Life & Letters Magazine

Books

Dreams of El Dorado

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The rapid growth of America came as a shock to some, as it was the only country whose expansion occurred with such little government supervision.  In Dreams of El Dorado, author H.W. Brands recounts the rich history of the American West. Beginning with the purchase of the Louisiana territory, which propelled future Western expansion of […]

Affording Jane Austen

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In The Lost Books of Jane Austen, Janine Barchas explores the burgeoning popularity of Jane Austen’s novels beginning in the nineteenth-century. Through photographs and unique historical perspectives, Barchas shares some of the earliest and cheapest reprints of Austen’s work that brought the author recognition in the working-class, leading to the reputation she has today. Learn […]

Drawing Inspiration

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Edward Carey’s office is filled with fanciful artwork, including several large drawings of the gloomy-eyed characters who inhabit his books.

What’s in Your Library?

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Over a period of five years (2013-18) a Faculty Committee on Influential Books discussed, debated and finally compiled a list of intellectually and culturally significant books to encourage reading by undergraduates and provide inspiration for continued reading by college alumni. The committee benefited from student suggestions and criticism in drawing up the list that mainly […]

Tropical Storm: How Cuba Sent Revolutionary Waves Around the World

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When it comes to staging a revolution, timing is everything. In 1959 an island nation of 7 million revolted against its U.S.-backed dictator, and with its subsequent export of revolution to Latin America became a major driver of U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War. In a story as compelling as it is complex, Professor […]

Texas Book Festival Presents: “Dopers in Uniform” by John Hoberman

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Since 1995, the Texas Book Festival has connected Texas authors with readers through literary panels and readings, book signings, demonstrations, live music, family-fun and local eats. This year at the festival, Germanic Studies Professor John Hoberman will present his third book on the social impacts of anabolic steroids, Dopers in Uniform: The Hidden World of Police […]

American Girls in Red Russia: Chasing the Soviet Dream

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If you search “women in the 1920s” in Google Images, what you get are a few photos of women working or protesting, but many more photos of sexually liberated flappers — at the beach, on the town, or dancing the night away at some speakeasy. The 1920s look like one big party. But the decade […]

The Cost of Crime

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Despite crime rates being at a historic low, the United States is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to achieve an 80 percent recidivism rate. We’ve spent $1 trillion during the past 40 years on criminal justice, not including $1 trillion more on the war on drugs. William Kelly, a professor of sociology at The […]