New Books Network
World Affairs
History March 2, 2021

The Dutch in the Early Modern World

A History of a Global Power

David Onnekink and Gijs Rommelse

Hosted by Jana Byars
David Onnekink, professor of early modern history at the University of Utrecht discusses his latest book, the delightful, The Dutch in the Early Modern World: History of a Global Power …

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Christian Studies February 24, 2021

God's Cold Warrior

The Life and Faith of John Foster Dulles

John D. Wilsey

Hosted by Zachary McCulley
When John Foster Dulles died in 1959, he was given the largest American state funeral since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s in 1945. President Eisenhower called Dulles—his longtime secretary of state—“one of …
Chinese Studies February 19, 2021

Forgotten Ally

China's World War II, 1937–1945

Rana Mitter

Hosted by Keith Krueger
If we wish to understand the role of China in today’s global society, we would do well to remind ourselves of the tragic, titanic struggle which that country waged in …
National Security February 18, 2021

This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends

The Cyberweapons Arms Race

Nicole Perlroth

Hosted by John Sakellariadis
For years, cybersecurity experts have debated whether cyber-weapons represent a destabilizing new military technology or merely the newest tool in the spy’s arsenal. In This Is How They Tell Me …
Drugs, Addiction and Recovery February 17, 2021

Heavy Traffic

The Global Drug Trade in Historical Perspective

Kenneth V. Faunce

Hosted by Lucas Richert
Much of the world's politics revolve around questions about the development of the international market for drugs; the roles merchants, government officials, and drug manufacturers played in shaping this market …
Japanese Studies February 12, 2021

Embracing 'Asia' in China and Japan

Asianism Discourse and the Contest for Hegemony, 1912-1933

Torsten Weber

Hosted by Samee Siddiqui
Embracing ‘Asia’ in China and Japan: Asianism Discourse and the Contest for Hegemony (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) by Torsten Weber examines how Asianism became a key concept in mainstream political discourse between China …
Intellectual History February 12, 2021

Dreamworlds of Race

Empire and the Utopian Destiny of Anglo-America

Duncan Bell

Hosted by Yi Ning Chang
Published in December 2020, Duncan Bell’s Dreamworlds of Race: Empire and the Utopian Destiny of Anglo-America (Princeton University Press, 2020) concludes his loose trilogy of books about the metropolitan settler imaginary in …
History February 12, 2021

A History of the 20th Century

Conflict, Technology & Rock'n'roll

Jeremy Black

Hosted by Crawford Gribben
Jeremy Black – professor of history at Exeter University, and one of the world’s most prolific writers – has just published an outstanding illustrated history of the twentieth century, in A …
Architecture February 11, 2021

Architecture in Global Socialism

Eastern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East in the Cold War

Łukasz Stanek

Hosted by Sharika Crawford
In the course of the Cold War, architects, planners, and construction companies from socialist Eastern Europe engaged in a vibrant collaboration with those in West Africa and the Middle East …
Latin American Studies February 11, 2021

Revolution in Development

Mexico and the Governance of the Global Economy

Christy Thornton

Hosted by Rachel Newman
Revolution in Development: Mexico and the Governance of the Global Economy (University of California Press, 2021) uncovers the surprising influence of post-revolutionary Mexico on the twentieth century's most important international economic institutions. Drawing …
History February 10, 2021

The Boundless Sea

A Human History of the Oceans

David Abulafia

Hosted by Joshua Tham
Building on his 2011 work The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean, David Abulafia's latest book, The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans (Penguin, 2019), traces the history of …
Public Policy February 9, 2021

Ending Hunger

The Quest to Feed the World without Destroying It

Anthony Warner

Hosted by Stephen Pimpare
Nutritionists tell you to eat more fish. Environmentalists tell you to eat less fish. Apparently they are both right. It's the same thing with almonds, or quinoa, or a hundred …
Law February 8, 2021

Asia's New Geopolitics

Essays on Reshaping the Indo-Pacific

Michael R. Auslin

Hosted by Jane Richards
Is the Indo-Pacific already the most dominant in terms of global power, politics, and wealth? In his newest book, Michael R. Auslin considers the key issues facing the Indo-Pacific which have ramifications …
Middle Eastern Studies February 8, 2021

Kemalist Turkey and the Middle East

International Relations in the Interwar Period

Amit Bein

Hosted by Reuben Silverman
To better understand the lasting legacy of international relations in the post-Ottoman Middle East, Amit Bein's Kemalist Turkey and the Middle East: International Relations in the Interwar Period (Cambridge University Press, 2017), reexamines Turkey’s engagement …
Asian Review of Books February 4, 2021

Field Notes from a Pandemic

A Journey Through a World Suspended

Ethan Lou

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
We are just over a year from when global news first reported a new type of pneumonia emerging in the Chinese city of Wuhan. A lockdown of Wuhan on January …
Critical Theory January 29, 2021

A Cultural History of the Disneyland Theme Parks

Middle Class Kingdoms

Sabrina Mittermeier

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
How should we understand the theme park in our globalised world? In A Cultural History of the Disneyland Theme Parks: Middle Class Kingdoms (Intellect, 2020), Dr. Sabrina Mittermeier, a postdoctoral researcher and …
World Affairs January 29, 2021

From Development to Dictatorship

Bolivia and the Alliance for Progress in the Kennedy Era

Thomas C. Field

Hosted by Geoffrey Gordon
How do ideologies of development shape the perceptions of security threats of US foreign policymakers and the political and military leaders of developing countries? What is the relationship between development …
Genocide Studies January 25, 2021

The International People’s Tribunal for 1965 and the Indonesian Genocide

Annie Pohlman, Jess Melvin, Saskia E. Wieringa

Hosted by Kelly McFall
How do you hold a government accountable for crimes it refuses to acknowledge?  Today's book, The International People's Tribunal for 1965 and the Indonesian Genocide (Routledge, 2019) emerges out of the International …
Environmental Studies January 25, 2021

Scorched Earth

Environmental Warfare as a Crime Against Humanity and Nature

Emmanuel Kreike

Hosted by Ahmed Almaazmi
In Scorched Earth: Environmental Warfare as a Crime Against Humanity and Nature (Princeton UP, 2021), Emmanuel Kreike offers a global history of environmental warfare and makes the case for why it should …
Sociology January 21, 2021

Digital Nomads

In Search of Freedom, Community, and Meaningful Work in the New Economy

Rachael A. Woldoff and Robert C. Litchfield

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
In the space of a few weeks this spring, organizations around the world learned that many traditional, in-person jobs could, in fact, be performed remotely. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, however …