"Mapping Medical Modernity"

New from the University of Pittsburgh Press: Mapping Medical Modernity: Urban Space and Public Health in Tokyo, 1868–1920 by Susan L. Burns.

About the book, from the publisher:

Mapping Medical Modernity explores the history of medical modernization and public health in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Tokyo, a city undergoing rapid transformation from the seat of power of the Tokugawa shoguns of the Edo period to the capital of a modern nation-state and its expanding empire in the Meiji period. Tracing the development of institutions and policies designed to improve medical care and public health in a dense urban environment, Susan L. Burns examines tensions between the involved parties―including doctors and policymakers, police and civil officials, residents and those who governed them―and provides case studies focused on three of the city’s major challenges in public health: syphilis, cholera, and mental illness. Drawing upon a wide range of archival materials and contemporary accounts, Burns also employs geographic information system analysis in mapping the complicated relationships interlinking aspects of the urban environment, social life, public policy, and commercialized medical culture to demonstrate visually how policy decisions and medical capitalism gradually reshaped existing spatial arrangements in the city as well as the social relations that unfolded within them.

Visit Susan L. Burns's faculty webpage.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Evie Walters Takes the Wheel"

Coming soon from Lake Union: Evie Walters Takes the Wheel: A Novel by Kathleen Fox.

About the book, from the publisher:

In this warmhearted and witty debut, a mysterious gift spurs a widow to take a cross-country journey to find its sender―and along the way, she rediscovers herself.

Evie Walters has lived most of her seventy-one years according to others’ expectations. But on the day of her husband’s funeral, she receives an anonymous delivery: an egret orchid. The same flower a Montana ranch hand once gave her decades ago―Novel Daniels, the boy who thought she could do anything.

So now, she does.

Defying her children’s plans to move her into a retirement home, Evie buys a camper van and leaves life in North Carolina abruptly behind. Accompanied by her devoted rescue dog, she heads west to find her cowboy, befriending an unlikely cast of characters along the way. Free-spirited young vanlifers, roadside waitresses, eccentric billionaires, and kindhearted widowers all show Evie a side of life worth living.

But Evie’s drive toward the future takes her back to the past, to memories of the family ranch and childhood dreams. Now, with a second chance as open as the road before her, there’s no telling who Evie Walters will become.

Visit Kathleen Fox's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Housing in New York City"

New from NYU Press: Housing in New York City: Policy Innovations and Challenges by Katrin B. Anacker.

About the book, from the publisher:

Shows how New York has been a national pioneer in developing affordable, equitable, and comprehensive housing policy

In Housing in New York City, Katrin B. Anacker explores how New York City’s policy innovations have impacted the trajectory of a nation. Drawing on historical, policy, and data analysis, she highlights New York City's greatest successes across all five boroughs, including its early popularization of affordable housing and the birth of the modern high-rise.

From the Plan of 1811, which established Manhattan's rectangular street grids, to the 1916 Building Zone Resolution, the first comprehensive zoning ordinance in America, Anacker takes us through many of these key moments in New York City's history, and how its impact was felt beyond the city's limits. She shows us how policy innovations―like the affordable housing movement―not only improved quality of life for New Yorkers, but also made New York City a national role model to other cities, resulting in many additional national, state, and local laws, policies, and programs.

Ultimately, she emphasizes the contrast between the New York City of yesterday, and today, where exorbitant rents and gentrification threaten its historical role as a leader in housing policy. Housing in New York City provides a comprehensive discussion of this history and calls upon policymakers to continue innovating to keep the Big Apple not only affordable, but to preserve its legacy in housing.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Haunting of Lavender House"

Coming October 20 from Park Row: The Haunting of Lavender House: A Haunting, Gothic Story of Croatian Folklore by Natalie Kikić.

About the book, from the publisher:

A crumbling home surrounded by lavender fields. A decades-long curse. A nightmare from Croatian folklore with a thirst for blood. The Lost Apothecary meets The Hacienda in this multigenerational, haunting gothic saga set on the Adriatic Sea.

2026. All Petra has inherited are tales of loss. Which is why, after her mother’s passing, she is shocked to learn that her grandmother is not dead like she’s always believed, but alive and living on Tolba, a small island in Croatia. Desperate to find her last surviving family member, Petra ventures to her ancestral home, famed for its sprawling lavender fields. While she's happy to be reunited with her grandmother, rarely does a night go by that Petra doesn’t lose herself to vivid nightmares and the dizzying sense that something—or someone—is always watching in Lavender House.

1895. Whore. Sinner. Witch. No matter how many people Magdalena heals, the rumors persist. So, when she’s asked to help the matriarch of Lavender House, she seizes the opportunity to rehabilitate her reputation. As Magdalena races against time to heal the ailing woman, she finds herself unexpectedly falling for the son of her greatest enemy, the man responsible for her ostracization. But are true love and acceptance possible for a woman who has always lived on the margins?

Back in the present, Petra finds it increasingly difficult to ignore the rumors plaguing her family: that a mora, a spirit from Croatian folklore, haunts Lavender House for revenge. As the sole heir to Lavender House, Petra must discover the truth of her inheritance, or else fall prey to the same curse that claimed her family.

Through the intersecting stories of Petra and Magdalena, Natalie Kikić’s gorgeous debut asks us to consider the lengths to which we go to belong, the cost of choosing love, and what it really means to be a monster.

Visit Natalie Kikić's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Reinventing Wool"

New from the Johns Hopkins University Press: Reinventing Wool: How a Natural Fiber Survived the Synthetic Revolution by Melissa M. Littlefield.

About the book, from the publisher:

How chemistry, culture, and industry remade a natural fiber―and reshaped our closets.

Wool once shaped daily life in the United States. The ubiquitous textile clothed soldiers and filled civilian wardrobes; sheep even grazed on the White House lawn. Today, however, wool apparel represents a sliver of the global textile market. In Reinventing Wool, Melissa M. Littlefield uncovers the surprising story behind this dramatic shift.

Rather than fading quietly as synthetics rose to prominence, wool became the focus of a sweeping mid-twentieth-century effort to "modernize" natural fibers through chemistry, industry, and politics. Littlefield reveals how, between the 1930s and 1960s, wool was recast as a material in need of technological rescue. Industrial chemists coated it with resins, laboratories experimented with moth-killing compounds, and federal agencies promoted new treatments that promised convenience to modern consumers. Detailing stories like Woolite's cold-water campaigns―complete with department-store sheep baths―the invention of washable wool, and the USDA's little-known DDT-based mothproofing agent EQ-53, Reinventing Wool traces how a once-revered fiber was repeatedly reengineered to fit the ideals and anxieties of an increasingly synthetic age.

Weaving together textile science, advertising archives, governmental reports, and her own experience as a fiber artist, Littlefield highlights the cultural forces that reshaped wool's reputation. She shows how mid-century interventions altered not only the fiber itself but also public understanding of what counts as "natural," "improved," or "modern." The consequences extend well into the present, influencing how we value materials, evaluate environmental claims, and imagine the future of textiles. Reinventing Wool offers a fresh perspective on the intertwined histories of chemistry, agriculture, fashion, and consumer culture.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Little Kin"

New from Blackstone Publishing: Little Kin by Katya de Becerra.

About the book, from the publisher:

Little Kin is the debut adult novel from critically-acclaimed author Katya de Becerra.

When Cass inherits a crumbling house on Rothagisht—a remote island near the Arctic Circle—she’s desperate for a new start. The land is stunning, the people are strangely healthy, and for the first time, Cass feels like she might finally belong.

But Rothagisht comes with rules: Never go out after dark, and never open the door to a knock. As Cass is drawn into the island’s mysteries—and into the secrets of her own bloodline—she discovers Rothagisht is stalked by ancient creatures that rise from the heated depths when the old covenant stirs.

With the Festival of Giving and Receiving looming, and the island’s ancient covenant unraveling in blood, Cass must choose: Embrace the community she’s longed for or confront the nightmare that could consume them all.

Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Ari Aster’s Midsommar, Little Kin is a chilling, folkloric tale of survival and belonging.

Visit Katya de Becerra's website and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

Writers Read: Katya de Becerra (February 2020).

--Marshal Zeringue

"Nary a Horse Left Standing"

New from The MIT Press: Nary a Horse Left Standing: How a Nineteenth-Century Epidemic Transformed Medicine, Animal Welfare, and the Modern City by Lee Alan Dugatkin.

About the book, from the publisher:

How a devastating outbreak of horse flu in the 1870s ground city life to a halt—but ultimately revolutionized animal rights, medicine, and transportation.

From a veteran science writer, evolutionary biologist, historian of science, and the coauthor of the acclaimed How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog).

In the 1870s, horses were the lifeblood of North American cities. New York, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto relied on tens of thousands of workhorses to power daily life. Then, in late 1872 and into 1873, a devastating outbreak of horse flu—known as The Great Epizootic—swept across the continent.

In Nary a Horse Left Standing, Lee Dugatkin chronicles this little-known crisis, revealing how the epidemic disrupted nearly every aspect of urban life. From coast to coast, livelihoods collapsed as horses lay sick, or worse dying, on stable floors, fires raged unchecked without horse-drawn wagons, and city development stalled for lack of horsepower. Just as the Gilded Age was dawning and industrialists were poised to amass fortunes, the flu slowed progress to a crawl.

Yet the tragedy also catalyzed revolutions in medicine, animal rights, and transportation. Veterinary science in the U.S. was still emerging, but detailed medical reports from the epidemic helped validate germ theory and discredit outdated beliefs. The crisis also spotlighted early animal welfare efforts, with fledgling groups like the ASPCA advocating for sick horses forced to work. Finally, the sheer vulnerability of relying on animals for transport spurred a shift toward mechanized systems.

As illuminating as it is humbling, the book brings to life a critical account of a crisis that still speaks to the complex public health and transportation challenges we face today.

Visit Lee Alan Dugatkin's website.

The Page 99 Test: Power in the Wild.

The Page 99 Test: Dr. Calhoun's Mousery.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Hallowed Bones"

Coming October 6 from St. Martin's Griffin: Hallowed Bones: A Sons of Salem Novel by Lucy Smoke.

About the novel, from the publisher:

Four men. One woman. Five families accused of witchcraft. A dark desire they all share.

I was warned to stay away from the Sons of Salem. Not because they’re monsters―but because they’re broken enough to recognize one.

Ezra Bishop.
Cameron Goode.
Lyall Corey.
Reyes Scott.

And me―Haven Wardwell.

Legacies. Witches. Something far worse than myths.

Now that I’m here, there’s no telling what the Gods will ask for in return.

Ghosts haunt the corridors of Ipswich College, and if I’m not careful, I might just become one of them.

Visit Lucy Smoke's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Outed"

Coming October 13 from the University of Chicago Press: LBJ’s Confidant and the Arrest That Transformed a Presidency by Timothy Stewart-Winter.

About the book, from the publisher:

The story of the scandal in the LBJ administration that first brought queer life into the national political conversation in the 1960s.

In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson’s longest-serving and most trusted advisor, Walter Jenkins, was arrested for soliciting sex in a YMCA bathroom near the White House. The scandal blasted across the front pages of major US newspapers, was dissected and analyzed by the FBI, and became a watershed in making straight America aware of queer life. In Outed, historian Timothy Stewart-Winter reveals that the effects of antigay policing were felt not only by the men but by their colleagues, families, and, in this case, the First Family.

Walter Jenkins’s political banishment had long-ranging effects, from how Johnson conducted the remainder of his presidency to how media coverage of political and sexual scandals became more explicit and salacious. Stewart-Winter reveals Jenkins’s influence and legacy, encompassing but also looking beyond the scandal. Jenkins had a significant impact on Johnson’s career and how it is remembered, including both his signal accomplishment—the programs and laws that constituted the Great Society—and his signal failure: his catastrophic judgment, after Jenkins’s exile, regarding the Vietnam War.

Drawing on Jenkins’s previously unexamined personal papers, including hundreds of letters he received in the aftermath from ordinary Americans and government officials alike, Stewart-Winter shows how antigay policies and the revelations around them continue to reverberate today.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Lost Perfumes of Paris"

New from William Morrow: The Lost Perfumes of Paris: A Novel by Christine Wells.

About the novel, from the publisher:

Set against the backdrop of mid-century Parisian glamour and the timeless art of perfumery, a captivating tale of resilience, love, and the intoxicating pursuit of passion.

Élodie Limeaux's beloved mother, Aurore, was the most legendary perfumer in France before World War II, renowned for the exquisite fragrances she created for the family company, the House of Limeaux. Now in her twenties, Élodie longs to join the family business. Her father, however, has refused to let her follow in her late mother's footsteps and Élodie has had to fight to become a mere lab assistant at Limeaux.

But Élodie plans to enter the Essence of Paris contest run by the French Perfume Institute, hoping that a win will secure investment from Swiss banker Monsieur Caspari, who is looking to launch a new scent for women—and possibly to buy the House of Limeaux.

Impressed with Élodie's drive and talent, Caspari agrees to back her, provided that she collaborates with his son, Marcelo. Élodie is forced to agree, although Marcelo strikes her as a wealthy dilettante—albeit an extremely charming one.

When they join forces, though, Élodie is surprised to discover Marcelo's passion for perfume is genuine, his obsession as deep as hers. With Marcelo by her side, Élodie battles family betrayals and corporate sabotage, searching for that elusive essence of Paris that will launch her career...and possibly the love of a lifetime.

Visit Christine Wells's website.

My Book, The Movie: One Woman's War.

Q&A with Christine Wells.

The Page 69 Test: The Royal Windsor Secret.

--Marshal Zeringue