New Books Network
World Affairs
History November 30, 2020

Geopolitics and the Quest for Dominance

Jeremy M. Black

Hosted by Charles Coutinho
History and geography delineate the operation of power, not only its range but also the capacity to plan and the ability to implement. Approaching state strategy and policy from the …

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History November 30, 2020

All Against All

The Long Winter of 1933 and the Origins of the Second World War

Paul Jankowski

Hosted by Steven Rodriguez
In his latest monograph, All Against All: The Long Winter of 1933 and The Origins of the Second World War (Harper, 2020), Professor Paul Jankowski (Brandeis University) provides a wide-angled …
Animal Studies November 27, 2020

Animal Traffic

Lively Capital in the Global Exotic Pet Trade

Rosemary-Claire Collard

Hosted by Mark Molloy
Parrots and snakes, wild cats and monkeys---exotic pets can now be found everywhere from skyscraper apartments and fenced suburban backyards to roadside petting zoos. In Animal Traffic: Lively Capital in …
World Affairs November 20, 2020

On Borders

Territories, Legitimacy, and the Rights of Place

Paulina Ochoa Espejo

Hosted by Geoffrey Gordon
When are borders justified? Who has a right to control them? Where should they be drawn? Today people think of borders as an island's shores. Just as beaches delimit a …
European Studies November 20, 2020

European Integration

A Political History

Mark Gilbert

Hosted by Tim Jones
“Awareness of the EU's undeniable past and present importance can - and has - led to complacency and hubris. There is nothing inevitable about European integration". So writes Mark Gilbert …
Genocide Studies November 19, 2020

The Failures of Ethics

Confronting the Holocaust, Genocide, and Other Mass Atrocities

John K. Roth

Hosted by Jeff Bachman
In the Failures of Ethics: Confronting the Holocaust, Genocide and Other Mass Atrocities (Oxford University Press, 2018), John K. Roth concentrates on the multiple shortfalls and shortcomings of thought, decision …
Third World Nationalism November 17, 2020

Making a World After Empire

The Bandung Moment and Its Political Afterlives

Christopher J. Lee

Hosted by Kirk Meighoo
In April 1955, twenty-nine countries from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East came together for a diplomatic conference in Bandung, Indonesia, intending to define the direction of the postcolonial world …
Economics November 17, 2020

Reversing Climate Change

How Carbon Removals Can Resolve Climate Change and Fix the Economy

Graciela Chichilnisky

Hosted by Sidney Michelini
Dr. Graciela Chichilnisky’s new book Reversing Climate Change: How Carbon Removals Can Resolve Climate Change and Fix the Economy is perhaps the single best thing I have read about climate …
History November 13, 2020

The United States of War

A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State

David Vine

Hosted by Dexter Fergie
Since its founding, the United States has been at peace for only eleven years. Across nearly two-and-a-half centuries, that’s a lot of war. In his new book, The United States …
East Asian Studies November 12, 2020

The City of Blue and White

Chinese Porcelain and the Early Modern World

Anne Gerritsen

Hosted by Sarah Bramao-Ramos
We think of blue and white porcelain as the ultimate global commodity: throughout East and Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean including the African coasts, the Americas and Europe, consumers desired …
Science, Technology, and Society November 12, 2020

Dark Skies

Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity

Daniel Deudney

Hosted by John Traphagan
Space is again in the headlines. E-billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are planning to colonize Mars. The Trump Administration has created a "Space Force" to achieve "space dominance" with …
Indian Ocean World November 12, 2020

Waves Across the South

A New History of Revolution and Empire

Sujit Sivasundaram

Hosted by Kelvin Ng
In Waves Across the South: A New History of Revolution and Empire (William Collins, 2020), Sujit Sivasundaram brings together far-flung archives across the world and the best new academic research …
Middle Eastern Studies November 10, 2020

Oilcraft

The Myths of Scarcity and Security That Haunt U.S. Energy Policy

Robert Vitalis

Hosted by Nancy Ko
We've heard and rehearsed the conventional wisdom about oil: that the U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf is what guarantees access to this strategic resource; that the "special" relationship …
World Affairs November 6, 2020

Capitalisms

Towards a Global History

Kaveh Yazdani and Dilip M. Menon

Hosted by Alexandra Ortolja-Baird
Capitalisms: Towards a Global History (Oxford University Press, 2020), edited by Kaveh Yazdani and Dilip M. Menon, aims to decenter work on the history of capitalism by looking at the …
Indian Ocean World November 5, 2020

Conscripts of Migration

Neoliberal Globalization, Nationalism, and the Literature of New African Diasporas

Ian Foster

Hosted by Michael Rumore
In Conscripts of Migration: Neoliberal Globalization, Nationalism, and the Literature of New African Diasporas (UP of Mississippi, 2019) author Christopher Ian Foster analyzes increasingly urgent questions regarding crises of global …
World Affairs November 3, 2020

The Myth of the Nuclear Revolution

Power Politics in the Atomic Age

Keir A. Lieber and Daryl G. Press

Hosted by John Sakellariadis
In The Myth of the Nuclear Revolution: Power Politics in the Atomic Age (Cornell University Press, 2020), Keir A. Lieber and Daryl G. Press tackle the central puzzle of the …
American Studies October 30, 2020

The Churchill Complex

The Curse of Being Special, from Winston and FDR to Trump and Brexit

Ian Buruma

Hosted by Kirk Meighoo
From one of its keenest observers, The Churchill Complex: The Curse of Being Special, from Winston and FDR to Trump and Brexit (Penguin Press) is a brilliant, witty journey through …
American Studies October 29, 2020

America in the World

A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy

Robert Zoellick

Hosted by Charles Coutinho
Ranging from Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson to Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, and James Baker, America in the World: A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy (Twelve …
British Studies October 28, 2020

The Formation of the Colonial State in India

Scribes, Paper and Taxes, 1760-1860

Hayden J. Bellenoit

Hosted by Charles Prior
When he appeared before the British House of Commons in the wake of the Stamp Act crisis, Benjamin Franklin reminded his audience that the American colonies were governed ‘at the …
Chinese Studies October 28, 2020

Has China Won?

The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy

Kishore Mahbubani

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
As China grows into a major regional and global power, there are many questions about what this means for the international system. Does China threaten the United States? Does Washington …