Category Archives: backlist classics

May 21, 2020

Your 2020 Olympics Reading List

Posted by Charrice Jones
in backlist classics, culture, events, gender studies, Olympic history, sports history | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Your 2020 Olympics Reading List

Although the 2020 Olympic Games have been postponed, we’ve assembled a list of titles featuring the history and impact of the Games to help you get into the Olympic spirit. From politics to social norms, the Olympic Games have permeated … Continue reading →

February 5, 2018

In praise of suckers and P. T. Barnum

Posted by rkcunningham
in backlist classics, biography | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on In praise of suckers and P. T. Barnum

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

Posted by rkcunningham
in backlist classics | Comments Off on Meet the UI Press: Backlist we love

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

Posted by sfast
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

Posted by rkcunningham
in backlist classics, publishing | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Survey Says! Dishing da dirt

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

Posted by rkcunningham
in asian american studies, backlist classics, labor history, music | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Tao of Ho

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

Posted by sfast
in author commentary, authors, backlist classics, film | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Bigger than life: Sinatra’s image at 100

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

Posted by rkcunningham
in american history, backlist classics, black studies | Tagged , | Comments Off on Happy Birthday Ida B. Wells

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.

Posted by rkcunningham
in authors, backlist classics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on RIP William R. Catton, Jr.

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 →