"Urbanization from Within"

New from Oxford University Press: Urbanization from Within: A Theory of Urban Transition from 21st-Century India by Gregory F. Randolph.

About the book, from the publisher:

Urbanization is typically narrated as a tale of migration and industrialization--a mass exodus from rural areas to burgeoning cities with centripetal economies. Today, however, many rural settlements are not hollowing out. Rather, they are filling up and filling in, even far beyond the fringes of large metropolitan areas.

In Urbanization from Within, Gregory F. Randolph challenges our conventional understanding of how humans are becoming an increasingly urban species, revealing an alternative pathway of urban transition. Drawing on research in the Indian state of Bihar, Randolph shows that agrarian villages are transforming into urban towns through internal population growth, a bootstrapped non-farm economy, and interwoven processes of social change--a phenomenon he terms urbanization from within. In this account, urbanization is still linked to rural-urban mobility, but rather than the migrant's destination, it is the migrant's origin that is urbanizing, fueled by the circular flow of people and the skills, resources, and expectations they carry and transmit to their hometowns. While rooting his study in a specific region, Randolph connects urbanization from within to a set of global forces shaping twenty-first century urban transitions in and beyond India.

Urbanization from Within provides an in-depth understanding of these mechanisms as well as the consequences and future of new urbanization patterns--integrating qualitative interviews, analysis of geospatial data and large-scale surveys, econometric modeling, and insights from a wide range of disciplines. Like other pathways of urban transition, urbanization from within generates possibilities and constraints for human agency and fulfillment. To imagine a role for planning and policymaking institutions in shaping this process, Randolph provides an assessment of these tradeoffs, which are different from those generally associated with urbanization. Ultimately, Urbanization from Within fundamentally reshapes our understanding of how the world is urbanizing, with important insights for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners.

Visit Gregory F. Randolph's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"They Want Us Dead"

New from Wednesday Books: They Want Us Dead: A Novel by CL Montblanc.

About the novel, from the publisher:

In this new mystery from CL Montblanc, the author of Pride or Die, two internet enemies are forced to work together after a true crime meetup turns into a deadly case of its own.

Seventeen-year-old Sam Tombs hopes to get more eyes on the videos they make to raise awareness of crimes against LGBTQ+ teens. A true crime content creator event seems like the perfect opportunity to grow their channel—until the group becomes stranded at an eerie Victorian mansion, and one of them is killed in the night.

Sam’s alibi, and the only person they can trust, happens to be their mean, dorky internet nemesis Dylan. But the two must now put aside their rivalry and use their investigative skills to figure out who among the remaining teens is the killer, before their own deaths become tomorrow’s trending content.

Visit CL Montblanc's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Stealing America"

New from Liveright: Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in U.S. History by Linford D. Fisher.

About the book, from the publisher:

Epic and groundbreaking, Stealing America boldly rewrites American history by putting Native enslavement and rampant land theft at the epicenter of our nation’s past.

Indigenous enslavement was a colossal phenomenon of almost unimaginable consequences that ensnared nearly 600,000 Native Americans in North America. In a saga that predates 1619, this double–stealing of Indigenous people and their lands upends virtually every known narrative of American history. Captured Natives, often deliberately misidentified as Black slaves, were used not only on southern plantations, but on small northern farms, and were routinely shipped overseas. While the American Revolution pealed the bells of freedom for colonists, it paved a larcenous trail of westward expansion that decimated tribes and plundered Indigenous lands. Even after Congress outlawed Native slavery in 1867, Americans forced Indigenous children into boarding schools and white homes, where they labored under forced assimilation. This practice was not outlawed until the latter twentieth century, when Indian nations finally secured increasing rights and self–determination. The most comprehensive work of its kind, Stealing America presents a five–century genocidal history, more commonly known as the “American dream.”

Visit Linford D. Fisher's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer"

New from Random House Books for Young Readers: Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer by Paige Classey.

About the book, from the publisher:

Anna-Jane couldn’t wait for camp. But when the outside world goes dark, she and her friends soon realize they’re in for the adventure of their lives this summer—and maybe even beyond.

Anna-Jane is thrilled to be back at Camp Chester—the one place she feels like she belongs. She’s excited to swim in the lake, read in her favorite chair, and swap secrets with her best friend under the stars. But not long after Anna-Jane unpacks her trunk, weird things start happening.

First, townspeople near camp begin disappearing. Then, the internet, cell service, and all other forms of communication are cut off. Soon, Anna-Jane and the residents of Camp Chester realize they are completely alone.

Or so they think. Across the lake, the kids spot a strange flashing light. And when animals begin turning up with yellowed eyes and disfigured limbs, it is clear the dangers are only growing. Most alarming of all, though, is the deepening distrust among the campers themselves, which could have deadly consequences. Anna-Jane knows what to expect from a summer at camp . . . but what happens when camp lasts well beyond the summer?

Captured in Anna-Jane’s diary, discover the poignant journey of a young girl’s fight to survive in the face of the unknown.

Visit Paige Classey's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Histories in Common"

New from The University of North Carolina Press: Histories in Common: Native American Literatures, Extra Archives, and the Indigenous Transpacific by Alyssa A. Hunziker.

About the book, from the publisher:

Since its founding, the United States has colonized more than five hundred Indigenous nations in North America and dozens more in the Pacific and the Caribbean. Alyssa A. Hunziker considers how American imperialism in the Pacific—typically thought of as separate from the colonization of North America—is deeply intertwined with US settler colonialism. By examining novels, poems, and archival records, Hunziker analyzes literary convergences between global Indigenous communities, and uses an Indigenous transpacific methodology to examine how contemporary authors from Native America, Hawai'i, Guam, the Marshall Islands, and the Philippines reimagine and uncover their historical connections.

While the colonial archive has been discussed in both postcolonial and Indigenous studies, archives appear frequently in contemporary Indigenous fiction. Hunziker contends that Indigenous authors use literary form to emphasize seemingly peripheral, or “extra,” histories that have been erased from official US records. Using literary archives—like a character’s collection of calendars, a degrading film reel, or a discovery of unorganized notes—alongside discussions of institutional archives, the authors under discussion subvert Indigenous erasure by questioning how history is told, and which stories go unrecognized.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Drop Dead Famous"

New from Sarah Barley Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers: Drop Dead Famous by Jennifer Pearson.

About the book, from the publisher:

An investigation turns into an obsession when the younger sister of a slain pop starlet is determined to uncover her sister’s killer, no matter what it costs, in this “tense and intricately plotted thriller…[that] achieves high marks across the board” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

When superstar Blair Baker is murdered moments before her triumphant homecoming concert, her younger sister, Stevie, knows she has one chance to find out who’s responsible.

The thing is, Stevie’s been here before, desperately searching for clues that might reveal who hurt someone she loves…but Stevie was younger then, just a kid. This time, she won’t let the truth slip through her fingers.

What begins as a search for answers about Blair’s death turns into a dangerous journey through the darker side of global fame. Soon, Stevie begins to uncover dark secrets closer to home—secrets that someone wants desperately to keep hidden. Is Stevie ready to confront what the truth reveals?

Visit Jenny Pearson's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Dark Screens"

New from PublicAffairs: Dark Screens: Hackers and Heroes in the Shadowy World of Ransomware by Anja Shortland.

About the book, from the publisher:

A riveting account of major ransomware attacks and their devastating consequences, revealing how exposed we really are—and how we can protect ourselves

Imagine opening your computer only to find every document and every program locked. All you can see is a red screen with a countdown timer, urging you to pay a ransom within seventy-two hours or lose access forever. For more than a decade, hackers have been extorting billions of dollars from businesses, governments, and individuals with ever more sophisticated variations on this simple scheme.

Dark Screens offers a ringside seat to the most notorious ransomware attacks of the twenty-first century. It sheds light on the inner workings of criminal gangs that target hospitals, public infrastructure, and vulnerable companies—as well as the individuals and organizations trying to stop them. It tracks how ransomware could become a weapon of cyberwar, as shown by the Russian NotPetya attack and the worldwide WannaCry cyberattack by North Korea. Ransomware expert Anja Shortland shares these stories to sound the alarm about how vulnerable we are to cyberattacks and highlight best practices from cybersecurity and crisis management to law enforcement and public policy.

Dark Screens shines a light on the fascinating underworld of superhackers whose activities have potentially catastrophic implications for us all.

Visit Anja Shortland's faculty webpage.

The Page 99 Test: Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business.

The Page 99 Test: Lost Art.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Dark Is When the Devil Comes"

New from Minotaur Books: Dark Is When the Devil Comes: A Novel by Daisy Pearce.

About the novel, from the publisher:

Full of creeping dread and suffocating unease, Dark Is When the Devil Comes is an atmospheric and chilling novel from Something in the Walls author Daisy Pearce.

The woods are known as the place to avoid. What goes in, doesn’t come out.

Hazel has been gone from her small hometown of Idless in the English countryside for years. Now returned in the wake of a traumatic divorce and crumbling personal life, her simple plans are to lay low at her parents’ vacated house, reconnect with her prickly sister Cathy, and slowly get back on her feet.

She's his captive but something has come home with her.

Cathy is surprised when Hazel doesn’t show. Their relationship strained from a fallout half a decade ago, she didn’t expect them to get back into a sisterly rhythm…though she hadn’t counted on Hazel bailing, either.

But something isn’t adding up. Other people in town whisper of a threat that can’t be shaken. The woods are known for being restless. And Cathy knows the old saying.

Visit Daisy Pearce's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Silence.

Writers Read: Daisy Pearce.

My Book, The Movie: The Silence.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Solidarity in Journalism"

New from Columbia University Press: Solidarity in Journalism: How Ethical Reporting Fights for Social Justice by Anita Varma.

About the book, from the publisher:

Conventional journalistic norms discourage reporters from taking sides. They are supposed to remain neutral, impartial, and objective. Yet there is also a long tradition in journalism, dating back to the 1800s, that pursues truth by practicing solidarity for social justice.

Anita Varma offers a bold defense of reporting for social justice, showing what journalistic solidarity looks like in principle and in practice. She argues that solidarity is a longstanding yet unacknowledged journalistic norm that fosters truthful reporting when people’s basic dignity is at stake. Ethical journalism incorporates solidarity throughout the reporting process: deciding what is newsworthy, whom to include, how to approach them, what questions to ask, how to structure stories, and how to assess impact. Varma illustrates these practices through case studies of local and national reporting on homelessness, housing instability, and the cost of living.

Based on analysis of published journalism, in-depth interviews with journalists, and public engagement with people who aim to make journalism better, Solidarity in Journalism demonstrates how reporting can help society’s most vulnerable. Amid intense debate over the role of the media, this book makes an urgent case for solidarity in journalism as crucial for representing and addressing social division.

Visit Anita Varma's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Island Club"

New from St. Martin's Press: The Island Club: A Novel by Nicola Harrison.

About the novel, from the publisher:

An unputdownable novel of loves lost and found, shocking secrets—and the power of female friendship.

1956: On idyllic Balboa Island, just off the California coast, life seems peaceful and welcoming. But when the lives of three women begin to unravel in shockingly different ways, an unlikely friendship—and the game of tennis—may be the only thing that can save them.

Milly Kinkaid's plan to fix her crumbling marriage seems to be falling apart before it even begins. She believed that moving her young family from Hollywood to Balboa Island might entice her increasingly distant husband to come home earlier after work. Instead, he's barely coming home at all.

Society matriarch Sylvia Johnson and her husband have been pillars of their community for decades, and have just recently begun a new business venture: The Island Club, a place for members to swim, play tennis and dine in style. But when she learns that he has been risking their financial security and putting their family's future in grave danger, she's not only poised to lose the club, but the entire community she holds dear.

Meanwhile, standoffish loner Adele Lambert's entire world is on the brink of being destroyed if the dark secrets of her past and her hidden identity is revealed. Twenty years ago, she ran from a shameful scandal and left behind the only thing she ever loved. Now, terrified that the anonymity she's spent decades guarding will be exposed, but desperate to stay afloat, she risks everything to return to the game that brought her to her knees all those years before.

Set against the sun-drenched beaches of Balboa Island, with its prim and proper 1950s facade, The Island Club is a story of love, loneliness and the lies we tell ourselves—and what can be gained when the truth is finally revealed.

Visit Nicola Harrison's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Show Girl.

--Marshal Zeringue