New Books Network
British Studies
Princeton UP Ideas Podcast January 3, 2022

Western Europe’s Democratic Age

1945-1968

Martin Conway

Hosted by Mark Klobas
What happened in the years following World War II to create a democratic revolution in the western half of Europe? In Western Europe’s Democratic Age: 1945-1968 (Princeton UP, 2021), Martin …

British Studies

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Interviews with scholars of the United Kingdom about their new books.

General History December 27, 2021

The Cause

The American Revolution and Its Discontents, 1773-1783

Joseph J. Ellis

Hosted by Charles Coutinho
In one of the most “exciting and engaging” (Gordon S. Wood) histories of the American founding in decades, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Joseph J. Ellis offers an epic account of the …
British Studies December 22, 2021

Britain at Bay

The Epic Story of the Second World War: 1938-1941

Alan Allport

Hosted by Mark Klobas
Here is the many-faceted, world-historically significant story of Britain at war. In looking closely at the military and political dimensions of the conflict's first crucial years, Alan Allport tackles questions …
Irish Studies December 21, 2021

The Golden Thread

Irish Women Playwrights (1716-2016)

David Clare, Fiona McDonagh, and Justine Nakase

Hosted by Colleen English
The 2015 #WakingTheFeminists Campaign for gender equality in Irish theatre highlighted the marginalization of women in this industry and led to several significant initiatives that interrogated existing theater practices …
General History December 15, 2021

Bonds of Empire

The English Origins of Slave Law in South Carolina and British Plantation America, 1660–1783

Lee B. Wilson

Hosted by Derek Litvak
Lee B. Wilson is the author of Bonds of Empire: The English Origins of Slave Law in South Carolina and British Plantation America, 1660-1783, published by Cambridge University Press in …
Irish Studies January 19, 2022

Imagining Ireland's Pasts

Early Modern Ireland Through the Centuries

Nicholas Canny

Hosted by Aidan Beatty
Nicholas Canny is an Emeritus Professor at the National University of Ireland-Galway (NUIG). Since completing his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania he has pursued an influential publishing career spanning …
Middle Eastern Studies January 12, 2022

The Egyptian Labor Corps

Race, Space, and Place in the First World War

Kyle J. Anderson

Hosted by Christopher Rose
During World War I, the British Empire enlisted half a million young men, predominantly from the countryside of Egypt, in the Egyptian Labor Corps (ELC) and put them to work …
Interpretive Political and Social Science December 30, 2021

Empires of Vice

The Rise of Opium Prohibition Across Southeast Asia

Diana S. Kim

Hosted by Nick Cheesman
In Empires of Vice: The Rise of Opium Prohibition across Southeast Asia (Princeton University Press, 2020) Diana Kim situates the regulation of vice at the heart of colonial state building …
Art December 30, 2021

Banksy: Completed

Carol Diehl

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Banksy is the world's most famous living artist, yet no one knows who he is. For more than twenty years, his wryly political and darkly humorous spray paintings have appeared …
General History December 29, 2021

The Last King of America

The Misunderstood Reign of George III

Andrew Roberts

Hosted by Charles Coutinho
Most Americans dismiss George III as a buffoon--a heartless and terrible monarch with few, if any, redeeming qualities. The best-known modern interpretation of him is Jonathan Groff's preening, spitting, and …
Scholarly Communication December 24, 2021

Making "Nature"

The History of a Scientific Journal

Melinda Baldwin

Hosted by Daniel Shea
Listen to this interview of Melinda Baldwin about her book Making 'Nature': The History of a Scientific Journal (U Chicago Press, 2015). Melinda is AIP Endowed Professor in History of Natural Sciences at …
Biography December 23, 2021

The Strange Genius of Mr. O.

The World of the United States' First Forgotten Celebrity

Carolyn Eastman

Hosted by Ryan Shelton
The Strange Genius of Mr. O.: The World of the United States' First Forgotten Celebrity (Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press, 2021) by Carolyn …
South Asian Studies December 16, 2021

Bureaucracy, Belonging, and the City in North India

1870-1930

Michael S. Dodson

Hosted by Ujaan Ghosh
Michael S. Dodson's Bureaucracy, Belonging, and the City in North India: 1870-1930 (Routledge, 2020) is a re-evaluation of modern urbanism and architecture and a history of urbanism, architecture, and local identity …
British Studies December 13, 2021

Merchants

The Community That Shaped England's Trade and Empire, 1550-1650

Edmond Smith

Hosted by Joseph Krulder
In the century following Elizabeth I's rise to the throne, English trade blossomed as thousands of merchants launched ventures across the globe. Through the efforts of these "mere merchants," England …
World Christianity December 10, 2021

The Scots Afrikaners

Identity Politics and Intertwined Religious Cultures in Southern and Central Africa

Retief Muller

Hosted by Byung Ho Choi
Drawing primarily on Dutch and Afrikaans archival sources including the Dutch Reformed Church Archive and private collections, Retief Muller's The Scots Afrikaners: Identity Politics and Intertwined Religious Cultures in Southern and …
Biography December 9, 2021

There Is Nothing for You Here

Opportunity in an Age of Decline

Fiona Hill

Hosted by Marshall Poe
Today I talked to the remarkable Fiona Hill about her new memoir There Is Nothing for You Here: Opportunity in an Age of Decline (Mariner Books, 2021). We talked about the …
General History December 3, 2021

When France Fell

The Vichy Crisis and the Fate of the Anglo-American Alliance

Michael S. Neiberg

Hosted by Charles Coutinho
According to US Secretary of War Henry Stimson, the "most shocking single event" of World War II was not the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but rather the fall of …
Intellectual History December 2, 2021

The Color of Equality

Race and Common Humanity in Enlightenment Thought

Devin J. Vartija

Hosted by Alexandra Ortolja-Baird
The Enlightenment is often either praised as the wellspring of modern egalitarianism or condemned as the cradle of scientific racism. How should we make sense of this paradox? The Color …
General History December 1, 2021

Indian Soldiers in World War I

Race and Representation in an Imperial War

Andrew T. Jarboe

Hosted by Christopher Rose
More than one million Indian soldiers were deployed during World War I, serving in the Indian army as part of Britain's imperial war effort. These men fought in France and …
General History December 1, 2021

The Last King of America

The Misunderstood Reign of George III

Andrew Roberts

Hosted by Crawford Gribben
Following upon the success of his magisterial account of Winston Churchill, Andrew Roberts returns with an outstanding biography of George III: The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III …