HarperAcademic

New Teaching Resources For SOME WE LOVE, SOME WE HATE, SOME WE EAT!

noreply@blogger.com (Pat) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:34:00 +0000

Just in time for the annual First-Year Experience Conference in San Antonio this weekend, we’ve just posted teaching resources from one of our Luncheon Speakers, Professor Hal Herzog, for his fascinating Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals.

The packet includes group discussion questions as well as an “Animal Attitude Scale,” which characterizes students’ feelings towards animal welfare. In addition, Professor Herzog maintains a blog, Animals and Us on the Psychology Today website, where he writes about issues surrounding Human–Animal relationships.

If you haven’t had a chance to have explore the perspective-shifting Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat, take a look now!

Ron Suskind Explores the Education of the President

noreply@blogger.com (Pat) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:14:00 +0000

Ron Suskind’s Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President will be available in paperback in early June—for adoption in the fall (ISBN: 9780061430466, $16.99).

Suskind, acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author, brilliantly explores the nation’s financial meltdown and an untested new president’s task of commanding Washington, taming Wall Street, rescuing an economy on the verge of collapse, and restoring the confidence of a shaken nation.

Confidence Men introduces students to an ensemble cast, from the titans of high finance to a new generation of reformers, from petulant congressmen and acerbic lobbyists to a tight circle of White House advisers—and, ultimately, to the president himself, as you’ve never before seen him. Based on hundreds of interviews and filled with piercing insights and startling disclosures, Confidence Men brings into focus the collusion and conflict between the nation’s two capitals—New York and Washington, one of private gain, the other of public purpose—in defining confidence and, thereby, charting America’s future.

Praise for Confidence Men:

“Savvy and informative. . . . The most ambitious treatment of this period yet. . . . Suskind’s book often reads like Halberstam’s The Best and the Brightest. But the quagmire isn’t a neo-Vietnam like Afghanistan—it’s the economy.”—Frank Rich, New York

“A searing new book. . . . Suskind has a flair for taking material he’s harvested to create narratives with a novelistic sense of drama.”—Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

If you would like to consider Confidence Men for fall adoption, please request a complimentary copy of the hardcover edition (9780061429255) by filling out our Promotion Response Form.

And, if you haven't seen it yet, be sure to watch Ron Suskind's captivating interview with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show below!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Exclusive - Ron Suskind Extended Interview Pt. 1

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Exclusive - Ron Suskind Extended Interview Pt. 2

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

The Bagg Translations: Sophocles' The Oedipus Cycle

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:12:00 +0000

“Robert Bagg’s renditions of the Oedipus plays are closer to the Greek, in their rhetorical power, precision of image, rhythm, pace and tone, than any other versions I know.”
—Richard P. Martin, Stanford University

These wonderful new translations of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Kolonos, and Antigone—together known as The Oedipus Cycle—by award-winning poet Robert Bagg bring these dynamic works to a new generation of students.

Sophocles’ three great masterpieces dramatize the inexplicable animosity directed at three generations of Thebes’ royal family by Apollo, the inscrutable god who terrifies and deceives his victims into acts of incest, betrayal, and kin murder. These fifth-century BCE family dramas—Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Kolonos, and Antigone—are fraught with horrific crises, confrontations, and excruciating choices, all of which still rivet theatergoers and readers in the 21st century.

Bagg’s accurate and dynamic translations of Greek drama have been successfully staged in over 60 productions. His translations of Oedipus the King and Antigone will appear in the revised 3rd edition of The Norton Anthology of World Literature.They preserve the complexity of Sophocles’ characters and their dialogue (whether searingly raw, subtly inflected, or infused with humor) and render Sophocles’ choral odes in resonant poetry. The three plays of The Oedipus Cycle, already proven stageworthy, refresh and clarify Sophocles’s narratives for a new generation about to discover timeless sources of pleasure and illumination in classical Greek drama.

If you would like to consider The Oedipus Cycle (paperback, 9780062119995, $14.99) for one of your classes, please request a complimentary copy by filling out our promotion response form.

And, please visit The Complete Sophocles—where you'll find teaching and background materials from Robert Bagg and his co-translator of The Complete Works of Sophocles, James Scully.

New Edition: GETTING FROM COLLEGE TO CAREER by Lindsey Pollak

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Recent college graduates are facing one of the most competitive job markets in history. In Getting from College to Career, Lindsey Pollak, career expert and global spokesperson for LinkedIn, gives students 101 must-do things to build a great résumé and gain experience.

In the newly revised edition of Getting from College to Career, Ms. Pollak shows students how to succeed in the real work by using social media on the job hunt, making every networking event a success, standing out in a competitive job market, and avoiding the biggest mistakes in career prep and job hunting.

Ms. Pollak's recent speaking engagements have brought her to colleges across the country--including Amherst College, Columbia University, MIT, Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Texas. For more information about booking Ms. Pollak at your college, please contact our speakers bureau.

Meanwhile, take a look at Getting from College to Career now!

Stanley Fish on HOW TO WRITE A SENTENCE (And How to Read One)

noreply@blogger.com (HarperAcademic) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Already adopted in hardcover in colleges from California to Connecticut—How to Write a Sentence by Stanley Fish will be available in paperback for the fall semester. (paperback, 9780061840531, $14.99, 8/7/2012)

Stanley Fish, a New York Times columnist and professor, has long been an aficionado of language “I am always on the lookout for sentences that take your breath away, for sentences that make you say,‘Isn’t that something?’ or ‘What a sentence!’” Like a seasoned sportscaster, Fish marvels at the adeptness of finely crafted sentences and breaks them down into digestible morsels, giving students an instant play-by-play.

Stanley Fish’s vibrant analysis takes students on a literary tour of great writers throughout history—from William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Henry James to Martin Luther King, Jr., Antonin Scalia, and Elmore Leonard. How to Write a Sentence is both a spirited love letter to the written word and a key to understanding how great writing works.

In The Financial Times, Adam Haslett called How to Write a Sentence, “Both deeper and more democratic than The Elements of Style.” And, the praise continues:

“The fun comes from the examples cited throughout: John Updike, Jane Austen . . . all are cited throughout.”—Washington Post

“This splendid little volume describes how the shape of a sentence controls its meaning.”—Boston Globe

If you would like to consider How to Write a Sentence for fall adoption, please request a complimentary copy of the hardcover (9780061840548) now by filling out our promotion response form.

Please remember to take a look at our instructor's guide for How to Write a Sentence.

Now in Paperback: AMERICAN UPRISING by Daniel Rasmussen

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:56:00 +0000

Here's a book that got a lot of attention in our booth at this year's American Historical Association conference: Daniel Rasmussen’s American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt tells long-neglected story of the 1811 slave rebellion in New Orleans. No North American slave uprising—not Gabriel Prosser, not Denmark Vesey, not Nat Turner—has rivaled the scale of this rebellion either in terms of the number of the slaves involved or in terms of the number who were killed. Over 100 slaves were slaughtered by federal troops and French planters, who then sought to write the event out of history and prevent the spread of the slaves’ revolutionary philosophy. With the Haitian Revolution a recent memory and the War of 1812 looming on the horizon, the revolt had epic consequences for America.

Through original research, Daniel Rasmussen offers a window into the young expansionist country, illuminating the early history of New Orleans and providing new insight into the path to the Civil War, and the slave revolutionaries who fought and died for justice and the hope of freedom.

Eric Foner said, “All those interested in the history of American slavery and its relationship to the larger American experience find themselves in Dan Rasmussen’s debt because of this deeply researched, vividly written, and highly original account of the largest slave revolt in the nineteenth-century United States, which took place in Louisiana in 1811. That memory of this dramatic uprising was so long suppressed is a comment on how uncomfortable the reality of slave rebellion makes Americans. Thanks to Rasmussen we now have the full story of this dramatic moment in the struggle for freedom in this country.”

If you would like to consider American Uprising (paperback, 9780061995224, $15.99) for one of your classes, please request a complimentary copy by filling out our promotion response form.

What is America's number one concern in the polls? UNEMPLOYMENT

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:16:00 +0000

In Where Did the Jobs Go—and How Do We Get Them Back?, Scott Bittle, executive editor of the Public Agenda Online, and cowriter Jean Johnson provide students with an entertaining, easy-to-read nonpartisan primer on the nation’s jobs crisis.

Currently, the political discussion about jobs is a morass of posturing, blame and ideology. Where Did the Jobs Go—and How Do We Get Them Back? is a basic guide to the jobs issue written specifically for those who aren’t economists, financiers, or policy wonks working for think tanks. It’s designed to help students sift through the political rhetoric for context and clarification—and it shares some ideas that aren’t being raised by politicians, but which could be crucial to turning the U.S. jobs picture around.

While the topic is serious, solving it doesn’t have to be. Featuring chapters entitled “Has America Lost Its Mojo?”and “Just the Facts, Ma’am,”this book is anything but dry. By applying the same winning approach they used to irreverently explain the federal budget crisis in Where Does the Money Go?, Bittle and Johnson will use pop culture to help define the fundamental concepts that shape the varying economic and jobs proposals. They cover proposals from the political left, right, and center—balancing the budget, cutting taxes, cutting bureaucracy, reviving manufacturing, improving education, starting a major national infrastructure project, closing the gap between rich and poor—and try to help students understand risks, costs, and trade-offs associated with each of them as ways to create jobs. They also offer an in-depth look at the truths and lies frequently thrown around about jobs and technology, globalization, immigration, Baby Boomers, and more.

To consider for course adoption, you may examine Where Did the Jobs Go—and How Do We Get Them Back? (paperback, $16.99, 9780061715662) in print format by filling out our online promotion response form or you may request a Digital Review Copy.

A Tough Subject Made Easier: THE CARTOON GUIDE TO CALCULUS

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:11:00 +0000

In The Cartoon Guide to Calculus, Larry Gonick, master cartoonist and former Harvard calculus instructor, offers a complete and up-to-date illustrated course in college-level calculus. Using graphics and humor to lighten what is frequently a tough subject for your students, Gonick teaches all of the course essentials, including functions, limits, derivatives, and integrals, with numerous examples, and applications.

Plus, each chapter includes helpful problem sets, designed to help students cement the lessons learned in each section.

The Cartoon Guide to Calculus has already been given the stamp of approval by educators:

"I always thought that there are no magic tricks that use calculus. Larry Gonick proves me wrong. His book is correct, clear and interesting. It is filled with magical insights into this most beautiful subject."—Persi Diaconis, Professor of Mathematics, Stanford University

“How do you humanize calculus and bring its equations and concepts to life? Larry Gonick’s clever and delightful answer is to have characters talking, commenting, and joking—all while rigorously teaching equations and concepts and indicating calculus’s utility. It’s a remarkable accomplishment—and a lot of fun.”—Lisa Randall, Professor of Physics, Harvard University, and author of Knocking on Heaven's Door

“Gonick is to graphical expositions of advanced materials as Newton or Leibniz is to calculus. The difference is that Gonick has no rival.”—Xiao-Li Meng, Whipple V. N. Jones Professor of Statistics and Department Chair, Harvard University

You can take a look at some of The Cartoon Guide to Calculus (paperback, 9780061689093, $18.99) here or you may request a complimentary examination copy by filling out our promotion response form.

And, of course, don't forget The Cartoon Guide to Physics and The Cartoon Guide to Statistics—both by Larry Gonick.

Think Better. Live Better.

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:06:00 +0000

New Year. New you? Let French superstar philosopher Luc Ferry give your 2012 a book as he explains how the history of philosophy can teach you how to live a better life. Thomas Cathcut & Daniel Klein, authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar, call Ferry’s A Brief History of Thought: A Philosophical Guide to Living “a fine introduction to philosophy and its fundamental relevance to living a meaningful life—for everyone from the man in the Acropolis to the man in the street.”

From the timeless wisdom of the ancient Greeks to Christianity, the Enlightenment, existentialism, and postmodernism, Luc Ferry’s brilliantly and accessibly explains the enduring teachings of philosophy—including its profound relevance to modern daily life and its essential role in achieving happiness and living a meaningful life.

Need more philosophy? Take a look at our philosophy catalog.

Reading Recommendations from Creative Writing Professor

noreply@blogger.com (Pat) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:52:00 +0000

Like many of you, Salvatore Pane—Creative Writing professor at the University of Pittsburgh—gets great joy out of recommending authors to students. Pane gives students authors to read in the hopes that they see echoes of their own work. By placing students’ work in conversation with their “established counterparts,” Pane wants to stoke their enthusiasm and help them develop as writers. We were excited to learn that Pane suggested several authors from our Harper Perennial imprint as literary role models for students in his courses. His recommendations included:

Dennis Cooper: Literary cult hero and author of the most-recently released The Marbled Swarm.

Justin Taylor: His debut novel The Gospel of Anarchy is available now.

Blake Butler: A rising literary star, Butler has released a major work of fiction (There Is No Year) and non-fiction (Nothing: A Portrait of Insomnia) in 2011.

Pane also stresses to his students the importance of literary journals—and becoming active literary citizens, emphasizing that reading others work is just as important as submitting your own. As his model literary citizen, Pane uses Blake Butler, editor of the literature blog HTMLGiant as well as the journals Lamination Colony and No Colony.

What authors have you recommended to your students this year? Check out his list—did Pane miss any?

HEY, BOO To Premiere on PBS American Masters

noreply@blogger.com (Pat) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Mark your calendars! Independent filmmaker Mary Murphy's Hey Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill A Mockingbird will be premiering on PBS American Masters, Friday, April 2nd at 10:00pm. The documentary explores Lee's life and unravels some of the mysteries surrounding her, including why she never published again. Containing never-before-seen photos and letters and an exclusive interview with Lee’s sister, Alice Finch Lee, the film also brings to light the context and history of the novel's Deep South setting and the social changes it inspired after publication.

Tom Brokaw, Rosanne Cash, Wally Lamb, Anna Quindlen, Richard Russo, Scott Turow, Oprah Winfrey, Andrew Young and others reflect on the novel's power, influence, and popularity, and the many ways it has shaped their lives.

In addition to the film, Mary Murphy wrote Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of To Kill A Mockingbird—a compilation of these interviews.

While the documentary doesn't premiere on PBS until April, you can watch an preview below, then go to Mary Murphy's website for more information!

Galley Giveaway: Professor and Christian Scholar John Dominic Crossan's THE POWER OF PARABLE

noreply@blogger.com (HarperAcademic) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:53:00 +0000

ALL OF OUR GALLEYS HAVE BEEN GIVEN AWAY! Please visit us again for new giveaways.

Foremost Jesus scholar John Dominic Crossan—author of bestsellers such as The Historical Jesus, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, and The Greatest Prayer—is back with his latest work: The Power of Parable: How Fiction by Jesus Became Fiction about Jesus.

Crossan dissects the literary genre of "parable" to not only show how Jesus taught by using them—but also how the gospel writers crafted their own to help capture the essence of this prophet from Nazareth. By unlocking the meaning and purposes of the Gospel’s parables, we can arrive at a better portrait of this enigmatic and charismatic Jewish figure who transformed his world and the next two thousand years of history.

Afghanistan: The Past, the Present, and the Future

noreply@blogger.com (HarperAcademic) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:33:00 +0000

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, author of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, will speak this weekend at our luncheon at the National Orientation Director's annual conference in New Orleans—and this reminded me of the books we publish about Afghanistan.

In The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon tells the story of Kamila Sidiqi, the most unlikely of entrepreneurs under the Taliban. Desperate to support her six brothers and sisters at home and banished from Kabul’s streets by the Taliban, she started a dressmaking business in her living room which offered work to 100 women in her community. Gayle’s book has already been adopted by the University of Florida as its freshman classes’ common book—and it will be available in paperback in March 2012.

Martin Ewans’s Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics is "an intelligent and useful book . . . Ewans surveys the major episodes and controversies of Afghan history fairly and completely. . . . [A] concise, overarching narrative [that] fills a void.” (Washington Post)

In Opium Nation, Afghan-American journalist Fariba Nawa delivers a revealing exploration of Afghanistan and the drug trade which rules the country, from corrupt officials to warlord, child brides, and beyond.

In The Long Way Back: Afghanistan’s Quest for Peace, Chris Alexander—the former UN Deputy Special Representative in Afghanistan—gives readers a close look at Afghanistan’s recent history, he delivers a blueprint for how to make the country viable in the future.

The Story of Science, Discovery, and the Genius of the Royal Society

noreply@blogger.com (HarperAcademic) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:56:00 +0000

Edited and introduced by Bill Bryson, with original contributions from “a glittering array of scientific writing talent” (Sunday Observer), Seeing Further tells the story of modern science through the lens of the international Royal Society and its fellows—including Isaac Newton, John Locke, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking—who have split the atom, discovered the double helix and the electron, and given us the computer and the World Wide Web.

Here are contributions by more than twenty of the world’s greatest scientific—and science-fiction—thinkers, including:

Richard Dawkins - James Gleick - Neal Stephenson
Richard Holmes - Margaret Atwood - Martin Rees

“Traces the Royal Society’s unparalleled contributions to science.”—Discover magazine

Galley Giveaway: Religion Expert Diana Butler Bass' CHRISTIANITY AFTER RELIGION

noreply@blogger.com (HarperAcademic) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:40:00 +0000

ALL OF OUR GALLEYS HAVE BEEN GIVEN AWAY! Please visit us again for new giveaways.
With her forthcoming title, Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, Diana Butler Bass Diana Butler Bass—author of Christianity for the Rest of Us and A People's History of Christianity—exposes the current failings of the church and how it is giving rise to a new “spiritual but not religious” vitality evidenced in the latest national polls and her own fresh research.

Offering a fresh interpretation of this transformation—while identifying a new spiritual awakening taking place inside and outside the church—Christianity After Religion will show students how to approach their own faith with a newfound freedom that is both life-giving and service driven.

Christianity After Religion goes on sale in February, 2012, but we have 2 advanced reading copies to give away now!

A Special Offer from HarperOne

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:40:00 +0000

To celebrate the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature's annual conference in HarperOne's hometown of San Francisco—we've put together a special eBook promotion! So, load up on your reading for the plane! Or, if you won't be able to get to the conference, you won't feel so left out with an electronic stack of great books at a great price! Hurry! This offer expires on November 13, 2011.

10 great books! $3.99 each!

From November 4-13, 2011—HarperOne is offering 10 eBooks for just $1.99 each! Click on your favorite e-tailer below or head over to Indie Bound to purchase from a local bookseller! Offer valid in US only.

God's Problem by Bart Ehrman
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The Birth of Christianity by John Dominic Crossan
iBookstore Amazon Kindle Google ebookstore nook kobo

The Meaning of Jesus by Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright
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The Historical Jesus by John Dominic Crossan
iBookstore Amazon Kindle Google ebookstore nook kobo

Discovering God by Rodney Stark
iBookstore Amazon Kindle Google ebookstore nook kobo

The Misunderstood Jew by Amy-Jill Levine
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The Lost History of Christianity by Philip Jenkins
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Why Religion Matters by Huston Smith
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Mormon America by Richard Ostling
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The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus by Marv Meyer
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If you do make the trip to San Francisco, please make sure to visit HarperOne at booths 536 & 537.

Psychology Professors Excited About Gretchen Rubin's THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

noreply@blogger.com (HarperAcademic) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:48:00 +0000

We love hearing feedback about our books from professors and educators—after all, they’re the experts, as we see it. Recently we mailed copies of Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project to professors of psychology. The feedback was largely positive, including a note Ms. Rubin personally received from Dr. Brian Higley from the Department of Psychology at University of North Florida. Dr. Higley was initially quite skeptical about The Happiness Project and its usefulness in psychology coursework; he noted that "as a scientist with an interest in meaningful change, I have learned that most popular books in this arena are often based on flimsy evidence at best." However, he quickly realized that Ms. Rubin's book was not like other comparable titles.

The Happiness Project is a call to action; a call that is grounded in some of the best science, philosophy and literature across the ages. Although Ms. Rubin fills The Happiness Project with specific advice and lessons from her own journey, her book encourages students to use their own critical thinking skills to discover their own path to happiness. Rather than positioning her process as a “cure all,” Rubin merely asks students to walk their own path to happiness—try different things, stretch themselves beyond their comfort zones, and experiment with the concepts.

Dr. Higley agreed, telling Ms. Rubin that he "will be recommending your book in many of my courses and for many of my clients. I think the content is rock solid and the process you recommend is grounded in much of the change literature. I thank you for your fantastic example of how various branches of epistemology can come together to create useful changes in life—bravo!”

If you haven’t had a chance to consider The Happiness Project for class reading—it’s never too late to change!

Galley Giveaway: THE MOMENT, Edited by Larry Smith, Shows The Profound Impact of a Single Moment

noreply@blogger.com (HarperAcademic) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:44:00 +0000

ALL OF OUR GALLEYS HAVE BEEN GIVEN AWAY! Please visit us again for new giveaways.
The creators of the New York Times bestselling Six-Word Memoirs are back with The Moment—stories of how a single moment dramatically changed the contributors’ lives. This collection of 125 personal stories from 125 writers and artists is powerfully moving, offering unexpected insight into how our lives hinge upon a single, defining moment.

The contributors, ranging from the famous to the obscure, include Dave Eggers, Melissa Etheridge, Jennifer Egan, Elizabeth Gilbert, And many more!

Many of us think our lives follow a path, either fated, or one that comes from a route we engaged on and then strive to follow. But in fact so much of our existence results from a single moment or decision that was made on a whim, even randomly. The Moment is a collection of stories about how a single instant—a single decision, happenstance, accident, call, conversation, letter, or tweet—changed everything, for better or worse.

Miscommunication=Missed Opportunities

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:08:00 +0000

Deborah Tannen, Ph.D., professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and author of the classic You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, is—thankfully—a great communicator—translating complex research findings into readable and helpful books for students and those of us without advanced degrees.

In That’s Not What I Meant!, Professor Tannen reminds us that it’s often not what you say but how you say it. The part of the country you come from, your ethnic background, age, class, gender, and individual personality—these and many other influences result in different habits and assumptions about how to say what you mean. When conversational styles differ, you may draw erroneous conclusions about another person’s intentions and abilities—and they may walk away with similarly erroneous impressions of you.

For example, when two people have different ideas about how long a pause to leave between turns, each is likely to blame the other: “You don’t give me a chance to talk! You’re not doing your part in this conversation!” A person who prefers indirectness feels ignored by someone who expects ideas to be stated outright. One person thinks asking personal questions shows interest while another finds such questions intrusive.

Professor Tannen gives your students a revolutionary new way of understanding what goes on when they talk to others—and a set of tools they can use when they are not happy with the way a conversation, or a relationship, is going.

“Tannen combines a novelist’s ear for the way people speak with a rare power of original analysis. . . . Fascinating.”—Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and The Mind’s Eye

Are you interested in considering That’s Not What I Meant! (Harper Paperbacks: 9780062062994, $14.99) for one of your courses? Let us know by filling out our desk copy form.

The Nobel Peace Prize 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:38:00 +0000

The Nobel Peace Prize 2011 was awarded jointly to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.”

HarperCollins is proud to be the publisher of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President.

“The first thing to be said about Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s This Child Will Be Great is that it is exceptionally well written, a true story that seems as much a thriller as the remembrances of an ambitious and brave woman. . . . This timely book, essential for anyone who hopes to understand West Africa in general and Liberia in particular, is a lesson in courage and perseverance.”—Washington Post

2011 Nobel Prize in Literature: Tomas Tranströmer

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:56:00 +0000

According to a Nobel Prize survey, Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer is not a household name:

However, that's about to change: Tomas Tranströmer has been awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.

So, here's what you need to do to help move things in the right direction:

1. Read Prelude—a poem from Tomas Tranströmer's Selected Poems.

2. Go to the Nobel Prize site—and take their online survey.

Galley Giveaway: CLAIR DE LUNE from THE MOONFLOWER VINE author Jetta Carleton

noreply@blogger.com (HarperAcademic) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:26:00 +0000

ALL OF OUR GALLEYS HAVE BEEN GIVEN AWAY! Please visit us again for new giveaways.
In 2009 Harper Perennial republished Jetta Carleton’s The Moonflower Vine—then considered to be her first and only novel. This beloved family saga of the American heartland was called “deeply felt . . . dramatic . . . constantly alive” (Harper’s Magazine), was described by Jane Smiley as an American classic, and became a runaway New York Times bestseller.

Not long ago, Carleton’s estate brought to Harper Perennial’s attention the manuscript of an unpublished novel that Carleton completed in the years before she died. This newly discovered novel of small-town love contains the same frankness and emotional acuity that made her first novel so beloved.

Students Empowered by Conor Grennan's LITTLE PRINCES

noreply@blogger.com (HarperAcademic) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:18:00 +0000

I was so pleased recently to hear from Nancy at St. Bonaventure University. She and I have been in touch several times over the last few months after her school chose Conor Grennan’s Little Princes for their "All Bonaventure Reads" program. She kindly wrote to me and shared some feedback on how well the book worked and how wonderful Conor was when he came to campus last week.

All of the first-year students were asked to read the book and, as their first college assignment, write a reflection. The institution selected the top 13 essays, and published them in a hardcover keepsake book—with copies given to each of the students as well as Conor. Reading through the essays, I was very impressed by how succinctly the students captured exactly what Little Princes hopes to impress upon its readers. Some of the excerpts I found most powerful include:

- "I want to be there for others, I want to make a difference. I noticed myself going the extra mile for others more after reading this book. What more of a connection can you develop from a book than producing real-life results?"

- "This book is about discovering where your home and heart lie. For Conor, Nepal became his home and the hundreds of lost Nepalese children hold a special place in his heart. This only reinforces my belief that through service we can better understand not only the world, but ourselves as well. Anything you do will help you in some way and you will only learn from the experience. I am glad I have been able to hear about this wonderful journey."

- "It is the work of Conor Grennan and his colleagues that give hope to everyone. Little Princes is one of the most inspirational stories I have ever read, and I am grateful for the experience."

- "The overall focus of the book gives way to individual lessons that can be applied to anyone’s life and stories. For example, Conor may not be able to help the entire country of Nepal, but he proved that one person can truly make a difference—little by little."

- "The next four years of my life are going to be the beginning of my ‘good journey.’ I can’t wait to learn about myself and realize what I want out of life. Reading about Conor’s passion makes me want to do good things in the world and I hope that I will get some sort of opportunity to travel to somewhere like Nepal. I don’t know where my life will take me but I’m ready to start my journey, just like Conor did."

For more information on Little Princes’ success at St. Bonaventure University—as well as details on his visit—you can visit the following page.

Have a similar story about using HarperCollins titles for common reading programs? Let us know, we love hearing feedback!

Milan Kundera's ENCOUNTER

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:19:00 +0000

Encounter: Essays—now available in paperback—is the latest addition to Milan Kundera’s acclaimed body of literary criticism—of which John Simon wrote, “I can't imagine reading this book without being challenged and instructed, amused, amazed and aroused, and ultimately delighted.” (New York Times Book Review)

“Encounter, that is to say: spark; flash; chance.” As its title suggests, Encounter is a product of Milan Kundera’s deep engagement with illuminating points of intersection—between art and history, memory and forgetting, the artist and his times. The distinguished writer reflects on his signature themes and old loves (Rabelais, Fellini, Janacek, Malaparte), on literature, mortality, and the transformation of civilization as we know it, in an elegant, startlingly original, and beautiful book.

Milan Kundera is a writer of unparalleled erudition, but this is no dry academic account. With rare intimacy, he shares his experiences of reading and writing—describing his discovery of the work of Aimé Césaire as a young man, or the fresh insights he discovered upon a recent rereading Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. He reconsiders from unexpected and rewarding angles the work of such major novelists as Dostoyevski, Céline, and Philip Roth. And with disarming honesty, he looks back on a literary life that took him from young, committed Communist to celebrated author in exile.

If you would like to consider Encounter (Harper Perennial: 9780061894435, paperback, $13.99) for one of your classes, please let us know by filling out our desk copy form.

And, you’ll find all of Milan Kundera’s works here.

Girls, Media, and the Princess Phenomenon

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:45:00 +0000

In 1968, I was the proud owner of a Cinderella watch with a light-blue leather band and a china figurine. I don’t know where either are today—but my seven-year-old self thought both were incredibly beautiful and the best gifts I’d received to date. I also wore corduroy overalls, played for hours outside with the other kids on the block, and I wasn’t allowed to watch more than a few hours of television a week. Even going to the movies was a very, very big deal that didn’t happen very often. I didn’t live in a media-saturated world like girls today. I thought Cinderella was great—but she didn’t loom especially large in my imagination.

When my nieces were toddlers—I was reintroduced to the cast of Disney princesses—with a few new characters added into the mix. Thank goodness that I also discovered Peggy Orenstein’s Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture. Peggy—author of the bestsellling Schoolgirls—was as dismayed I was by all the pink and glitter being pushed at young girls—and—in Cinderella Ate My Daughter, she reveals the dark side of all that sparkle.

The rise of the girlie-girl, Peggy warns, is not that innocent. Pink and pretty or predatory and hardened, sexualized girlhood influences daughters from infancy onward, telling them that how a girl looks matters more than who she is. The pursuit of physical perfection been recast as the source of female empowerment. Commercialization has spread the message faster and farther, reaching girls at ever-younger ages.

As a parent, Peggy wondered, how many times can you say no when your daughter begs for a pint-sized wedding gown? And how dangerous is pink and pretty anyway—especially given girls’ successes in the classroom and on the playing field? Being a princess is just make-believe, after all; eventually they grow out of it. Or do they? Does playing Cinderella shield girls from ealry sexualization—or prime them for it? Could today’s little princess become tomorrow’s sexting teen?

Those questions hit home with Peggy Orenstein, so she went sleuthing. She visited Disneyland and the international toy fair, trolled American Girl Place, and met beauty pageant parents with preschoolers tricked out like Vegas showgirls. The stakes turn out to be higher than she—or I—ever imagined: nothing less than the health, development, and futures of our girls. From premature sexualization to the risk of depression to rising rates of narcissism, the potential negative impact of this new girlie-girl culture is undeniable—yet armed with awareness and recognition, parents, teachers, (and aunts) can effectively counterbalance its influence.

Cinderella Ate My Daughter will be available in paperback (9780061711534, $14.99) in February 2012. However, if you would like to consider it for possible course adoption, I'll be happy to send you a hardcover (9780061711527, $25.99) edition now. Please let me know if you'd like a copy by filling out our desk copy form.