Category Archives: backlist classics

February 5, 2018

In praise of suckers and P. T. Barnum

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We are now three years and one day removed from this unforgettable event: Diaper-Wearing Service Kangaroo Kicked Out of Wisconsin McDonald’s You know who else liked kangaroos? P.T. Barnum. You know who publishes his every-word-guaranteed-to-be-true* autobiography? The University of Illinois … Continue reading →

April 1, 2016

Meet the UI Press: Backlist we love

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In the publishing game, “backlist” refers to books that have been published and had their time at the forefront of marketing and publicity efforts. (Books in that glittery phase of life are called “frontlist.”) A backlist book does more than sit in a … Continue reading →

December 31, 2015

Throwbacklist Thursday: New Year’s Eve on the battlefield

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in american history, backlist classics, Lincoln, military history | Tagged | Comments Off on Throwbacklist Thursday: New Year’s Eve on the battlefield

New Year’s Eve is a time of celebration for most. It’s a time to look forward to better things and a time to reflect on the year that will soon be behind us. When it comes the American Civil War, … Continue reading →

September 29, 2015

Survey Says! Dishing da dirt

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It is the time of the year when we enjoy the soil’s miraculous bounty. Plant a little seed in the ground, add water and sun, and marvel as this humble recipe yields sprawling watermelon vines, mountains of green beans, and … Continue reading →

August 13, 2015

The Tao of Ho

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Eighty-five years ago today, out where the warm trade winds blow, Don Ho began life in Hawai’i, one of the nicer outposts of our current reality. In time, his mellow singing entertained so many people that Don became synonymous with the … Continue reading →

July 30, 2015

Bigger than life: Sinatra’s image at 100

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Today our 1915: Whatta Year! series turns to pop culture colossus Frank Sinatra, born on December 12 of that storied year in Hoboken, New Jersey. “Ol Blue Eyes” made his name with his voice, but he was a fixture on the silver screen beginning … Continue reading →

July 16, 2015

Remembering TV pioneer Marlene Sanders

Posted by sfast
in authors, backlist classics, communication, feminist studies, labor history, media studies | Tagged , | Comments Off on Remembering TV pioneer Marlene Sanders

Journalist Marlene Sanders passed away earlier this week at age 84. In 1964, Sanders was the first woman to anchor an evening network news program when she substituted for Ron Cochran on ABC. This was just one of the many … Continue reading →

July 16, 2015

Happy Birthday Ida B. Wells

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As Google has reminded many of you, today marks the birthday of civil rights pioneer, suffragette, anti-lynching activist, and sociologist Ida B. Wells. This remarkable woman participated in many crusades in the Progressive Era of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. … Continue reading →

February 10, 2015

RIP William R. Catton, Jr.

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Not long ago we received word that William R. Catton, Jr. passed away in January. Catton, known for his influential ecological book Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change, was eighty-eight years old. The Rev. Michael Dowd at the Huffington Post … Continue reading →

January 7, 2015

Marian Anderson’s groundbreaking moment

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On January 6, 1955 contralto Marian Anderson became the first African American soloist to sing at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. She appeared in the role of Ulrica (a Creole fortuneteller medium) in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera. Born in 1897, Anderson’s parents moved to … Continue reading →