What We Are Reading Today: Comparing the Literatures

What We Are Reading Today: Comparing the Literatures
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Updated 02 September 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: Comparing the Literatures

What We Are Reading Today: Comparing the Literatures

Author: David Damrosch

Literary studies are being transformed today by the expansive and disruptive forces of globalization. More works than ever circulate worldwide in English and in translation, and even national traditions are increasingly seen in transnational terms.

In “Comparing the Literatures,” David Damrosch integrates comparative, postcolonial, and world-literary perspectives to offer a comprehensive overview of comparative studies and its prospects in a time of great upheaval and great opportunity.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The African Revolution’ by Richard Reid

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The African Revolution’ by Richard Reid
Updated 3 min 24 sec ago
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The African Revolution’ by Richard Reid

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The African Revolution’ by Richard Reid

Africa’s long 19th century was a time of revolutionary ferment and cultural innovation for the continent’s states, societies, and economies. Yet the period preceding what became known as “the Scramble for Africa” by European powers in the decades leading up to World War I has long been neglected in favor of a Western narrative of colonial rule.

The African Revolution demonstrates that “the Scramble” and the resulting imperial order were as much the culmination of African revolutionary dynamics as they were of European expansionism.


What We Are Reading Today: The Power to Destroy

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Updated 16 February 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: The Power to Destroy

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Author: Michael J. Graetz

The postwar US enjoyed large, widely distributed economic rewards — and most Americans accepted that taxes were a reasonable price to pay for living in a society of shared prosperity.
In 1978 California enacted Proposition 13, a property tax cap that Ronald Reagan hailed as a “second American Revolution,” setting off an antitax, antigovernment wave that has transformed American politics and economic policy.
In The Power to Destroy, Michael Graetz tells the story of the antitax movement and how it holds America hostage — undermining the nation’s ability to meet basic needs and fix critical problems.

 


What We Are Reading Today: Habitats of Africa

What We Are Reading Today: Habitats of Africa
Updated 15 February 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Habitats of Africa

What We Are Reading Today: Habitats of Africa

Authors: Ken Behrens, Keith Barnes & Iain Campbell

With breathtaking wildlife and stunningly beautiful locales, Africa is a premier destination for birders, conservationists, ecotourists, and ecologists. 

This compact, easy-to-use guide provides an unparalleled treatment of the continent’s wonderfully diverse habitats. 

Incisive and up-to-date descriptions cover the unique features of each habitat, from geology and climate to soil and hydrology, and require no scientific background. Knowing the surrounding environment is essential to getting the most out of your travel experiences.


What We Are Reading Today: An Untraceable Life

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Updated 14 February 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: An Untraceable Life

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Author: Stephen J. Campbell

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) never signed a painting, and none of his supposed self-portraits can be securely ascribed to his hand. He revealed next to nothing about his life in his extensive writings, yet countless pages have been written about him that assign him an identity: genius, entrepreneur, celebrity artist, outsider.
Addressing the ethical stakes involved in studying past lives, Stephen J. Campbell shows how this invented Leonardo has invited speculation from figures ranging from art dealers and curators to scholars, scientists, and biographers, many of whom have filled in the gaps of what can be known of Leonardo’s life with claims to decode secrets, reveal mysteries of a vanished past, or discover lost masterpieces of spectacular value.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Snakes of Australia’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Snakes of Australia’
Updated 13 February 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Snakes of Australia’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Snakes of Australia’

Authors: Tie Eipper & Scott Eipper

With more than 1,000 photographs, Snakes of Australia illustrates and describes in detail all 240 of the continent’s species and subspecies—from file snakes, pythons, colubrids, and natricids to elapids, marine elapids, homalopsids, and blind snakes. It features introductions to each family, species descriptions, type locations, distribution maps, and quick-identification keys to each family and genera.

It also covers English and scientific names, appearance, range, ecology, disposition, danger level, and IUCN Red List Category.