Admiral Chester Nimitz used to describe the hero Marines on Iwo Jima: “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.”

Painstakingly selected from the most moving battle accounts written about American heroism and breathtaking courage during the largest war in the world history, this anthology brings readers to the front lines in inspiring detail.

Courage, duty, and honor became watchwords for Americans in combat --most of whom were volunteer soldiers, sailors and Marines. Freedom and principle mattered more than their own lives.

Moving, emotional, and gripping, Great American WWII Stories offers hidden gems from major battles like Iwo Jima and Okinawa. It puts readers on Omaha Beach during D-Day. But here also is the story of USS Nautilus, which engaged the Japanese on fourteen different patrols, from the Battle of Midway to the liberation of the Philippines. Here too is the story of Operation Tidal Wave, the bloodiest air battle in the history of war; and a gripping account of American paratroopers, isolated behind enemy lines, fighting the elite German SS in Normandy after D-Day.

Tom McCarthy is an award-winning editor and writer who lives in Guilford, Connecticut.

A magnificent collection of gripping accounts of battles great and small.

Lyons Press

August 2024

272 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 8146 2

$22.95 / £17.99

eBook

978 1 4930 8429 6

$21.50 / £16.99

History • Military / World War II

Year 2000

The Inside Story of Y2K Panic and the Greatest Cooperative Effort Ever

By Nancy P. James

The new millennium. The Year 2000. Beyond Mayan prophecies, a more immediate danger loomed: Two-digit year date fields had been used by software programmers for decades. As a consequence, legacy systems reading “00” on January 1, 2000 would most probably interpret the date as 1900. Infrastructures critical to civilization were at risk, all complete unknowns. There was fear of an accidental nuclear arms deployment. There was fear of monetary systems being jeopardized, infrastructure collapse, internet securities failures, and lapse of government-provided social programs. Banks experienced runs and law firms worked overtime to develop neverbefore-seen litigation plans.

Year 2000: The Inside Story of Y2K Panic shares the untold story of the actors operating on the global stage responsible for managing computer hardware and software for Year 2000 compliance. Author Nancy P. James was directly involved in planning for Y2K on the local and global stage. Using first-person experience, primary source documents outlining Y2K fears, and the actions, influences, opinions, and strategies of those involved, James reveals the untold story of the behind-the-scenes scrambling that made Y2K – seemingly – come and go, and offers stark lessons on how the global community can unite to face problems that challenge our world at large.

Nancy James has over 40 years of technology and risk analysis experience. She designed and created the first Internet Liability insurance policy in the country, and is a pioneering expert in exposure threats to data security and privacy. James has served as President of the Massacusetts Society of Licensed Insurance Advisers, and his work has been featured by the American Bar Association, in ComputerWorld, Boston Business Journal, Women’s Business, and much more.

The inside story of the YK2 panic and the people working to ensure that the new millennium did not spell disaster for global infrastructure and finance.

Prometheus

December 2024

176 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 8561 3

$22.95 / £17.99

eBook

978 1 4930 8562 0

$21.50 / £16.99

History • Modern / 21st Century

Books known for their depth, spirit and authority, for passionate music lovers

Founded in 1991, Backbeat Books has grown to become the world’s leading imprint dedicated solely to music. Passionate fans and musicians know to look to our brand to find the highest quality titles on their favorite topics. Specifically, our books are known for their depth, spirit, and authority, offering a diverse range of titles—from biographies and memoirs, critical examinations, and histories to authoritative volumes on musical instruments and instruction—covering all areas of popular music and beyond.

For more information on Backbeat Books and to view the imprint’s full range of publishing, please visit www.backbeatbooks.com

Backlist highlights

Top authors

Adam Steiner studied philosophy at the University of Aberdeen and writes about music, street-art culture, architecture, poetry, and transgressive fiction. His previous books include Into the Never: Nine Inch Nails and the Creation of the Downward Spiral, a deep dive into the cultural impact of the seminal album (Backbeat, 2020). He lives in London.

Bill Schnee is an internationally renowned producer, engineer, and mix master. He has engineered and/ or produced an extremely wide variety of artists that include Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Huey Lewis, Pablo Cruise, Steely Dan, the Jacksons, Marvin Gaye, Boz Scaggs, Dire Straits, Ringo Starr, Carly Simon, the Pointer Sisters, and Whitney Houston, including her mega-single “I Will Always Love You.” Schnee has worked on dozens of Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning albums, and has been personally nominated eleven times for the Best Engineered Recording Grammy and has won twice. He resides in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife, Sallie.

Gimme All Your Lovin’

The Blues, Boogie, and Beard of ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbons

By Christopher McKittrick

Before launching the iconic Texas blues-rock trio ZZ Top, a young Billy Gibbons was hustling through the Lone Star State with a band named the Moving Sidewalks. The small-time band had the chance of a lifetime when they opened for legendary rock guitar maestro Jimi Hendrix, who took the teenage Gibbons under his wing. Over 50 years later, Gibbons is one of the most recognizable rock musicians in American history. From ZZ Top’s early work in creating classic rock radio staples like “La Grange” and “Tush” in the 1970s to becoming a global phenomenon with innovative music videos in the early years of MTV, Gibbons has been the guiding hand behind ZZ Top’s evolution from the “Little Ol’ Band from Texas” to pop culture behemoth with the 1983 album Eliminator, which has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. As the guitarist and main singer of ZZ Top, Gibbons has led the band to popularity and has gained immense respect among other music luminaries with guest appearances and collaborations with legends like B.B. King, Les Paul, John Mayall, and Sammy Hagar before releasing two solo albums, Perfectamundo (2015) and The Big Bad Blues (2018), the latter being named Blues Rock Album of the Year by the Blues Music Awards. He has continued to lead ZZ Top in the aftermath of the death of longtime bandmate Dusty Hill in 2021 and shows no signs of slowing down from bringing his unique brand of Texas blues to the world.

Christopher McKittrick is the author of Can’t Give It Away on Seventh Avenue: The Rolling Stones and New York City (Post Hill Press, 2019), Somewhere You Feel Free: Tom Petty and Los Angeles (Post Hill Press, 2020), and Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away (University Press of Kentucky, 2023). He has appeared on TV shows including HLN’s How It Really Happened, and various radio shows and podcasts. He lives in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The story of American rock legend Billy Gibbons.

Backbeat

August 2024

256 Pages

20 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 4930 7443 3

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 7444 0

$28.50 / £19.99

Biography & Autobiography • Music

Cranking Up the History of Stevie Wonder, Pop Music, and the Whole Wide World in 11 Songs

By Arthur Lizie

The first entrant in Backbeat Books’ new “Goes to 11” series, this fun and informative book explores Stevie Wonder’s place in pop music history through eleven of his most important songs. Track by track, it offers a telescopic look at each star in Wonder’s brilliant, funky constellation, giving the backstory of every song along with an explanation of the musical and cultural environment into which it was released. Together they form a composite picture of an artist who is a veritable pop vortex: an artist among artists, continually drawing in and disseminating musical influence.

Arthur Lizie is a Professor of Communication Studies at Bridgewater State University. He is the author of the books Prince FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Purple Reign and Neil Young on Neil Young: Interviews and Encounters.

Cover coming soon

Discover Stevie Wonder through 11 of his most important songs.

Backbeat

November 2024

144 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 7209 5

$19.95 / £14.99

eBook

978 1 4930 7210 1

$14.50 / £10.99

Music • History & Criticism

Photo by israel palacio Unsplash.

If Pink Floyd Starts Playing 11 Different Tunes

By Ric Dube

The quintessential “album act,” Pink Floyd are legendary for Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and landmark live performances of The Wall. Yet, the band is currently a top-20 ranked rock act on Spotify, based on individual plays of tracks such as “Money” and “Comfortably Numb.”

This entry in the “Goes to 11” series provides essential background and additional information to present a unique point of view on the band’s music, its impact and famous history of tense personal relationships.Was Syd Barrett’s greatest contribution to Pink Floyd an early composition in its repertoire—such as “See Emily Play” or the improvisational “Interstellar Overdrive”—or was it forcing the circumstances that established its classic lineup of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright? Is “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” the showcase moment from the greatest rock opera since the Who’s Tommy—or is it just a pompous novelty record? Nearly 20 years after Roger Waters first “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,” did David Gilmour decide “Learning to Fly” would be a step forward for Pink Floyd? Get Ric Dube’s unfiltered perspective here.

Ric Dube is a writer and social scientist currently living in Massachusetts. His humor and writing about rock and roll and technology has appeared online and in print, in the US and EU, since 1998.

coming soon

A unique look at Pink Floyd in 11 songs.

Backbeat

December 2024

144 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 8476 0

$16.95 / £12.99

eBook

978 1 4930 8477 7

$15.50 / £11.99

Music • History & Criticism

Cover

Photo by Karl Hörnfeldt on Unsplash.

Room 100

Sid, Nancy, and the Night Punk Rock Died

By Jesse P. Pollack

Room 100 chronicles the tragic story of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, punk rock’s very own Romeo and Juliet. Through a wealth of archival material, plus new and exclusive interviews from rock luminaries such as Television guitarist Richard Lloyd, iconic photographer Robert Bayley, and PUNK magazine co-creator John Holmstrom, critically acclaimed true-crime writer Jesse P. Pollack’s book is the first to be solely devoted to popular music’s darkest hour—the murder of Nancy Spungen. Did Sid kill the love of his life in a drug-induced stupor, or had Nancy been the victim of a robbery gone wrong? Was there a death pact? Did the police ignore crucial evidence? This comprehensive journalistic account will be the definitive book on one of rock ‘n roll’s most intriguing and enduring mysteries.

Jesse P. Pollack was born and raised in the garden state of New Jersey and has served as a contributing writer for Weird NJ magazine since 2001. His first book, Death on the Devil’s Teeth, coauthored with Mark Moran, was published in 2015 to critical acclaim and was nominated for a New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance Author Award. His 2018 follow-up, The Acid King, was hailed by the School Library Journal as an “exciting and captivating true crime page-turner.” Also an accomplished musician, Pollack’s soundtrack work has been heard on Driving Jersey, an Emmy-nominated PBS documentary series. He is married with two children, three dogs, three fish, and a cat and lives in Fort Recovery, Ohio.

The gripping first account of one of the darkest days in pop music history: the murder of Nancy Spungen.

Backbeat

August 2024

200 Pages

30 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 4930 5063 5

$24.95 / £18.99

eBook

978 1 4930 5064 2

$23.50 / £17.99

Music • History & Criticism

American Standard

Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond

By Ross Warner

With a true-life story that is little known and fueled by artistic genius, rock excess, hilarious misbehavior, and chance encounters with rock’s biggest names, Cheap Trick’s story will appeal to all levels of fans. American Standard: Cheap Trick From The Bars to the Budokan and Beyond will entertain readers of gripping non-fiction— especially those with interest in rock’s “second wave” and stories of bands breaking big in the most unlikely of ways.

Ross Warner has been writing about the three pillars of popular culture (television, music and film) since high school; his work has appeared in such magazines as American Heritage, Cinema Retro, Hittin’ The Note, Heeb, and Glide. His obsession with the Chargers landed him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. His work on his other major obsession, the Grateful Dead, has been similarly featured in both books and magazines. Drunk on Sunday, his first book, was published in 2020.

Discover the fascinating and little-known story of rock band Cheap Trick.

Backbeat

November 2024

256 Pages

25 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 4930 7806 6

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 7807 3

$28.50 / £19.99

Biography & Autobiography • Music

Infinite Dreams

The Life of Alan Vega

By Laura Davis-Chanin and Liz Lamere - Foreword by Bruce Springsteen

Best known for co-founding the early punk duo Suicide, Alan Vega lived a complex and labyrinthine life, driven by a desire to express himself uncompromisingly through art. From his first sketch in art class at Brooklyn College to the 2021 release of the album Mutator five years after his death, Vega continues to shock and inspire.

This first-ever biography of Vega tells the story of the man’s life and art, beginning with his early attempts to live a “normal” life and his epiphanic encounter with Iggy Pop in 1969. Although becoming a performer on stage had been at the bottom of Vega’s list of lifetime ambitions, Iggy changed his mind: he needed music to truly express his vision. Infinite Dreams goes on to describe Vega’s many experiments across a variety of media, including the partnership with Marty Rev that became Suicide, which challenged audiences to look deep inside themselves and to not settle for distractions.

A raw but engaging exploration of a man whose artwork, music, and philosophy inspired thousands, written by award-winning author Laura Davis-Chanin together with Liz Lamere, Alan Vega’s wife and long-term creative collaborator.

An exploration of a man whose artwork, music, and philosophy inspired thousands.

Backbeat

August 2024

288 Pages

241 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 7248 4

$40.00 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 4930 7249 1

$33.00 / £25.00

Biography & Autobiography • Music

Howling to the Moonlight on a Hot Summer Night

The Tale of the Stray Cats

By Christopher McKittrick

While New Wave pop music was dominating the charts in the early 1980s, one band made up of a trio of throwbackloving musicians from the suburbs of Massapequa, Long Island—guitarist/singer Brian Setzer, drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and bassist Lee Rocker—returned rockabilly to the pop charts with their Top 10 singles “Rock This Town,” “Stray Cat Strut,” and “(She’s) Sexy + 17” as the Stray Cats. Over forty years and many classic studio and live albums later, the Stray Cats still epitomize the coolness of the founding fathers of rock and roll that never goes out of style.

Howling to the Moonlight on a Hot Summer Night: The Story of the Stray Cats tells the full story of the band’s history and catalog as musicians, celebrating the band as one of the most successful rock revival groups in the early phenomenon years of MTV, one who continues to enjoy long-lived popularity in rockabilly culture.

A Long Island, New York native, Christopher McKittrick is the author of Can’t Give It Away on Seventh Avenue: The Rolling Stones and New York City (2019) Somewhere You Feel Free: Tom Petty and Los Angeles (2020), and Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde That Got Away (2023). McKittrick and his work have been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Observer, Newsday, USAToday.com, CNBC.com, Time.com, RollingStone.com, and dozens of entertainment and news websites, including VFX Voice magazine

Cover coming soon

An in depth look at the history of one of America's most successful rockabilly bands.

Backbeat

December 2024

256 Pages

20 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 4930 7482 2

$27.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 4930 7483 9

$26.50 / £19.99

Biography & Autobiography • Music

Photo by Caio Silva on Unsplash.

When Rock Met Reggae

How the Cultural Crossover of Bob Marley, The Clash, The Specials and More Changed the Face of Rock Music

By Steven Blush

Bringing the same incisive, cross-genre perspective he offered in When Rock Met Disco, Steven Blush gives a spirited survey of the crossover of Jamaican, British, and American sounds that changed the face of popular music in When Rock Met Reggae. The inspiration of ska, rock-steady, dub, and reggae—heard on independent recordings played on “soundsystems” from Kingston and Brixton—created a new rock tonality and attitude, spanning from Eric Clapton to The Clash. Meanwhile, the “Two Tone” sounds—traversing The Specials, Madness, and UB40—fueled the ‘90s ska revival of Sublime, No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and beyond. Attentive to the racial, political, and—ahem— pharmeceutical aspects of this intricate story, Blush gives a memorable account of one of the most fertile crosspollinations in pop music history.

Steven Blush has written seven books about rock and pop culture, including, most recently, When Rock Met Disco: The Story of How The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, KISS, Queen, Blondie and More Got Their Groove On in the Me Decade.

Cover coming soon

Exploring the intersection of the two genres, covering Bob Marley, The Police, The Clash, the ska revival, Don Letts introduction of reggae to punk bands, and the ”dub" techniques on rock records originated by reggae artists.

Backbeat

November 2024

256 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 7447 1

$27.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 4930 7448 8

$26.50 / £19.99

Biography & Autobiography • Music

Photo by Adrian Korte on Unsplash.

Cranking Up the History and Legacy of Rush in 11 Songs

By Adrien Begrand

One of the most beloved rock bands of all time, Rush have earned the devotion of millions by doing things their own way: always searching for new ways to grow as musicians, evolving with the times, and never compromising their integrity, all with a charming sense of humor and humility. After more than four decades and 19 studio albums, they've left behind a rich body of work that continues to enthrall listeners, new and old. Focusing on 11 of their most important tracks, Goes to 11: Cranking Up the History and Legacy of Rush in 11 Songs explores every era of the band's history, from their early days as teenagers to their final tour in 2015, putting into context Rush's importance in rock 'n' roll history.

Adrien Begrand is a music journalist whose work has been published by NPR, Rolling Stone, Spin, CBC, Decibel, and PopMatters.com. He lives in Saskatoon, Canada, with his wife and pup.

Cover coming soon

A history of Rush through 11 of their most important songs.

Backbeat

December 2024

144 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 8474 6

$16.95 / £12.99

eBook

978 1 4930 8475 3

$15.50 / £11.99

Music • History & Criticism

Photo by Joyce G on Unsplash.

I Can't Remember If I Cried

Rock Widows on Life, Love, and Legacy

By Lori Tucker-Sullivan

The stories of rock musicians who die young are the thing of lore and legend. Accidents, drug overdoses, plane crashes—all have taken the lives of male rock stars still in their primes. But what became of their widowed brides? How did they survive a loss so great? What is it like to have to share your grief with millions of strangers? And where are these widows today?

I Can’t Remember if I Cried is part music history, part memoir, based around interviews with rock widows conducted by Lori Tucker-Sullivan—who herself lost her husband in 2010. With each widow that Lori interviews, she learns lessons in love, forgiveness, coping, and moving on. The book is framed by the author’s own narrative to create a single thread that links the stories together to ultimately create a tale of how the author’s life is changed through her interactions with these amazing women.

Lori Tucker-Sullivan is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Modern Loss, and Passages North. Her essays “Detroit, 2015” and “Time, Touch, and a Whale’s Grief” were both nominated for a Pushcart Prize and listed as a Notable Essays in the Best American Essays series. Since her husband’s death, Lori has written of the widowhood experience at the blog The Widow’s Apprenticeship. She is also a former bookselling professional who until recently served as Executive Director of the Independent Booksellers Consortium, Inc. She lives in Detroit, MI.

The amazing stories of the widows left behind by the some of the world's greatest rockstars.

Backbeat

July 2024

240 Pages 14 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 8414 2

$34.95 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 4930 8415 9

$33.00 / £25.00

Music • History & Criticism

by

Photo

Adrian Korte on Unsplash.

Highly respected accounts on TV, film and theatre history

Now in its fourth decade, Applause Theatre & Cinema Books is America’s foremost publisher of theatre, cinema, and TV books. Our books range from biographies of film and theatre luminaries to playscripts, librettos, monologue books and explorations of film, TV and theatre history. Applause is an imprint of Globe Pequot.

For more information on Applause Theatre & Cinema Books and to view the imprint’s full range of publishing, please visit www.applausebooks.com.

Backlist highlights

Top authors

Robert Sellers was born in Leeds in 1965. Following graduation from drama school, he aspired to a career on stage and screen. Alas, despite a few walk-on roles, the world has been spared his acting, which is perhaps for the best. Instead, he turned to film journalism and has written numerous books on film, TV, and popular culture, including the best-selling book Hellraisers: The Life and Inebriated Times of Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O’Toole, and Oliver Reed.

Stephen Jones is a former television and EPK producer/ director and genre movie publicist and consultant. He has had more than 160 books published as an editor and writer and has won four World Fantasy Awards, three International Horror Guild Awards, twenty-one British Fantasy Awards, five Bram Stoker Awards, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers Association. Stephen lives in London, England.

Bruce Willis

Celebrating the Cinematic Legacy of an Unbreakable Hollywood Icon

By Sean O'Connell

On a nondescript Wednesday morning in the waning days of March 2023, one of the biggest movie stars on the planet called it quits. No press conference had been organized, the Hollywood trades received no advance notice, and there was a conspicuous lack of the fanfare that usually accompanies such bombshell announcements. Instead, the news that Bruce Willis was retiring from acting came in a simple statement on his ex-wife Demi Moore’s Instagram page—along with the tragic news that Willis was suffering from aphasia, a cognitive disorder that subsequently worsened to become frontotemporal dementia.

It was a sad conclusion to the storied career of a man who had once been the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. In Bruce Willis, O’Connell compiles exclusive, original interviews with directors who have worked with Willis, as well as film critics and journalists who have analyzed his career, into a celebratory compendium. It also features the author’s analysis of Willis’s films, his career arc, and the industry that made him a star. And it includes capsule reviews of every Bruce Willis film, making this a complete handbook to a true American original.

Sean O’Connell is the author of two books with Applause: Release the Snyder Cut (2021), which documents the fight by DC Comics fans to get Zack Snyder’s lost cut of Justice League released, and With Great Power, which traces Spider-Man’s complete journey through Hollywood. O’Connell also serves as the Managing Director of CinemaBlend, a globally recognized entertainment news website. He has been covering the film industry since 1999, both in print and online, with bylines in outlets such as USA Today, The Washington Post, and Fandango. He lives in Charlotte, NC.

A retrospective on the career of one of the most successful and versatile leading men in Hollywood.

Applause

August 2024

264 Pages 20 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 7633 8

$32.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 7634 5

$31.00 / £25.00

Biography & Autobiography • Entertainment & Performing Arts

Audrey Hepburn A Beautiful Uncertainty

By Tom Santopietro, commentaries by Jeffrey Banks

Audrey Hepburn was a fairy-tale princess, onscreen and off. Academy Award-winning actress, fashion icon, ethereal beauty, wife, mother, World War II resistance activist, UNICEF champion—she transcended her era to become a global icon whose appeal continues to soar in the twenty-first century.

Packed with beautiful photographs of the star at her most captivating, and supplemented with incisive commentary from award-winning fashion designer Jeffrey Banks, Audrey Hepburn: A Beautiful Uncertainty is a one-of-a-kind exploration of Audrey’s glamorous image and remarkable life. Always leading with her heart, Hepburn is shown here fully captured in all her complexity: an often selfdoubting but brilliant and genuinely kind woman who used her fame and activism to change the world.

Slipping behind the scenes of Hollywood’s Golden Age, author Tom Santopietro details Audrey’s legendary dance partnership with Fred Astaire on the classic Funny Face, her lifelong friendship with Roman Holiday co-star Gregory Peck, and her love affairs with Albert Finney and William Holden. Throughout, Audrey’s life and career is juxtaposed with a deep look at the unerring taste of a fashion icon who played muse to the brilliant designer Hubert de Givenchy. Rich in biographical detail and full of new photographs and stories, this is a fitting tribute to an enchanting and beloved icon.

Tom Santopietro is the author of nine previous books, including The Sound of Music Story, the New York Times Editor’s Choice Considering Doris Day, and, most recently, The Way We Were: The Making of a Romantic Classic. Over the past thirty years, he has managed three dozen Broadway shows.

A stunning celebration of Audrey Hepburn.

Applause

November 2024

256 Pages

68 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 6808 1

$45.00 / £35.00

eBook

978 1 4930 6809 8

$43.50 / £35.00

Biography & Autobiography • Entertainment & Performing Arts

Damn You, Entropy!

1,001 of the Greatest Science Fiction Quotes

By Guy P. Harrison

Science fiction has hosted some of the greatest minds and most innovative thinkers in human history. From H.G. Wells to Octavia Butler, Star Trek to Star Wars, in books, on television, and at the movies, science fiction has shaped our future, pushed the limits of human imagination, and guided us within ourselves to examine universal truths of life. In this smartly curated book, author Guy P. Harrison collects 1,001 of the most influential and transformative quotations spanning four centuries of sci-fi, such as:

• "Better to make a good future than predict a bad one.”―Isaac Asimov, Prelude to Foundation, 1988 novel

• "Hope clouds observation.”―Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965 novel

• "No amount of money ever bought a second of time.”― Avengers: Endgame, 2019 film, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Whether you are a Dr. Who superfan, a diehard sci-fi reader, or an outer space film buff—or are simply curious about the cosmos—Damn You, Entropy! is an essential addition to every science fiction fan’s library.

Guy P. Harrison is an award-winning science writer and author. He is the author of Think, At Least Know This, and many other books. His writing has appeared in Reader's Digest, Skeptical Inquirer, Skeptic, Free Inquiry, and more.

1,001 of the most iconic quotations spanning four centuries of sci-fi.

Prometheus

August 2024

178 Pages

Hardback

978 1 6338 8984 2

$20.00 / £14.99

eBook

978 1 6338 8985 9

$19.00 / £14.99

Performing Arts • Film / Genres / Science Fiction & Fantasy

Acting with Adler

Expanded and Updated Edition

By Joanna Rotte, foreword by Isaac Butler

Stella Adler towers high among the memorable acting teachers in American theatre. Her methods of training, her principles of acting and character interpretation, and her analyses of the seminal plays of the modern theatre comprise a legacy for everyone who followed her. Acting with Adler looks at that legacy through the particular immediacy and authenticity of her own spoken words. Over three years in the 1970s, author Joanna Rotté worked under the direction of Adler as a student and actor, all the while taking copious notes that form the heart of this book. Rotté’s recounting of her time with Adler reveals a teacher speaking about her principles in a tough-minded, demanding manner, inspired by her overriding conviction that an actor “becomes bigger through working.”

This new edition of Rotté’s acclaimed text includes an entirely new foreword from Isaac Butler, author of The Method; a preface that places Adler more fully in her historical context; and an afterword that reflects on Adler’s philosophical and practical contributions, considering what her teachings have to offer performers working today.

Joanna Rotté is Professor Emerita of Theatre at Villanova University, where she taught in the graduate theatre program and served as artistic director and head of the Theatre Department. A former student of Adler’s, she has served as a guest lecturer for the Adler Conservatory in New York. She holds a doctorate in theatre history and production from the CUNY Graduate Center.

An expanded and updated edition featuring new reflections on Adler in her historical context and from the vantage point of today.

Applause

November 2024

216 Pages

Paperback

978 1 4930 8511 8

$17.95 / £13.99

eBook

978 1 4930 8512 5

$16.50 / £12.99

Performing Arts • Acting & Auditioning

Jimmy

The Secret Life of James Dean

By Jason Colavito

Although he died at a heartbreakingly young age and appeared in only a handful of movies, James Dean revolutionized American manhood. As a celebrity and icon, he melded vulnerability with determination, sensitivity with strength, in a way that offered a bracing and—for some—threatening new vision of masculinity. His massive influence and the fascination he continues to inspire is inseparable from his secret life as a queer man contending with the homophobia of midcentury America.

Today, even though it is widely accepted that Dean was gay or bisexual, the story of his life and his personal character continue to be colored by the tropes and prejudices of an earlier era. Drawing on more than four hundred previously secret pages of Dean’s personal and business records, Jimmy is a necessary and essential corrective to the biographical-historical record. A modern, twenty-first century approach, informed by contemporary ideas about sexual diversity transforms our understanding James Dean’s story, and the stories of boys and men like him.

Jason Colavito is a writer whose work has appeared in major magazines like Esquire and The New Republic. He has been interviewed widely in media that include CNN, the BBC, The New York Times, Discovery Network documentaries, and many others. He is the author of several critically acclaimed nonfiction titles, including Legends of the Pyramids (Red Lightning/Indiana UP, 2021), The Mound Builder Myth (Oklahoma UP, 2020), and The Cult of Alien Gods (Prometheus, 2005).

A fresh and long-overdue reassessment of James Dean, examining his life and legacy as a queer man.

Applause

December 2024

272 Pages 15 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 8565 1

$32.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 8566 8

$31.50 / £25.00

Performing Arts • Film / History & Criticism

Videotapes From Hell

Edited by Stephen Jones

For anyone who frequented a video store in the ‘80s or ‘90s, the styles are instantly recognizable: surprisingly beautiful paintings of fanged and winged monster; ridiculously lurid depictions of young men and women in peril; illustrations so incompetently drawn as to qualify as outsider art; absurdly overstuffed photomontages. The home video revolution was accompanied by an explosion of all kinds of cover art, embodying the anything-goes ethos of an era when obscure, cheaply produced movies— usually with supernatural storylines and bottom-drawer special effects—could be distributed throughout the world and watched from the comfort of one’s living room.

Videotapes from Hell provides an illustrated history of VHS cover art, from direct-to-video oddities to major studio releases. Drawing on the expansive collection of world-renowned horror expert Stephen Jones, it collects nearly 500 pieces of period artwork, accompanied by detailed captions that give the history of the movie and its release dates in video format. In addition to front-cover images and full-sleeve spreads, it includes examples of promotional posters and freestanding original artwork that was incorporated into box designs.

Including a foreword from beloved cult director Joe Dante (Gremlins, The ‘Burbs) and commentary from horror luminaries such as Stephen King, Mick Garris, Ramsey Campbell, and many more, Videotapes from Hell is a celebration of a lost genre ripe for rediscovery.

Stephen Jones is a Hugo Award nominee and the winner of four World Fantasy Awards, three International Horror Guild Awards, five Bram Stoker Awards, twenty-one British Fantasy Awards, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers Association. One of Britain’s most acclaimed horror and dark fantasy writers and editors, he has more than 160 books to his credit, including the The Art of Horror and The Art of Horror Movies.

An illustrated history of VHS cover art in all its gory glory.

Applause

December 2024

224 Pages

500 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 7795 3

$39.95 / £30.00

Performing Arts • Film / Genres / Horror

Saturday Night Forever

By Stephen Tropiano and Steven Ginsberg

Television history was made on October 11, 1975, when Chevy Chase welcomed America to the first episode of a new late-night comedy and variety show. Featuring cutting-edge humor, an absurdist sensibility, and a scrappy cast of young, talented performers, Saturday Night Live would go on to become one of the brightest stars in the pop-culture firmament, launching such comedy legends as John Belushi, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, and Tina Fey.

Timed to coincide with the show’s Season 50 in fall 2024, Saturday Night Forever is the ultimate fan’s bible and a loving tribute to a TV institution. Covering everything from the show’s creation by Lorne Michaels to the celebration of its golden anniversary, it gives an indepth look at SNL’s comedic highlights and nadirs, its memorable hosts and musical guests, and its many controversies, along with the characters, sketches, catchphrases, commercial parodies, and film shorts that have made it the epicenter of American comedy for five decades. Packed with photographs and rich with encyclopedic detail, this is the one-stop resource for all things SNL.

Stephen Tropiano is a professor of screen studies at Ithaca College in Los Angeles. He is the author of several books, including Saturday Night Live FAQ, The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on Television. His latest book is America on Television: Race, Gender, Class and Sexuality on Television (Wiley, 2023).

Steven Ginsberg is the Pendleton Professional Chair at Ithaca College in Los Angeles. He wrote the coming-ofage feature film, Family Prayers, starring Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Patti Lupone, and Paul Reiser. He writes a weekly blog, Notes from a Chair, which covers pop culture, politics, and social issues, and hosts its monthly sister podcast, Pod from a Chair

The ultimate SNL fan’s bible, timed to coincide with the show’s historic 50th season.

Applause

October 2024

491 Pages

65 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 4930 7260 6

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 7261 3

$28.50 / £19.99

Performing Arts • Television / Genres / Comedy

Photo by Chalo Gallardo on Unsplash.

Cover coming soon

American Noir Film

From The Maltese Falcon to Gone Girl

By M. Keith Booker

In American Film Noir, M. Keith Booker introduces readers to the cult-favorite genre of film noir and discusses the ongoing power and popularity of the genre’s key elements and themes in modern films, often considered neo-noir, well into the twenty-first century. Booker covers a wide range of noir favorites, from the early classics The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep, to late 20th-century neo-noir such as Chinatown,and ultimately newer iterations of the genre as seen in films like Inherent Vice, Promising Young Woman, and Uncut Gems

American Film Noir contains three separate parts, each exploring crucial categories of noir: the detective film, the lost man film, and femme fatale films. Within each section, Booker discusses the essential classic noir films that embody these themes as well as neo-noir films that invite viewers to analyze how the traditional components of noir have evolved with filmmaking. Finally, each section concludes with twenty-first-century films that evoke noir elements while refreshing the genre and enhancing viewers’ appreciation of the originals that inspired them—what Booker terms “revisionary noir”. Whether new to noir films, students of the genre, or long-time fans, readers will be sure to learn what makes this genre so special, discover why filmmakers keep coming back to it, and find a new favorite movie to add to their shelves.

M. Keith Booker is professor of English at the University of Arkansas. He is the author or editor of over sixty books including The Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels, Mad Men: A Cultural History, Tony Soprano’s America: Gangsters, Guns, and Money, Star Trek: A Cultural History, and The Coen Brothers’ America.

A deep dive into classic noir films and how filmmakers today are refreshing and updating the genre for new generations.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

November 2024

240 Pages 15 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 9409 6

$45.00 / £35.00

eBook

978 1 5381 9410 2

$42.50 / £35.00

Performing Arts • Film / History & Criticism

Miracle on 34th Street

The Making of a Christmas Classic

By Jeffrey Paul Thompson

Despite having been made into three TV movies, a radio drama, a stage play, a Broadway musical, a feature-film remake in color, and a book adaptation, the 1947 blackand-white film of Miracle on 34th Street still remains the favorite version of this modern Christmas classic. The American public seems to echo what Macy’s stated when declining to participate in the 1994 remake: “We felt there was nothing to be improved upon.” In many ways, it is a perfect film in the sense that there really is nothing that could have been done better: the story, the casting, the acting were all spot-on. The decade from 1941–1951 saw a bumper crop of classic Christmas including Christmas in Connecticut, Holiday Inn, and It’s a Wonderful Life, but with the exception of the latter film none have had the staying power of Miracle on 34th Street.

This book describes the origins of the story, the casting and production of the film, its marketing and publicity, and even how it elevated the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from a local New York event to a national celebration. Finally, it looks at the film’s legacy, including its high ranking among best Christmas movies of all time as well as its placement as ninth overall on the American Film Institute’s list of the most inspiring films.

Jeff Thompson worked as an archivist at Twentieth Century Fox from 2005–2016. During that time, he worked on hundreds of DVD/Blu-ray releases, including Miracle on 34th Street, and he took the opportunity to learn as much about this film as he could from the studio archives. He was also a coauthor on the studio’s official corporate history Twentieth Century Fox: A Century of Entertainment (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) and has an extensive knowledge of the studio’s history and the context of this film.

This history of the 1947 version of Miracle on 34th Street - ranked among the best Christmas movies of all time.

Lyons Press

October 2024

272 Pages

205 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 7524 9

$45.00 / £35.00

Performing Arts • Film / Genres / Historical

Going Long

The Art of Long-Form Improvisation for Stage and Screen

By Jo McGinley

A practical guide for long-form improvisation at all levels.

Going Long provides a clear and practical framework for both beginning and experienced improvisers. It includes mental exercises specifically developed for long-form work, best practices for rehearsals and collaboration, techniques for connecting with the audience, and principles for making in-the-moment decisions that support an overarching narrative. It also includes tips on specific genres tales that show how to use familiar narrative conventions and produce a memorable improvised story.

Jo McGinley is a founding member of the renowned Impro Theatre in LA. Jo has also introduced the use of improv tools for leadership training at all levels in the corporate world. She lives in Pasadena, California.

Applause

July 2024 • 208 Pages

Paperback 978 1 4930 7793 9 • $24.95 / £18.99

eBook 978 1 4930 7794 6 • $23.50 / £17.99

Performing Arts • Improvisation

Acting Out

How A Prison Theatre Workshop Broke Free

By Richard Hoehler

The remarkable story of theatre’s ability to change lives even in the most unlikely of settings.

Acting Out: How A Prison Theatre Workshop Broke Free is Richard Hoehler’s account of the transformative work he’s witnessed leading theatre workshops in a federal prison.

Richard Hoehler is a celebrated writer, actor, and director. He conducted the Random House writing workshops for teenagers for 25 years. Currently he teaches at City College New York, Stella Adler Studios, and HB Studios, and is a member of the Alliance of Acting Teachers and the Dramatists Guild. Richard has created four solo shows and received the OOBR Award for Best Solo Performance.

Applause

November 2024 • 224 Pages

Hardback 978 1 4930 8555 2 • $24.95 / £18.99

eBook 978 1 4930 8556 9 • $23.50 / £17.99

Performing Arts • Theater / History & Criticism

Photo by Sonder Quest on Unsplash.

Cover coming soon

God's Fools

Laughing Saints, Delirious Prophets, and the Sacred Makers of Comedy

By Jason Crawford

An illuminating look at the stand-up comedian as a modern heir to saints and mystics.

God’s Fools gives a penetrating and surprising look at the social role that comedians play by placing them in their proper historical lineage—one that begins not with vaudeville and minstrelry but with the mystics, martyrs, and misfits of the premodern Judeo-Christian world.

Jason Crawford holds a doctorate in medieval and early modern literature from Harvard, and he teaches in the English Department at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. His writing has appeared both in leading academic journals as well as publications like The Los Angeles Review of Books He is the author of Allegory and Enchantment (Oxford University Press, 2017).

Applause

October 2024 • 256 Pages • 20 Illustrations

Hardback 9781493080595 • $32.95 / £25.00

eBook 9781493080601 • $31.50 / £25.00

Performing Arts • Comedy

SHEMP!

The Biography of The Three Stooges’ Shemp Howard, The Face of Film Comedy

By Burt Kearns

Shemp! is the first book to challenge the “official” version of Three Stooges history.

Shemp Howard is one of the most recognizable faces of the twentieth century. An original member of the Three Stooges, who perfected a brand of slapstick comedy that left an indelible imprint on the face of popular entertainment. Then he walked away… But Shemp didn’t disappear. He made Hollywood history on his own, in a successful and career in more than a hundred movie shorts and features, appearing alongside the biggest stars of the Golden Age. Shemp! is the first book to challenge the “official” version of Three Stooges history, shattering myths as it uncovers the man’s unlikely story.

Burt Kearns is an established author, journalist, colorful interview subject, and also, as noted by Vanity Fair, “a show business and pop culture savant.”

Applause

December 2024 • 256 Pages • 20 Illustrations

Hardback 9781493074211 • $32.95 / £25.00

eBook 9781493074228 • $31.50 / £25.00

Performing Arts • Film / Genres / Comedy

Photo by Matthias Wagner on Unsplash. Cover coming soon

Recording Broadway A Life in Cast Albums

By Thomas Z. Shepard and Gayden Wren

Recording Broadway: A life in Cast Albums is veteran producer Thomas Z. Shepard's first-person account of the making of fifty plus years' worth of show albums, featuring up-close-and-personal stories of his work with pretty much everyone who was anyone on Broadway, including Julie Andrews, Leonard Bernstein ("truly awesome but very complicated"), Sheldon Harnick ("as warm and decent as he was talented"), Barbara Cook ("one of my favorites"), Angela Lansbury ("so gifted and so easy to be with and to work with"), Mandy Patinkin, Stephen Sondheim ("a genius, and very easily bruised"), Barbra Streisand ("as professional at 24 as any veteran I've ever worked with"), Andrew Lloyd Webber, and many more.

Alongside this unforgettable saga is the tale of Shepard's childhood as a very short piano prodigy on the middleclass streets of East Orange, New Jersey, and his emergence into the world as a recording producer of, first, classical music and then Broadway Original Cast recordings. Recording Broadway will be compelling even to someone not among the millions of Broadway lovers around the world for whom his recordings are a vital link to Broadway at its best.

Thomas Z. Shepard is the 12-time Grammy-winning producer of the cast albums for such shows as Ain’t Misbehavin’, Annie, La Cage aux Folles, Chicago, Company, 42nd Street, The King and I, Sweeney Todd, and many more. In a 60-year career that has included stints as the lead Broadway producer at Columbia Records, RCA and MCA, he’s left a hallmark on Broadway that will never be erased.

Gayden Wren is the former entertainment editor for The New York Times Syndicate and artistic director of the New Punctuation Army, Inc. He is also a playwright whose produced works include A Gilbert & Sullivan Christmas Carol (1994) and Very Truly Yours, Gilbert & Sullivan (1997).

Cover coming soon

For the first time, the alchemy behind the production of "The Original Cast Album" is told—and no one is better positioned to do so than Tom Shepard.

Applause

November 2024

320 Pages

50 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 8125 7

$34.95 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 4930 8126 4

$33.50 / £25.00

Performing Arts • Film / History & Criticism

Photo by Ubu Komarova on Unsplash.

The Documentarian

The Way to a Successful and Creative Professional Life in the Documentary Business

By Roger Nygard

The Documentarian: The Way to a Successful and Creative Professional Life in the Documentary Business is the ultimate go-to source for making documentaries, containing the crucial tips and strategies that every filmmaker needs to know. It is detailed in explaining how to conceive, shoot, and sell a documentary, along with specific advice overall in how to succeed in the independent film business. Included is wisdom from experts like film agents, publicists, festival directors, and award-winning documentary filmmakers such as Ken Burns, Davis Guggenheim, Liz Garbus, Rachel Grady, Freida Lee Mock, Errol Morris, Sam Pollard, Michael Tollin, Frederick Wiseman, and Marina Zenovich. Nygard describes his journey through the film business, including a case study profiling the making and selling of the documentary Trekkies; what it took to push the film to a recordsetting sale to a major studio, with a huge payout to the filmmakers. This book is inspirational and leaves readers—after finishing a chapter or the whole book— feeling more inspired to go forth with their own struggle.

Roger Nygard grew up outside Minneapolis on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. At age seven he discovered his father’s 8mm camera and began making short comedy films—and he never stopped. Nygard has since directed TV series such as The Office and The Bernie Mac Show, and he has edited Emmy-nominated episodes of VEEP and Curb Your Enthusiasm. As an award-winning documentarian, Nygard has tackled serious topics in a humorous way, like Trekkies and The Nature of Existence, and his latest work is, Cut to the Monkey: A Hollywood Editor’s Behind the Scenes Secrets to Making Hit Comedies, published by Applause Books.

The ultimate guide to success in documentary business.

Applause

October 2024

272 Pages

88 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 4930 8622 1

$27.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 4930 8623 8

$26.50 / £19.99

Performing Arts • Television / Direction & Production

Informing with clarity, persuading with conviction.

The Brookings Institution and its scholars are known worldwide as a source for original and innovative thought in foreign policy, American politics and governance, current affairs, metropolitan policy, economics, and development. In turn, the Brookings Institution Press helps bring the knowledge and research by scholars from within and outside the Institution to a wider audience of readers, researchers, students, and policymakers through its books and journals.

Backlist highlights

The Press publishes about forty books a year that harness the power of fact and rigorous research to start conversations, inform debates, change minds, and move policy.

Publishing has been an integral facet of the Brookings Institution mission since its founding in 1916. The Brookings Institution Press grew from its beginning as an outlet for institutional research to a full-fledged scholarly press publishing an impressive variety of peer-reviewed titles, and by 1958 it had joined the Association of American University Presses.

In recent years, the Press has published such exciting, successful titles as Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That is a Problem, and What to Do About It by Richard V. Reeves, Diversity Explosion: How the New Racial Demographics Are Remaking America by William H. Frey, Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin by Clifford Gaddy and Fiona Hill, and Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympic and the World Cup by Andrew Zimbalist—in other words, books that address real-world issues and get people talking.

Brookings Institution Press books are distributed outside North America by Rowman & Littlefield International Sales, Marketing & Rights and Ingram Publisher Services UK as part of the National Book Network’s TradeSelect programme.

The Art of Diplomacy

How American Negotiators Reached Historic Agreements that Changed the World

By Stuart E. Eizenstat

In one readable volume, diplomat and negotiator Stuart E. Eizenstat covers every major contemporary international agreement, from the treaty to end the Vietnam War to the Kyoto Protocols and the Iranian Nuclear Accord. Written from the perspective that only a participant in top level negotiations can bring, Eizenstat recounts the events that led up to the negotiation, the drama that took place around the table, and draws lessons from successful and unsuccessful strategies and tactics. Based on interviews with over 60 key figures in American diplomacy, including former presidents and secretaries of state, and major political figures abroad, Eizenstat provides an intimate view of diplomacy as today’s history. The Art of Diplomacy will be an indispensable volume to understand American foreign policy and provide invaluable insights on the art of negotiation for anyone involved in government or business negotiations.

Stuart E. Eizenstat has served as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union and Deputy Secretary of both Treasury and State. He is also the author of President Carter: The White House Years (2018), The Future of the Jews: How Global Forces are Impacting the Jewish People, Israel, and Its Relationship with the United States (2012), and Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor, and the Unfinished Business of World War II (2003). He is an international lawyer in Washington, DC.

Inside the greatest diplomatic negotiations of the past 50 years.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

July 2024

480 Pages 13 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 6799 1

$35.00 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 5381 6800 4

$33.00 / £25.00

Political Science • International Relations / Diplomacy

End of Immunity

Holding World Leaders Accountable for Aggression, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity

By Chile Eboe-Osuji

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has shown the world the critical importance of whether and how to punish heads of state, heads of government, and sundry strong men when accused of crimes of aggression, genocide, war crimes, and other crimes against humanity. In The End of Immunity, former President of the International Criminal Court, Chile Eboe-Osuji, probes the history and theory of the concept of immunity for heads of state, underscoring tribunal achievements, pointing out gaps in the existing framework of accountability and the hypocrisies that produced them, and offering workable solutions to the loopholes that government leaders still use to escape consequences today.

Going as far back as the Middle Ages, and concluding with a fresh new proposal for the ways in which international law can be shored up to prosecute those leaders who wage wars of aggression, Eboe-Osuji investigates the journey of international law’s rejection of immunity for anyone – including heads of state in particular – when they are suspected or accused of atrocities that international law has proscribed as crimes. The result is the definitive account of a profoundly vital principle for international relations and global humanity.

Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji is the former President of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and served as the senior legal advisor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. Eboe-Osuji is a Senior Fellow of the Carr Center at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and is the editorin-chief of the Nigerian Yearbook of International Law Eboe-Osuji is the 2022 recipient of the Goler T. Butcher Medal of the American Society of International Law for outstanding global contribution to human rights.

An important and timely investigation into how government leaders escape the consequences of their crimes.

Prometheus

December 2024

424 Pages

Hardback

978 1 6338 8990 3

$34.95 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 6338 8991 0

$33.50 / £25.00

Political Science • Genocide & War Crimes

Suffering and Smiling

Everyday Life in North Korea

By Byung-Ho Chung

Suffering and Smiling: Daily Life in North Korea, is a field report, rather than a theoretical account, of North Korean culture based on two decades of the author’s personal observation and contact with people, both within North Korea and abroad. Understanding the cultural and historical context of “suffering” and “smiling” is crucial to understanding the ongoing nuclear arms conundrum surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

Suffering and smiling coexist in the everyday lives of North Koreans. The Arduous March of partisans led by Kim Il-Sung in the struggle against Imperial Japan was seen as a symbol of great suffering in the nation. Then, the widespread famine of the 1990s in North Korea was referred to as the Arduous March (gonan ui haengun). Throughout this period of national suffering, signs commanding the nation to smile could be seen across the country, their slogan reading: March with a smile though the roads are rough!

The North Korea of today is fast changing, unbeknownst to the outside world. To understand and anticipate such changes, one must understand the norms and values that shape the behaviors of the people who make up North Korea. The concept of suffering and smiling can help us understand contemporary North Korean society and culture.

Byung-Ho Chung is professor of cultural anthropology and director of the Institute for Globalization and Multicultural Studies at Hanyang University, South Korea. He has visited North Korea as well as China’s borders with North Korea on numerous occasions for humanitarian purposes. He also has conducted research into concerns relating to the educational and social integration of North Korean refugees in South Korea. He is the co-author of North Korea: Beyond Charismatic Politics, R&L, 2012.

Cover coming soon

A glimpse inside everyday North Korea.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

October 2024

226 Pages

24 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 9384 6

$30.00 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 5381 9385 3

$29.00 / £19.99

Political Science • World / Asian

Photo by Micha Brändli on Unsplash.

Provocative, Progressive, and Independent

Prometheus Books is committed to testing the boundaries of established thought and providing readers with thoughtful and authoritative books in a wide variety of categories.

Publishing intelligent nonfiction for the thoughtful lay reader, Prometheus Books has focused on several core categories including popular science, critical thinking, philosophy, history, atheism, humanism, current events, psychology, and true crime. The imprint was founded in 1969 by the late philosopher Paul Kurtz.

For more information on Prometheus Books and to view the imprint’s full range of publishing, please visit www.prometheusbooks.com

Backlist highlights

Top authors

Garrett Ryan earned his PhD in Greek and Roman History from the University of Michigan. Besides teaching at several universities and authoring a series of academic works, Ryan has brought ancient history to life for hundreds of thousands of fans through his popular YouTube channel ToldinStone. He lives in Chicago. Visit toldinstone.com to learn more.

Sarah Makowski is a learning and development professional. She completed her Ph.D. in English Literature at the University of Aachen. In her private life, she is a dedicated Janeite and a voracious reader. Her writing has appeared in many places, including Persuasions, the Jane Austen Society of North America’s peerreviewed publication. Born in Michigan, Makowski, she now lives in Germany with her teenage son, husband, and two cats.

Everyday Rituals

The Liberating Power of Our Routines

By Pearl Katz Ph.D

When we are in painfully difficult or confusing life situations, especially amidst ever-uncertain times, our minds grapple for structure: a funeral ceremony definitively lays the dead to rest; the exaggerated choreography of a surgical room confirms its sterility; and a daily schedule gives prisoners a sense of normalcy. These practices, these rituals, give us peace.

Though it might seem contradictory, ordered rituals actually bring us freedom, creativity, and mental wellbeing. Rituals aren’t a thing of history or belonging to elaborate ceremonies. Rituals can be at a family dinner table or in a morning bathroom routine. In Everyday Rituals, Pearl Katz shows us just how transformative rituals are, no matter what kind.

Katz applies her years of fieldwork and psychiatric study to tangible, everyday life. She writes a thoroughly persuasive argument, using poignant case studies, to truly inspire readers. It’s in the ordinary that Katz discovers unlimited potential: mundane routine actually sparks incredible imagination. With scientific evidence, case studies, personal narrative, and guiding wisdom, Katz enlightens us as to how and why we can feel true freedom.

Pearl Katz has been on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine since 1985. She teaches residents in Psychiatry about how culture and ethnicity influence mental illness and therapy. In 2018, she received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.

How ordered rituals bring us freedom, creativity, and mental well-being.

Prometheus

October 2024

280 Pages

4 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 6338 8954 5

$26.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 6338 8955 2

$25.50 / £19.99

Psychology • Creative Ability

Psychology According to Shakespeare

What You Can Learn about Human Nature from Shakespeare’s Great Plays

By Philip G. Zimbardo Ph.D and Robert L. Johnson Ph.D

Psychology According to Shakespeare is an interdisciplinary project that bridges psychological science and literature, bringing together for the first time in one volume, the breadth and depth of the Bard’s knowledge of love, jealousy, dreams, betrayal, revenge, and the lust for power and position. Zimbardo and Johnson reveal the many different forms of mental illness the Bard described in terms that are now identifiable in the modern manual of disorders known as the DSM-5, and show that the playwright’s fascination with human nature extended far beyond mental disorders, ranging across the psychological spectrum, from brain anatomy to personality, cognition, emotion, perception, lifespan development, and states of consciousness. THe authors reveal how his interest in mind and behavior ranged across the full spectrum of psychology, including topics that we now call biopsychology and neuroscience, social psychology, thinking and intelligence, motivation and emotion, and reason vs intuition.

Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo is emeritus professor of psychology at Stanford University, where he conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment. He also served as president of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Robert L. Johnson obtained a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Oregon and has taught psychology at the college level for twenty-eight years. He has given presentations on Shakespeare's psychology at regional and national psychological conventions.

Shows how Shakespeare’s ideas would become important in psychological science centuries later.

Prometheus

August 2024

312 Pages

52 Illustrations

Hardback

978 1 6338 8960 6

$28.95 / £19.99

eBook

978 1 6338 8961 3

$27.50 / £19.99

Psychology • Cognitive Neuroscience & Cognitive Neuropsychology

Our Fictional Minds

Myths of Perception and a New Model of Consciousness

By David Fisher

Our Fictional Minds examines and challenges our most common—and seemingly common-sense—ideas about human consciousness. Drawing on developments in neuroscience, psychology, and monitoring technology, psychologist David Fisher shows how and why our usual takes on the human mind both serve us and limit us.

Seeing our models of the human mind as myths instead of accurate descriptions of discrete entities can help us to better understand ourselves and the world. However, such an understanding requires us to think differently, and a willingness to experience some discomfort about who and what we are. The resulting framework shows that we are much different from what we usually imagine ourselves to be. By examining our models of the mind, and inviting new models to the fore, we arrive at a more realistic view of our psychology and what it means to be human.

David Fisher, Ph.D., LP, APBB is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, a member of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, and a recipient of the American Psychological Association's Clinical Practice Award. Fisher practiced at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis and was a psychologist in private practice. He has published articles in many professional journals and has spoken at conferences and other venues around the world. He was the co-founder of, and Managing Director of Assessment for, International Claims Solutions LLC in Australia. He also co-founded and was Chairman of the Board of PsyBar LLC, a network of 1,800 MDs and Ph.D. psychologists who provide psychological and psychiatric services in the US and abroad.

The case for a more complete and all-encompassing way to understand consciousness.

Prometheus

October 2024

208 Pages

Paperback

9781493085330

$24.95 / £18.99

eBook

9781493085347

$23.50 / £17.99

Psychology • Cognitive Psychology & Cognition

Disbelief

The Origins of Atheism in a Religious Species

By Will M. Gervais Ph.D

Religion is a core tenet of human nature. At the same time, our overwhelmingly religious species is as atheistic as it’s ever been. Yet, no scientific understanding of religion is complete without accounting for those who actively do not believe. In this refreshing book, Will M. Gervais shows that the ubiquity of religious belief and the peculiarities of atheism are connected pieces in the puzzle of human nature. By examining how atheism comes to be in our religious species, Gervais offers new insights on belief and morality. Disbelief provides a radically cohesive theory of both faith and atheism, showing how we became a uniquely and universally religious species, and why many are now abandoning their belief.

Through a firsthand account of breakthroughs in the scientific study of atheism, including key findings from cognitive, developmental, and evolutionary psychology, this book forces a rethinking of the prevailing theories of religion and reminds both believers and atheists of the shared psychologies that set them on their distinct religious trajectories. Disbelief tells us how we became religious, why we’re leaving faith behind, and how we can get along with others across the religious divides we’ve culturally created.

Will M. Gervais, Ph.D. is a global leader in the scientific study of atheism and a reader of psychology at the Center for Culture and Evolution at Brunel University London. Dr. Gervais’s research has focused on the psychology of atheism for over a decade and his work has been featured in popular outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Public Radio, Der Spiegel, Psychology Today, Vox, and Scientific American

The story of how atheism arises and spreads in our uniquely religious species.

Prometheus

September 2024

432 Pages

26 Illustrations

Hardback

9781633889248

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

9781633889255

$28.50 / £19.99

Psychology • Social Psychology

Being Muslim Today

Reclaiming the Faith from Orthodoxy and Islamophobia

By Dr. Saqib Iqbal Qureshi

The truths of every religion are typically challenged and rewritten, serving as potent grounds for some of history’s most enduring debates and conflicts. Perhaps no other religious tradition suffers as much from the dualistic fallacy of good and evil than does Islam. What does it mean to be Muslim today? Orthodoxy’s interpretation is idyllic and omniscient, simplistic to a fault. Islamophobes at the opposite end of the spectrum, cultivating damaging stereotypes that present a religion that most Muslims cannot relate to.

In Being Muslim Today, Dr. Saqib Qureshi silences the noise that obscures the message of Islam. He provides a compelling and accurate presentation of the faith’s beginnings, its evolution throughout the last 1,400 years, and its relevance for today. Qureshi also describes the twin perils of Orthodoxy and Islamophobia and confronts the stereotype of Islam as an inherently violent religion, asking the West to hold a mirror to its own voracious appetite for conflict and colonization. Throughout, Qureshi encourages Muslims to reject pious certitude—the faithful must acknowledge the diversity of approaches and principals in the Islamic tradition, he writes, and adopt an attitude of theological humility.

Dr. Saqib Iqbal Qureshi is a bestselling author, film producer, and Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he received his PhD in International Relations and Epistemology. His work has been featured in The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Spectator, Entrepreneur, and The Independent. Qureshi produced the 1996 BBC One documentary Al Dawaah, the first television documentary about the Muslim community in any Western country. Visit saqibqureshi.com.

Accessible introduction to Islam and the Qur’an that explains how Muslims live and avoids the extremes of orthodoxy and Islamophobia.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

July 2024

328 Pages 14 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 5381 8932 0

$25.00 / £18.99

eBook

978 1 5381 8933 7

$23.50 / £17.99

Religion • Islam / General

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash.

Reclaiming Our Planet

How Environmental History Can Help Solve the Climate Crisis

By Alexander Gates

The popular media is full of doomsday scenarios regarding the environment and especially climate change. Perhaps these scare-tactics are necessary to call the public to action, however, they also have the unintended effect of convincing people that there is no hope for our planet.

In Reclaiming Our Planet, Alexander Gates explores past environmental crises that humanity has faced and successfully addressed to encourage readers that slowing and preventing climate change is possible. From the elimination of toxins and pesticides, such as lead and DDT, to an increase in Bald Eagle populations, Gates demonstrates that concerted efforts from motivated activists and scientists can and do lead to victories.

Set against the backdrop of these human victories over pollution, Reclaiming Our Planet also evaluates if our current approaches to are appropriate and highlights what more could be done. From solar panels and wind turbines to electric vehicles, Gates analyzes the advantages and drawbacks of such technologies along with possible new innovations in geothermal, algal fuels, and nuclear energy. Readers will be left optimistic that by learning from our history, the planet may still have a bright and healthy future ahead.

Alexander Gates, PhD, is a Distinguished Service Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University. He has published nine books, 81 professional papers, and edited 11 professional volumes. His work in geology, education, and diversity improvement in STEM has been recognized with 26 professional awards.

Offers hope for beating climate change by highlighting moments in history in which humans have successfully reversed environmental damage.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

August 2024

256 pages 20 illustrations

Hardback

978 1 5381 7967 3

$36.00 / £30.00

eBook

978 1 5381 7968 0

$34.00 / £25.00

Science • Environmental Science

The Glow Code

A Cheat Sheet for Feeling, Looking, and Being Your Best at Any Age

By Michelle McIvor

When I was 41, I learned how to wash my face. Turns out I’d been doing it wrong. (Hint: ditch cleansing wipes!)

This made me wonder what else I didn’t know. Like: Cardio or weights? Why can’t I sleep? Is there a trick to ordering good wine? Or buying art? I figured if I still had questions about how to adult and age like a superwoman, maybe you did too.

The Glow Code provides all the answers you need to feel, look, and live better in midlife and beyond. Rich in advice from top scientists, psychologists, makeup artists, fitness and nutrition authorities, and others, this book offers strategies and tips for better fitness, friendships, sex, creative practices, and more. And to make sure it works, I’ve tested it all—with sometimes hilarious results.

Fun, practical, and inspiring, The Glow Code is the manifesto to aging joyfully. For all of you with minimum free time but maximum ambition to rock this next stage of life, welcome to your cheat sheet.

Michelle McIvor is a journalist on a mission to age gratefully. Since 2005, she has contributed to publications such as Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Best Health, and AskMen, and she spent three years as a health and wellness columnist with the Calgary Herald. She has ghostwritten two books, including the #1 Canadian bestseller, Forever Terry: A Legacy in Letters. Michelle lives in Calgary, Alberta, with her husband and two kids.

An entertaining and engaging lifestyle manual offering concrete, actionable advice from experts across many fields to help women aged 35 and beyond navigate midlife, feel great, and age well.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

August 2024

224 pages

9 illustrations

Paperback

978 1 5381 8072 3

$22.95 / £17.99

eBook

978 1 5381 8073 0 21.50 / £16.99

Self-Help • Personal Growth / Happiness

Shy by Design

12 Timeless Principles to Quietly Stand Out

By Michael Thompson

Communication and confidence tools for shy people.

Inspired by his own transformation from feeling left out to leading others while staying true to his shy nature, career coach and communications advisor Michael Thompson shares 12 easy-to-grasp principles that will help shy people flip conventional wisdom with the communication skills they need to own their voice, build win-win relationships, and grow their influence through the power of words.

Michael Thompson is a career coach, leadership and communication lecturer at EAE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and a strategic communication advisor to top business leaders around the globe. He is the author of many viral articles on Medium.com and his work has appeared in dozens of mainstream business and life publications from Business Insider and Forbes. Michael lives in Palamós, Spain, with his wife and two sons. Learn more about Michael and his work on his website at mikethompsonblog.com.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers September 2024 • 168 pages

Hardback 9781538175842 • $22.95 / £17.99

eBook 9781538175859 • $21.50 / £16.99

Self-Help • Personal Growth / Success

The Upside of OCD

Flip the Script to Reclaim Your Life

By Michael Alcee

Integrates the best of what’s already out there for OCD treatment with a new relational twist that will take your treatment to a whole new level.

Many OCD sufferers fail to improve using the standard exposure-response prevention (ERP) treatment because it ignores the heightened empathy and existential sensitivity that accompanies OCD. Part treatment-manual and part-manifesto, this book shows sufferers and therapists how to get back to the upside of OCD: the creative powers that allow OCD sufferers to see the world with such unique depth, feeling, and intensity.

Michael Alcee, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Tarrytown, NY, and is a Mental Health Educator at the Manhattan School of Music. He has contributed to Psychology Today, The New York Times and others, has been a TEDx speaker and organizer and has appeared on a variety of podcasts.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers October 2024

Hardback 978 1 5381 9110 1 • $32.00 / £25.00

eBook 978 1 5381 9111 8 • $30.00 / £25.00

Self-Help • Compulsive Behavior / Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.

Cover coming soon

Eclectic publishing on America’s favourite pastimes and history

Launched nearly four decades ago as a publishing company dedicated to what founder Nick Lyons described as a lifestyle of “responsible outdoor sport,” Lyons Press has evolved into a leading publisher of high-quality books on fishing and hunting, nature, animals, military history, American history and sports.

For more information on Lyons Press and to view the imprint’s full range of publishing, please visit www.lyonspress.com

Backlist highlights

Top authors

Peter Allison is a safari guide who has spent much of the last twelve years leading wildlife-viewing and ecotourism trips in Africa, mostly Botswana. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, his love of animals led him to train as a safari guide in the early 1990s, and soon thereafter he was hired by southern Africa's largest operator to train all of their safari experts. For most of his safari career he has been based at a camp in Botswana called Mombo, which is situated on an oasis in the middle of the Kalahari Desert.

Don and Melanie Fink of IronFit® (IronFit.com) have trained athletes on five continents to personal records and breakthrough performances. Don has raced more than thirty Iron-distance triathlons, Ultraman, and other contests and has recorded age-group victories and course records. Melanie has raced 12 Iron-distance races, Ultraman, and has age group and overall victories in triathlon, running and open water swimming competitions throughout the world.

Early Days of ESPN

300 Daydreams and Nightmares

By Peter Fox

The tales of early ESPN people who gambled their careers while critics carped that “all-sports television will never work” are full of guile, luck, fear, fun, and unbridled optimism. As ESPN’s founding executive producer, Peter Fox was privy to some spectacular professional efforts by a cadre of Connecticut locals who made the dream real. The first 300 days of the fledgling network were filled with mayhem, on-air gaffes, and the slowest instant replay in television. What started as a humble idea in the late spring of 1978 to capitalize on the brand-new mania for UConn men’s basketball soon morphed into ESPN and a plan to begin airing a series of “test broadcasts” in the fall. This is the story of the early days at ESPN, told by one on the network's launching pad, and how a conversation over a couple of martinis in 1978 led to the creation of a broadcast juggernaut.

After selling his advertising agency in the 1970s, Peter Fox became an independent television producer, winning Clio, Addy, and Golden Pen awards. He was the founding executive producer of ESPN, and later became producer, director, and writer of corporate communications materials for Lloyds of London Correspondent, DuPont, United Technologies, and PPG Industries among others. He is currently Editor in Chief of SportsEdTV, the leader in online sports instruction, and managing director of SportsEdTV’s Learn to Win peak performance training, powered by HeartMath research and technology. He lives in North Carolina.

The story of early ESPN, told by one of its founders.

Lyons Press

August 2024

200 pages

45 illustrations

Hardback

978 1 4930 7957 5

$29.95 / £25.00

eBook

978 1 4930 7958 2

$28.50 / £19.99

Sports & Recreation • History

Books that capture the very heart and soul of outdoor pursuits

For more than 40 years, Falcon Guides have set the standard for outdoor recreation content. With contributions by top outdoors experts and enthusiasts, we invite readers to experience the endless adventure and beauty of the great outdoors.

With books and content covering the entire spectrum of outdoor activities, ranging from hiking and rock climbing guides to environmental preservation and wildlife identification, our objective is to outfit your mind with the best possible information on where to go, how to get there, and what to see once you arrive. Our online community brings people who love the outdoors together to share experiences and encourage others to get outside.

For more information on Falcon Guides and to view the imprint’s full range of publishing, please visit www.falcon.com

Backlist highlights

Top authors

Buck Tilton teaches at Central Wyoming College and has authored more than 1300 magazine articles and more than 40 books, including Knack Knots You Need, Knack Hiking & Backpacking, and Knack First Aid. His many books for FalconGuides, including the award-winning Wilderness First Responder, have sold more than 300,000 copies combined.

Meg Carney is a lifelong nature-lover and full-time outdoor and environmental writer. She is the Senior Editor of the CleanUp News, a news publication that focuses on environmental advocacy and educating consumers on the waste within the supply chain. Meg is well-versed in outdoor activities like backpacking, rock climbing, trail running, and biking. Her combined passion for words and the environment has led her to lead a nomadic lifestyle with a career in writing and environmental advocacy.

Outdoor Skills for Kids

The Essential Survival Guide to Increasing Confidence, Safety, and Enjoyment in the Wild

By Buck Tilton and Christine Conners

Buck Tilton, co-founder of the Wilderness Medicine Institute and author of over 40 outdoor books, shares his decades of wilderness experience with young readers in Outdoor Skills for Kids. Partnering again with author and artist Christine Conners, this book offers over 100 important wilderness lessons including:

• What to do when you get lost

• How to respond to wild animals

• Basic first aid

• Ways to stay positive in a survival situation

Buck Tilton teaches at Central Wyoming College and has authored more than 1,300 magazine articles and more than 40 books, including Knack Knots You Need, Knack Hiking & Backpacking, and Knack First Aid. His many books for FalconGuides, including the award-winning Wilderness First Responder, have sold more than 300,000 copies combined.

Experienced backpacker, camper, outdoor chef, and artist Christine Conners is the author of the nationally popular Lipsmackin’ outdoor cookbook series. If you’d like to see more of her work across other mediums, visit Christine at www.artbyconners.com.

Buck and Christine are the creators of the highly successful Knots for Kids. This is the second in their series of outdoor skills books for educating young readers.

Loaded with fun facts, games, safety tips and inspiring true stories of kids who used these same skills successfully in survival situations.

Falcon Guides

August 2024

128 pages

175 illustrations

Paperback

978 1 4930 7386 3

$16.95 / £12.99

eBook

978 1 4930 7387 0

$16.00 / £11.99

Sports & Recreation • Outdoor Skills

Hiking Hidden Gems in America's National Parks

By Ted Alvarez

Takes you to the lesser known hikes in these exceptional destinations.

Ted Alvarez invites readers to explore the joy of hiking in America’s vibrant national park system. Alvarez explains why, how, and where to find the hidden hiking gems throughout these locations and features first-hand descriptions. Each entry includes personal anecdotes, natural and cultural history, and practical tips. Every trail description is richly illustrated with color photographs and maps.

Ted Alvarez is Backpacker magazine’s Northwest Editor and was a National Magazine Award finalist in 2014. Whether chasing grizzly bears in the North Cascades, fording an icy Alaska river, or drinking his own urine in the desert, he regularly goes to extreme lengths in pursuit of a good story. He lives in Seattle, Washington, where he survives on heroic doses of strong coffee.

Falcon Guides

November 2024 • 352 Pages • 280 Illustrations

Paperback 978 1 4930 7077 0 $34.95 / £30.00

eBook 978 1 4930 7078 7 $33.00 / £25.00

Sports & Recreation • Hiking

Modern Rockhounding and Prospecting Handbook

Third

Edition

By Garret Romaine

Go from “pebble pup” to expert rockhound.

This volume explains everything from geology basics, identification tips, tools of the trade, how to record your findings, and how to set up a lab or gem shop. Before you know it, you’ll be driving the open roads and traveling home with dusty pockets full of rocks, gems, minerals, fossils—and maybe even gold.

Garret Romaine is an avid gold prospector, rockhound, and fossil collector with years of experience in the field. He is a longtime writer for Gold Prospectors magazine and is the author of many books on rockhounding and prospecting. Garret is a former executive director of the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals in Hillsboro, Oregon, and served on the board of directors for the North America Research Group (NARG), a fossil-collecting organization.

Falcon Guides

July 2024 • 264 Pages • 256 Illustrations

Paperback 9781493078493 $24.95 / £18.99

eBook 9781493078509 $23.50 / £17.99

Sports & Recreation • Rocks & Minerals

Tying Euro Nymphs and other Competition Favorites

By Tim Cammisa

15 richly illustrated fly-tying techniques from around the world.

Perhaps no other area in fly fishing has experienced as much sensation, and growth, as “Euro Nymphing.”

This term, which is actually not the most accurate but has been the one that has stuck, describes a broad category of nymphing (fishing flies under the water as opposed to on top of the water) techniques from around the world—Czech, Polish, Spanish, French, American, etc.—brought to the forefront by the rise of fly fishing competitions. This pioneering fly tying book focuses on teaching the most popular patterns in this category and includes approximately 15 flies with over 350 full-color tying steps.

Tim Cammisa of “Trout and Feather” has been a YouTube creator of fly tying and fly fishing videos for over seven years. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, Heather, and son, Angelo, both of whom enjoy fly fishing, too.

Stackpole Books

December 2024 • 224 Pages

Hardback 978 0 8117 7493 2 • $44.95 / £35.00

Sports & Recreation • Fishing

Stillwater Fly Fishing

Competition-Inspired Strategies for Everyday Anglers

By Devin Olsen

A fly fishing must-read from a medalist competitive angler.

This is the definitive guide to fly fishing lakes and reservoirs fishing and the only book on the market that covers competition and loch-style techniques used around the world.

Devin Olsen started fly fishing in Yellowstone at age nine. He started competing at age nineteen, earned a spot on Fly Fishing Team USA at twenty-one, and has competed in thirteen consecutive World Fly Fishing Championships with Fly Fishing Team USA. He has earned a bronze individual medal and silver and bronze team medals at world championships and numerous medals at competitions in the U.S. Devin holds a bachelor’s degree in ecology and a master’s degree in fisheries science and worked as a fisheries biologist for several years before founding his online store, Tactical Fly Fisher (tacticalflyfisher.com)

Stackpole Books

August 2024 • 248 Pages • 340 Illustrations

Hardback 978 0 8117 3956 6 $49.95 / £38.00

eBook 978 0 8117 6955 6 $47.50 / £37.00

Sports & Recreation • Fishing

Casting Homeward

An Angler and Naturalist's Journey to America's Legendary Rivers

By Steve Ramirez, foreword by Richard Louv, illustrated by Bob White

The fourth volume of Steve Ramirez’ series.

Steve Ramirez takes the reader on a physical and philosophical journey to some of the most legendary rivers and wild landscapes in America. Imbued with fly-fishing throughout, this journey seeks to explore what makes certain places feel magical and meaningful—they are iconic waters.

Steve Ramirez is a writer, educator, master naturalist, philosopher, and outdoor adventurer who lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country. He has lived in and traveled across four continents chronicling the unique historical landscapes, human cultures, and natural worlds that are in danger of vanishing.

This Artful Sport

A Guide to Writing about Fly Fishing

By Paul Schullery and Steve Raymond

A fly-fishers manual of style for aspiring writers and readers by two accomplished and published veterans of the sport and the literature.

This Artful Sport is a guide for fly-fishing writers and readers, those who want to write a book or magazine article, and those who enjoy reading in the subject. The book goes far beyond the basics of a simple writer’s manual. Its authoritative and sympathetic instruction delivered in lively style, an insider’s take on how fly-fishing books, magazines, and journals happen. The book is filled with the practical rules and guidelines good writers need and good readers appreciate plus well-told stories, many amusing or appalling war stories of the writer’s life, lots of writing and reading advice, and any number of perspective-altering revelations about the sport.

Paul Schullery and Steve Raymond have written numerous fly-fishing books and are well-known and respected for their skills with rod and pen.

Lyons Press

November 2024 • 272 Pages • 6 Illustrations

Hardback 978 1 4930 7769 4 • $32.95 / £25.00

eBook 978 1 4930 7770 0 • $28.50 / £19.99

Sports & Recreation • Fishing

Lyons Press

November 2024 • 232 Pages

Paperback 978 1 4930 8537 8 • $27.95 / £19.99

eBook 978 1 4930 8538 5 • $26.50 / £19.99

Sports & Recreation • Writing / Authorship

Understanding Boat Wiring

Second Edition

By John C. Payne

From John C. Payne, one of the foremost international authorities on marine electrical systems and electronics, comes an easy-to-understand yet thorough treatment of boat wiring and the technical issues facing every boat owner, whether sail or power.

Concise, compact, and fully illustrated for easy reference, Understanding Boat Wiring has been fully revised throughout. This guide offers a comprehensive coverage of the following major topics:

• Boat wiring standards

• Basic electrical principles

• System voltages

• How to plan and install boat wiring

• Circuit protection and isolation

• Switchboards and panels

• Bilge pump wiring

• Mast and external wiring

• Grounding systems

John C. Payne is a professional marine electrical engineer and surveyor, with a career spanning more than forty years in commercial shipping, the offshore oil industry, and yachting. He is a qualified technical writer and author of fifteen marine electrical and electronics books, including Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible, and numerous magazine articles. John has been involved with everything from submarine sonar systems and oil rig operation manuals to military helicopters. Currently, he is a commissioning manager for some of the world’s largest and most complex offshore oil production and drilling installations. He has built, restored, and cruised several yachts and lives aboard his own boat. He is a member of the ABYC and the Cruising Association.

The easy-to-use go-to in boat wiring from an experienced engineer.

Lyons Press

July 2024

120 Pages 4

5 Illustrations

Paperback

978 1 5740 9362 9

$22.95 / £17.99

eBook

978 1 5740 9363 6

$21.50 / £16.99

Sports & Recreation • Boating

She’s Gone Five Mysterious Twentieth-Century Cold Cases

By Kathleen Brunelle

She’s Gone collects the true stories of five different women living in different decades who all have one thing in common: one moment they were busy living their lives and the next moment … they were gone.

From the 1910 disappearance of New York heiress Dorothy Arnold to the 1977 vanishing of teenager Simone Ridinger, author Kathleen Brunelle details both famous and lesser-known cases that remain unsolved. Due to a strong belief that good girls didn’t disappear, when authorities and family members were presented with missing women in the twentieth century, it was often assumed that they had simply ran away. Most investigations were funded by family members, and when women were found to be the victims of violent crime, they were faulted for placing themselves in dangerous situations. On the rare occasions when authorities investigated cases, they relied on interviews and cash trails in combination with rudimentary forensics such as blood typing and fingerprinting to find missing persons. For those reasons, many of the real stories from this time period have yet to be told.

Kathleen Brunelle is an English teacher and historian living Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. Brunelle is a regular speaker at festivals, libraries, and bookstores throughout Cape Cod and Massachusetts, and is the author of Bellamy’s Bride: The Search for Maria Hallett of Cape Cod and Cape Cod’s Highfield and Tanglewood: A Tale of Two Cottages. Her work has been featured on NPR, Spooky Southcoast, and Cape Cod View Magazine, and she has appeared on the television show Genealogy Roadshow. She lives with her husband, Robert, and their children, Baylen and Mariel.

Features never-before-seen letters and documents, personal interviews, and genealogical research alongside captivating storytelling.

Prometheus

May 2024

240 pages

39 illustrations

Hardback

978 1 6338 8958 3

eBook

978 1 6338 8959 0

True Crime • Abductions, Kidnappings & Missing Persons

Photo by David von Diemar on Unsplash.

by

Photo

David von Diemar on Unsplash.

New in Paperback

Raising LGBTQ Allies

A Parent's Guide to Changing the Messages from the Playground

By Chris Tompkins

Raising LGBTQ Allies sheds light on the deeper, multifaceted layers of homophobia. It opens up a conversation with parents around the possibility they may have an LGBTQ child, and shows how heteronormativity can be harmful if not addressed clearly and early. Although not every parent will have an LGBTQ child, their child will jump rope or play tag with a child who is LGBTQ.

By showing readers the importance of having open and authentic conversations with children at a young age, Chris Tompkins walks parents through the many ways they can prevent new generations from adopting homophobic and transphobic beliefs, while helping them explore their own subconscious biases.

Offering specific actions parents, family members, and caregivers can take to help navigate conversations, address heteronormativity, and challenge societal beliefs, Raising LGBTQ Allies serves as a guide to help normalize being LGBTQ from a young age. Creating allies and a world where closets don’t exist happens one child at a time. And it begins with each of us and what we say, as much as what we choose not to say.

“[A] powerful treatise on creating a more accepting world.”

Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Chris Tompkins is a teacher, TEDx speaker, spiritual life coach, and LGBTQ inner-advocate based in Los Angeles, California. More importantly, he’s an uncle of five. Chris believes all kids are the future and teaches socialemotional learning throughout Southern California.

The first book to focus on the prevention of homophobia, transphobia, and bullying before they begin.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

December 2024

256 pages

1 illustration

Paperback

978 1 5381 9274 0

$17.95 / £13.99

eBook

978 1 5381 3627 0

$17.00 / £12.99

Previously published in hardback

978 1 5381 3626 3

$22.00 / £16.99

Family & Relationships • LGBT

Paris, City of Dreams

Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Creation of Paris

By Mary McAuliffe

Napoleon III and his right-hand man, Georges Haussmann, completely rebuilt Paris in less than two decades—a breathtaking achievement made possible not only by the emperor’s vision and Haussmann’s determination but by the regime’s unrelenting authoritarianism, augmented by the booming economy that Napoleon fostered.

Yet a number of Parisians refused to comply with the restrictions that censorship and entrenched institutional taste imposed. Mary McAuliffe follows the lives of artists such as Edouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Claude Monet, as well as writers such as Emile Zola, Gustave Flaubert, and the poet Charles Baudelaire, while from exile, Victor Hugo continued to fire literary broadsides at the emperor he detested.

McAuliffe brings to life a pivotal era encompassing not only the physical restructuring of Paris but also the innovative forms of banking and moneylending that financed industrialization as well as the city’s transformation.

“Armchair historians in particular will appreciate McAuliffe’s readable yet detailed history supplemented with illustrations and bibliography.”

Booklist, Starred Review

Mary McAuliffe holds a PhD in history from the University of Maryland, has taught at several universities, and has lectured among others at the Smithsonian Institution. She has traveled extensively in France, and for many years she was a regular contributor to Paris Notes. Her books include Dawn of the Belle Epoque, Twilight of the Belle Epoque, When Paris Sizzled, and Paris on the Brink. She lives in New York City with her husband.

Vividly recaptures the Paris of Napoleon III, Claude Monet, and Victor Hugo as Georges Haussmann tore down and rebuilt the city.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

August 2024

344 pages

30 illustrations

Paperback

978 1 5381 8196 6

$19.95 / £14.99

eBook

978 1 5381 2129 0

$30.00 / £25.00

Previously published in hardback

978 1 5381 2128 3

$32.00 / £25.00

History • Europe / France

Beyond the God Particle

By Leon M. Lederman and Christopher T. Hill

Readers of The God Particle will not want to miss this important sequel.

Two leading physicists discuss the importance of the Higgs Boson, the future of particle physics, and the mysteries of the universe yet to be unraveled. Starting where Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman’s bestseller The God Particle left off, this incisive new book explains what’s next. Lederman and Hill discuss key questions that will occupy physicists for years to come. Using thoughtful, witty, everyday language, the authors show how all of those intriguing questions are leading scientists ever deeper into the fabric of nature.

“A tour de force of physics made simple….”

—Times Literary Supplement

The Infantry's Armor

The U.S. Army's Separate Tank Battalions in World War II

By Harry Yeide

How the battalions fought the war, often in the tankers’ own words. With maps.

The U.S. Army’s separate armored battalions fought in obscurity by comparison with the flashy armored divisions, but they carried the heavier burden in the grim struggle against the Axis in World War II. The battalions participated in every armored amphibious assault that the army conducted. They did most of the bloody work in Italy, made vital contributions in France, and constituted the entire effort in the Pacific.

Harry Yeide is a world-renowned military historian. His other works include Steeds of Steel, First to the Rhine, and The Longest Battle. He lives in Maryland.

Prometheus

October 2024 • 325 pages

Paperback 978 1 4930 8698 6 • $22.95 / £17.99

eBook 978 1 6161 4802 7 • $23.50 / £17.99

Previously published in hardback

978 1 6161 4801 0 • $24.95 / £18.99

Science • Physics

Stackpole Books

October 2024 • 416 pages • 65 illustrations

Paperback 978 0 8117 7658 5 • $24.95 / £18.99

eBook 978 0 8117 4379 2 • $23.50 / £17.99

Previously published in hardback 978 0 8117 0595 0 • $29.95 / £25.00

History • Military / World War II

Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash.

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