NBN Book of the Day

NBN Book of the Day

episodes

One book selected daily from those published on the New Books Network.

Guido Alfani, "As Gods Among Men: A History of the Rich in the West" (Princeton UP, 2023)

April 19, 2024

As Gods Among Men

Guido Alfani

This provocative and interesting book has received considerable attention. Roaring reviews and interviews include The Financial Times (UK), The Teleg…

Jonathan Chatwin, "The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the Fight for China's Future" (Bloomsbury, 2024)

April 18, 2024

The Southern Tour

Jonathan Chatwin
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Deng Xiaoping’s 1992 Southern Tour has become a milestone in Chinese economic history. Historians and commentators credit Deng’s visit to Guangzhou Pr…

Thor Rydin, "The Works and Times of Johan Huizinga (1872-1945): Writing History in the Age of Collapse" (Amsterdam UP, 2023)

April 17, 2024

The Works and Times of Johan Huizinga (1872-1945)

Thor Rydin
Hosted by Jana Byars

Thor Rydin joins to talk about his new book, The Works and Times of Johan Huizinga (1872- 1945): Writing History in the Age of Collapse (Amsterdam UP,…

Felipe Fernández-Armesto and Manuel Lucena Giraldo, "How the Spanish Empire Was Built: A 400 Year History" (Reaktion, 2024)

April 16, 2024

How the Spanish Empire Was Built

Felipe Fernández-Armesto and Manuel Lucena Giraldo
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Sixteenth-century Spain was small, poor, disunited and sparsely populated. Yet the Spaniards and their allies built the largest empire the world had e…

Rasmus Winther, "Our Genes: A Philosophical Perspective on Human Evolutionary Genomics" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

April 14, 2024

Our Genes

Rasmus Winther
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Situated at the intersection of natural science and philosophy, Our Genes: A Philosophical Perspective on Human Evolutionary Genomics (Cambridge Unive…

Maria Snegovaya, "When Left Moves Right: The Decline of the Left and the Rise of the Populist Right in Postcommunist Europe" (Oxford UP, 2024)

April 13, 2024

When Left Moves Right

Maria Snegovaya
Hosted by Jeff Adler

In her new book, When Left Moves Right: The Decline of the Left and the Rise of the Populist Right in Postcommunist Europe (Oxford University Press, 2…

David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts, "Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare From 1945 to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine" (Harper, 2023)

April 12, 2024

Conflict

David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts
Hosted by Samuel Canter

In this deep and incisive study, General David Petraeus, who commanded the US-led coalitions in both Iraq, during the Surge, and Afghanistan and forme…

Robert D. Kaplan, "The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China" (Random House, 2023)

April 11, 2024

The Loom of Time

Robert D. Kaplan
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

The Middle East remains one of the world’s most complicated, thorny—and, uncharitably, unstable—parts of the world, as countless headlines make clear.…

Eric Schwitzgebel, "The Weirdness of the World" (Princeton UP, 2024)

April 10, 2024

The Weirdness of the World

Eric Schwitzgebel
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

"What's life for if there's no time to play and explore?" In The Weirdness of the World (Princeton UP, 2024), Eric Schwitzgebel invites the reader to…

Sumita Pahwa, "Politics as Worship: Righteous Activism and the Egyptian Muslim Brothers" (Syracuse UP, 2023)

April 9, 2024

Politics as Worship: Righteous Activism and the Egyptian Muslim Brothers

Sumita Pahwa
Hosted by Lamis Abdelaaty

Despite expectations that the deeply held political and religious organizing principles at the heart of the Muslim Brotherhood would prove incompatibl…

Christopher Michael Blakley, "Empire of Brutality: Enslaved People and Animals in the British Atlantic World" (Louisiana State UP, 2023)

April 8, 2024

Empire of Brutality

Christopher Michael Blakley
Hosted by Susan Liebell

Historians of early America, slavery, early African American history, the history of science, and environmental history have interrogated the complex …

Jonathan W. Hackett, "Theory of Irregular War" (McFarland, 2024)

April 7, 2024

Theory of Irregular War

Jonathan W. Hackett

From Afghanistan to Angola, Indonesia to Iran, and Colombia to Congo, violent reactions erupt, states collapse, and militaries relentlessly pursue ope…

Joseph M. Thompson, "Cold War Country: How Nashville's Music Row and the Pentagon Created the Sound of American Patriotism" (UNC Press, 2024)

April 6, 2024

Cold War Country

Joseph M. Thompson
Hosted by Katie Coldiron

Country music maintains a special, decades-long relationship to American military life, but these ties didn't just happen. This readable history revea…

Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, "The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market" (Bloomsbury. 2023)

April 5, 2024

The Big Myth

Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway

In their bestselling book Merchants of Doubt, Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway revealed the origins of climate change denial. Now, in The Big Myth: Ho…

Stefanos Geroulanos, "The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and Our Obsession with Human Origins" (Liveright, 2024)

April 3, 2024

The Invention of Prehistory

Stefanos Geroulanos
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Books about the origins of humanity dominate bestseller lists, while national newspapers present breathless accounts of new archaeological findings an…

Marc Masters, "High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape" (UNC Press, 2023)

April 3, 2024

High Bias

Marc Masters
Hosted by Bradley Morgan

The cassette tape was revolutionary. Cheap, portable, and reusable, this small plastic rectangle changed music history. Make your own tapes! Trade the…

Matthieu Grandpierron, "Nostalgic Virility as a Cause of War: How Leaders of Great Powers Cope with Status Decline" (McGill-Queen's Press, 2024)

April 2, 2024

Nostalgic Virility as a Cause of War

Matthieu Grandpierron
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Why do great powers go to war? Why are non-violent, diplomatic options not prioritised? Nostalgic Virility as a Cause of War: How Leaders of Great Pow…

Max Bennett, "A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, Ai, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains" (Mariner Books, 2023)

April 1, 2024

A Brief History of Intelligence

Max Bennett

A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, Ai, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains (Mariner Books, 2023) tells two fascinating stories. O…

Huaping Lu-Adler, "Kant, Race, and Racism: Views from Somewhere" (Oxford UP, 2023)

March 31, 2024

Kant, Race, and Racism

Huaping Lu-Adler

Kant scholars have paid relatively little attention to his raciology. They assume that his racism, as personal prejudice, can be disentangled from his…

Matthew H. Hersch, "Dark Star: A New History of the Space Shuttle" (MIT Press, 2023)

March 30, 2024

Dark Star

Matthew H. Hersch
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In Dark Star: A New History of the Space Shuttle (MIT Press, 2023), Dr. Matthew Hersch challenges the existing narrative of the most significant human…