Faculty Books Explore Literacy, Tobacco, and the Beetles

The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present (Liveright Publishing), by Paul McCartney and edited by Paul Muldoon, professor of creative writing, tracks McCartney’s storied career — from his early days to the Beatles and beyond — through the lyrics of 154 songs and first-person narratives. It reveals the inspirations behind some of McCartney’s most iconic songs and includes archived images that bring the pages to life.

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UC Press

Language, Nation, Race: Linguistic Reform in Meiji Japan, 1868-1912 (UC Press), by Atsuko Ueda, professor of modern Japanese literature, explores linguistic reforms in Japan that occurred around the turn of the 20th century. At the time, Meiji leaders were seeking to rapidly educate a largely illiterate population as part of wider reforms to stave off the threat of Western colonialism.

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Princeton University Press

The Philosophical Stage (Princeton University Press), by Joshua Billings, professor of classics, introduces a new way to view Greek literature, placing drama at the heart of intellectual history. Billings analyzes tragedy and comedy to better interpret the birth of Greek philosophy — resulting in a novel approach to classical Greek study and our understanding of the early modern world.

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University of Chicago Press

Pushing Cool: Big Tobacco, Racial Marketing, and the Untold Story of the Menthol Cigarette (University of Chicago Press), by Keith Wailoo, professor of history and public affairs, reveals how Black communities became primary targets for the sale of menthol cigarettes, forever changing purchasing patterns and threatening the lives of millions.

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Yale University Press

In the biography Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement (Yale University Press), history professor Julian Zelizer traces the life of Heschel, a Polish-born American rabbi known for his participation in America’s civil-rights movement. Zelizer explores Heschel’s leading role in uniting religious faith with progressive politics and social justice.