December 2011

Outdoors writer calls Jerry Dennis “a national treasure”

by Shaun Manning December 22, 2011

Reviewing The Windward Shore, Michigan outdoors writer Dave Richey described author Jerry Dennis as "a national treasure" and said of Dennis' latest book, "We see, feel, hear, taste and touch winter along the Great Lakes, and we rejoice with the author as he examines everything about winter in this area." The Windward Shore has garnered enthusiastic praise since its release in September, and Dennis has given popular readings from the book throughout Michigan and the Midwest. Here, Dennis collects his thoughts and reflections on nature as he recounts several walks throughout the Great Lakes region after a knee injury forced [...]

WSJ Marketplace Praises ‘Open Wound’

by Shaun Manning December 20, 2011

Marketwatch, part of the Wall Street Journal family of web sites, featured Jason Karlawish's Open Wound as the only fiction title on its list of "Health Books That Get Your Blood Pumping." "Health care is likely to resurface next year as a major topic ahead of the presidential election," the article begins. "A handful of books published this year seek to challenge or explain how our standards of medical care in the U.S. have emerged." Listing Open Wound among several recent non-fiction books, reviewer Kristen Gerencher says of Karlawish's book, "In this historical novel, [Beaumont and St. Martin] become entwined [...]

‘Windward Shore’ author Jerry Dennis on Minnesota Public Radio

by Shaun Manning December 15, 2011

Acclaimed Great Lakes author Jerry Dennis recently appeared on Minnesota Public Radio to discuss his new book, The Windward Shore: A Winter on the Great Lakes (University of Michigan Press, 2011) and his abiding interest in the region. Joined by fellow nature writer Darby Nelson, Dennis spoke on his appreciation for Thoreau, the roots of his own writing, the improbable hoax of whales in Lake Michigan, and more. "I have always been fascinated with the contradictions in human nature when it comes to nature," Dennis said on the Midday program. "As I've spent twenty-some years studying the Great Lakes and [...]

Q&A with Ruth A. Miller, author of ‘Seven Stories of Threatening Speech’

by Shaun Manning December 15, 2011

In her new book Seven Stories of Threatening Speech: Women's Suffrage Meets Machine Code, Professor Ruth A. Miller examines the functions and implications of speech divorced from any human speaker, as well as from any ideological content it might contain. University of Michigan Press: First, Ruth, what does it mean for speech to be “threatening,” aside from a specific verbal threat against another person? There are three ways to approach this question. The first is to think about what sort of speech, historically, has been criminalized or denied protection. Even in the United States, where free speech is often characterized [...]

Q&A with Ole Bjerg, author of ‘Poker: The Parody of Capitalism’

by Shaun Manning December 13, 2011

The popularity of poker is on the rise not just in the United States but throughout the world. A number of guides and strategies have been published to help players navigate the complexities of the game, but there are few studies of how poker functions as a game and its meaning both to players and the broader culture. Ole Bjerg's new book, Poker: The Parody of Capitalism represents an intriguing new scholarly perspective on poker, capitlalism, and the surprising ways one relates to the other. Bjerg is a sociologist and associate professor at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy [...]

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