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Books published by publisher New York University Press

  • Tyndale's New Testament

    David Daniell, William Tyndale

    Paperback (Yale University Press, Sept. 10, 1996)
    This translation of the New Testament into English from its original Greek was printed in Germany in 1534 and smuggled back into England. It therefore escaped the fate of Tyndale’s previous version, which had been seized and publicly burnt by the authorities. The 1534 edition outraged the clerical establishment by giving the laity access to the word of God, in print in English for the first time. Tyndale, who was already in exile for political reasons, was hunted down and subsequently burned at the stake for blasphemy.For the next eighty years―the years of Shakespeare among others―Tyndale’s masterly translation formed the basis of all English bibles. And when the authorized King James Bible was published in 1611, many of its finest passages were taken unchanged, though unacknowledged, from Tyndale’s work.Although, therefore, this astounding work of pioneering scholarship was the basis of all subsequent English bibles until after the Second World War, and though it was the version of the Bible used by some of our greatest poets, it is today virtually unknown because of its suppression for political reasons because of its difficult early sixteenth-century spelling.Now for the first time this version is published in modern spelling, as the modern book it once was, so that this masterly work of English prose by one of the great geniuses of the as is available to today’s reader.
  • Why I Am Not a Buddhist

    Evan Thompson

    Hardcover (Yale University Press, Jan. 28, 2020)
    A provocative essay challenging the idea of Buddhist exceptionalism, from one of the world’s most widely respected philosophers and writers on Buddhism and science Buddhism has become a uniquely favored religion in our modern age. A burgeoning number of books extol the scientifically proven benefits of meditation and mindfulness for everything ranging from business to romance. There are conferences, courses, and celebrities promoting the notion that Buddhism is spirituality for the rational; compatible with cutting-edge science; indeed, “a science of the mind.” In this provocative book, Evan Thompson argues that this representation of Buddhism is false. In lucid and entertaining prose, Thompson dives deep into both Western and Buddhist philosophy to explain how the goals of science and religion are fundamentally different. Efforts to seek their unification are wrongheaded and promote mistaken ideas of both. He suggests cosmopolitanism instead, a worldview with deep roots in both Eastern and Western traditions. Smart, sympathetic, and intellectually ambitious, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in Buddhism’s place in our world today.
  • The Shaker Experience in America: A History of the United Society of Believers

    Professor Stephen J. Stein

    Hardcover (Yale University Press, May 27, 1992)
    Draws on oral and written testimony to trace the history and evolution of the Shakers, set within the broader context of American life
  • Into the Great White Sands

    Craig Varjabedian, Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, Dennis Ditmanson, Jim Eckles

    Hardcover (University of New Mexico Press, March 15, 2018)
    Winner of the Prestigious New Mexico-Arizona Book Award Award-winning photographer Craig Varjabedian has spent decades photographing the many moods of the magnificent and ever-changing landscape of New Mexico's White Sands National Monument. His photographs reveal snow-white dunes of gypsum, striking landforms, storms and stillness, panoramic vistas and breathtaking sunsets, intricate wind-blown patterns in the sand, ancient animal tracks, exquisite desert plants, and also the people who come to experience this place that is at once spectacular yet subtle. Varjabedian's evocative color images provide the reader with an almost palpable sense of this extraordinary place.These photographs are enriched by several essays written by Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, noted poet and author; Dennis Ditmanson, retired White Sands National Monument superintendent; Jim Eckles, retired Missile Range public affairs officer; and Craig Varjabedian, the photographer who shares his insights and experiences of photographing this inspiring landscape and offers tips on making better pictures of White Sands.
  • Fabulous: The Rise of the Beautiful Eccentric

    madison moore

    Hardcover (Yale University Press, April 17, 2018)
    An exploration of what it means to be fabulous—and why eccentric style, fashion, and creativity are more political than ever Prince once told us not to hate him ’cause he’s fabulous. But what does it mean to be fabulous? Is fabulous style only about labels, narcissism, and selfies—looking good and feeling gorgeous? Or can acts of fabulousness be political gestures, too? What are the risks of fabulousness? And in what ways is fabulous style a defiant response to the struggles of living while marginalized? madison moore answers these questions in a timely and fascinating book that explores how queer, brown, and other marginalized outsiders use ideas, style, and creativity in everyday life. Moving from catwalks and nightclubs to the street, moore dialogues with a range of fabulous and creative powerhouses, including DJ Vjuan Allure, voguing superstar Lasseindra Ninja, fashion designer Patricia Field, performance artist Alok Vaid‑Menon, and a wide range of other aesthetic rebels from the worlds of art, fashion, and nightlife. In a riveting synthesis of autobiography, cultural analysis, and ethnography, moore positions fabulousness as a form of cultural criticism that allows those who perform it to thrive in a world where they are not supposed to exist.
  • Tortuga: A Novel

    Rudolfo Anaya

    Paperback (University of New Mexico Press, Aug. 30, 2004)
    Rudolfo Anaya's personal journey to Tortuga began one desert-hot day when, as an adolescent, he and some friends were swimming in irrigation ditches. He dove in, sustaining an injury that put him in the hospital for an arduous period of time.Tortuga is set in a hospital for crippled children and is based on Anaya's swimming accident. He explores the significance of pain and suffering in a young boy's life and the importance of spiritual recovery as well as medical. Tortuga, or Turtle, is the name of the oddly shaped mountain near the hospital, but "Tortuga" also points toward the rigid cast that encases the young hero's body.In celebration of the twenty-five years since the first edition of Tortuga was published, Rudolfo Anaya has provided an Afterword to share his memories of those days in the hospital and how they impacted the remainder of his life.
  • Circle of Wonder: A Native American Christmas Story

    N. Scott Momaday

    Hardcover (University of New Mexico Press, Aug. 1, 1999)
    "Circle of Wonder centers upon a world that is so dear to me as to be engraved on my memory forever. I was a boy of twelve when my parents and I moved to Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico in 1946. . . . It was a place of singular beauty and wonder and delight. My first Christmas there was beyond my imagining. . . . The night sky was radiant; the silence was vast and serene. In all the years of my life I have not gone farther into the universe. I have not known better the essence of peace and the sense of eternity. I have come no closer to the understanding of the most holy."--N. Scott Momaday
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  • Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment

    James Gustave Speth

    Hardcover (Yale University Press, Feb. 9, 2004)
    Presents an analysis of the worsening global environmental crisis, citing ten contributors to environmental deterioration, including affluence, the American culture and its values, population, and poverty.
  • Harriet Tubman: The Biography

    University Press Biographies

    eBook (University Press, July 28, 2016)
    Harriet Tubman: BiographyFor decades, children have learned in school that Harriet Tubman was a conductor for the underground railroad, helping slaves reach freedom. Not much else is usually discussed, and for most of us, the complete story of her life is a mystery. Most of this courageous and multi-faceted woman’s life has largely been ignored.Myths and rumors surround her earlier years, as people try to guess where she came from and how she came to be a key player in the abolitionist movement. However, the information is available, primarily through oral history, letters, biographies written during her lifetime, and a few official documents. It takes some digging to get to the bottom of the story, but it is definitely possible.Harriet Tubman was born a slave, but found her way to freedom. Yet, she wasn’t satisfied to stop at caring for her own welfare. She went on to save others from the degradation and harsh conditions of slavery. Her contributions to the abolitionist cause didn’t end there, either. She worked with the union army, taking on dangerous assignments for the benefit of all the slaves and indeed, the betterment of the entire country.Without Harriet Tubman and others who fought from the inside out, the Civil War might have gone completely differently. Her life was and is an inspiring example of what one person can do to right wrongs and change the world for the better.One brief book, or even several full-length biographies, can’t possibly tell Harriet Tubman’s complete story, nor the great lengths she went to to fight for a noble cause. Still, even this short biography will give you a greater understanding and appreciation for this extraordinary figure.Long ago, a powerhouse of a woman brought intelligence, courage and persistence to the monumental task of overcoming slavery. Harriet Tubman inspired the people of her time, and her example continues to speak to the human need to see beyond our own struggles and affect change in our world.Harriet Tubman: The Biography
  • The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire

    Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy

    Paperback (Yale University Press, Sept. 30, 2014)
    A unique account of the American Revolution, told from the perspective of the leaders who conducted the British war effort The loss of America was a stunning and unexpected defeat for the powerful British Empire. Common wisdom has held that incompetent military commanders and political leaders in Britain must have been to blame, but were they? This intriguing book makes a different argument. Weaving together the personal stories of ten prominent men who directed the British dimension of the war, historian Andrew O’Shaughnessy dispels the incompetence myth and uncovers the real reasons that rebellious colonials were able to achieve their surprising victory. In interlinked biographical chapters, the author follows the course of the war from the perspectives of King George III, Prime Minister Lord North, military leaders including General Burgoyne, the Earl of Sandwich, and others who, for the most part, led ably and even brilliantly. Victories were frequent, and in fact the British conquered every American city at some stage of the Revolutionary War. Yet roiling political complexities at home, combined with the fervency of the fighting Americans, proved fatal to the British war effort. The book concludes with a penetrating assessment of the years after Yorktown, when the British achieved victories against the French and Spanish, thereby keeping intact what remained of the British Empire.
  • Visual Voyages: Images of Latin American Nature from Columbus to Darwin

    Daniela Bleichmar

    Hardcover (Yale University Press, Oct. 10, 2017)
    An unprecedented visual exploration of the intertwined histories of art and science, of the old world and the new From the voyages of Christopher Columbus to those of Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin, the depiction of the natural world played a central role in shaping how people on both sides of the Atlantic understood and imaged the region we now know as Latin America. Nature provided incentives for exploration, commodities for trade, specimens for scientific investigation, and manifestations of divine forces. It also yielded a rich trove of representations, created both by natives to the region and visitors, which are the subject of this lushly illustrated book. Author Daniela Bleichmar shows that these images were not only works of art but also instruments for the production of knowledge, with scientific, social, and political repercussions. Early depictions of Latin American nature introduced European audiences to native medicines and religious practices. By the 17th century, revelatory accounts of tobacco, chocolate, and cochineal reshaped science, trade, and empire around the globe. In the 18th and 19th centuries, collections and scientific expeditions produced both patriotic and imperial visions of Latin America. Through an interdisciplinary examination of more than 150 maps, illustrated manuscripts, still lifes, and landscape paintings spanning four hundred years, Visual Voyages establishes Latin America as a critical site for scientific and artistic exploration, affirming that region’s transformation and the transformation of Europe as vitally connected histories.
  • J. M. Barrie and the Lost Boys: The Real Story Behind Peter Pan

    Andrew Birkin

    Paperback (Yale University Press, July 11, 2003)
    J. M. Barrie, Victorian novelist, playwright, and author of Peter Pan or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up, led a life almost as magical and interesting as as his famous creation. Childless in his marriage, Barrie grew close to the five young boys of the Llewelyn Davies family, ultimately becoming their guardian and devoted surrogate father when they were orphaned. Andrew Birkin draws extensively on a vast range of material by and about Barrie, including notebooks, memoirs, and hours of recorded interviews with the family and their circle, to describe Barrie’s life and the wonderful world he created for the boys.Originally published in 1979, this enchanting and richly illustrated account is reissued with a new preface to mark the release of Neverland, the film of Barrie’s life, and the upcoming centenary of Peter Pan.“A psychological thriller . . . one of the year’s most complex and absorbing biographies.”—Gerald Clarke, Time“A terrible and fascinating story.”—Eve Auchincloss, Washington Post