Author: john

Guest post by Jerry Griswold "'Twas the night before Christmas" begins Clement Moore’s "A Visit from St. Nicholas," that immortal poem generally credited with popularizing Dutch customs (Santa and gift-giving) and shaping the American holiday as we know it. But, as I suggest in my study of American childhood classics called Audacious Kids, a case…

The JHU Press publishes beautiful, influential, award-wining books on a variety of subjects. From a history of the Folger Shakespeare Library to a full-color celebration of Amish quilts to an insider’s look at the Large Hadron Collider, books from JHUP make terrific gifts for series readers. For reviews and more information or to place an…

The JHU Press has an award-wining list in history, with acclaimed books on Lincoln and the Civil War, a fascinating account of the linothorax (the linen armor of the ancient world), and a new family-friendly guide to historic travel in the Mid-Atlantic. Read more about them or place an order by clicking on the titles…

An expert’s perspective: James R. Spotila In recent weeks, sea turtles have been stranding in historic numbers along the beaches of Cape Cod. A recent article in the New York Times tells the story of heroic volunteer efforts to rescue the stranded turtles, and it highlights the uncertainties (and the hunches) as the scientific community tries…

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England. Today, on her 239th birthday, Austen’s life and work continue to attract enormous world-wide interest. In 2016, the Folger Shakespeare Library will host an exhibition called Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity, exploring how these writers became literary superheroes.…

 By Janet Gilbert, JHUP Journals Staff After two hours at the mall, my feet are burning in my pointy work shoes. I hoist my packages up the first set of ten and the second set of five steps to my front door, and toss the bags of gifts in the foyer. I’ll wrap them tomorrow.…

The JHU Press has a beautiful selection of books on the natural world, from the amazing new edition of Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America, to our popular Animal Answer Guide series, to family-friendly guide books, to handsomely illustrated volumes on owls, polar bears, and mountain gorillas. Read more or place an order by…

Guest post by Stephen H. Grant In forty years of book collecting, Henry Clay Folger managed to collect eighty-two of the 800 or so First Folios containing thirty-six Shakespeare plays compiled by two of the Bard’s actor friends, John Heminge and Henry Condell, and printed in 1623. They form the gemstone of the private research…

Guest post by Lara Freidenfelds Ask someone to talk about her experiences with menstruation for a couple of hours, and she will usually laugh: “What on earth would I have to say for that long, on that subject?” And then, as it turns out, she will tell story after story. In researching The Modern Period,…

Guest post by Janneken Smucker Since the publication of Amish Quilts: Crafting an American Icon last fall, we’ve experienced a flurry of important exhibits and books about quilts. It’s no surprise that readers and museumgoers flock to these books and events. Quilts feel good. They bring on nostalgic feelings of warmth and family, even to those…