University Press of Kentucky

University Press of Kentucky has a dual mission—the publication of academic books of high scholarly merit in a variety of fields and the publication of significant books about the history and culture of Kentucky, the Ohio Valley region, the Upper South, and Appalachia. The Press is the statewide nonprofit scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, serving all Kentucky state-sponsored institutions of higher learning as well as seven private colleges and Kentucky’s two major historical societies.

The Merchant Prince of Poverty Row Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 242
ISBN: 9780813193236
Pub Date: 09 Oct 2009
Illustrations: illus
Description:
Ben Hecht called him "White Fang," and director Charles Vidor took him to court for verbal abuse. The image of Harry Cohn as vulgarian is such a part of Hollywood lore that it is hard to believe there were other Harry Cohns: the only studio president who was also head of production; the ex-song plugger who scrutinized scripts and grilled writers at story conferences; a man who could look at actresses as either "broads" or goddesses. Drawing on personal interviews as well as previously unstudied source material (conference notes, memos, and especially the teletypes between Harry and his brother Jack), Bernard Dick offers a radically different portrait of the man who ran Columbia Pictures -- and who "had to be boss" -- from 1932 to 1958.
Amadis of Gaul, Books III and IV Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 750
ISBN: 9780813192321
Pub Date: 02 Oct 2009
Series: Studies in Romance Languages
Illustrations: 0
Description:
In the long history of European prose, few works have been more influential and popular than Amadis of Gaul. It is a landmark work among the knight-errantry tales and probably derives from an oral tradition. Although its original author is unknown, it was likely written during the early fourteenth century, with the first known version of this work, dating from 1508, written in Spanish by Garci Ordóñez (or Rodríguez) de Montalvo.
Ghosts of the Bluegrass Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
ISBN: 9780813192376
Pub Date: 02 Oct 2009
Illustrations: 8 photos
Description:
In Ghosts of the Bluegrass, James McCormick and Macy Wyatt present stories of Kentucky ghosts past and present. Some of the tales are set in rural areas, but many take place in urban areas such as the haunted house on Broadway in downtown Lexington and in buildings on the University of Kentucky campus, where Adolph Rupp is said to have conversed with the deceased biology professor Dr. Funkhouser.
Tales from Kentucky Funeral Homes Cover Tales from Kentucky Funeral Homes Cover
Format: 
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9780813125671
Pub Date: 02 Oct 2009
Illustrations: 0
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9780813168234
Pub Date: 22 Jul 2016
Illustrations: 0
Description:
In Tales from Kentucky Funeral Homes, William Lynwood Montell has collected stories and reminiscences from funeral home directors and embalmers across the state. These accounts provide a record of the business of death as it has been practiced in Kentucky over the past fifty years. The collection ranges from tales of old-time burial practices, to stories about funeral customs unique to the African American community, to tales of premonitions, mistakes, and even humorous occurrences.
Virginia at War, 1864 Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9780813125626
Pub Date: 25 Sep 2009
Series: Virginia at War
Illustrations: 0
Description:
The fourth book in the Virginia at War series casts a special light on vital home front matters in Virginia during 1864. Following a year in which only one major battle was fought on Virginia soil, 1864 brought military campaigning to the Old Dominion. For the first time during the Civil War, the majority of Virginia's forces fought inside the state's borders.
The Oprah Phenomenon Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9780813192369
Pub Date: 25 Sep 2009
Description:
Her image is iconic: Oprah Winfrey has built an empire on her ability to connect with and inspire her audience. No longer just a name, "Oprah" has become a brand representing the talk show host's unique style of self-actualizing individualism. The cultural and economic power wielded by Winfrey merits critical evaluation.
Upheaval Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 168
ISBN: 9780813192444
Pub Date: 11 Sep 2009
Series: Kentucky Voices
Illustrations: 0
Description:
In 1995, Chris Holbrook burst onto the southern literary scene with Hell and Ohio: Stories of Southern Appalachia, stories that Robert Morgan described as "elegies for land and lives disappearing under mudslides from strip mines and new trailer parks and highways." Now, with the publication of Upheaval, Holbrook more than answers the promise of that auspicious debut. In eight interrelated stories set in Eastern Kentucky, Holbrook again captures a region and its people as they struggle in the face of poverty, isolation, change, and the devastation of land and resources at the hands of the coal and timber industries.
The Enduring Reagan Cover The Enduring Reagan Cover
Format: 
Pages: 184
ISBN: 9780813125527
Pub Date: 04 Sep 2009
Illustrations: 0
Pages: 184
ISBN: 9780813134475
Pub Date: 26 Aug 2011
Illustrations: 0
Description:
A former Sunday school teacher and Hollywood actor, Ronald Reagan was an unlikely candidate for president. His charisma, conviction, and leadership earned him the governorship of California, from which he launched his successful bid to become the fortieth president of the United States in 1980. Reagan's political legacy continues to be the standard by which all conservatives are judged.
Killing the Indian Maiden Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 312
ISBN: 9780813192383
Pub Date: 28 Aug 2009
Illustrations: 12 b&w photos
Description:
Killing the Indian Maiden examines the fascinating and often disturbing portrayal of Native American women in film. M. Elise Marubbio examines the sacrificial role in which a young Native woman allies herself with a white male hero and dies as a result of that choice.
Vampire Legends in Contemporary American Culture Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 204
ISBN: 9780813192505
Pub Date: 26 Aug 2009
Description:
While vampire stories have been part of popular culture since the beginning of the nineteenth century, it has been in recent decades that they have become a central part of American culture. Vampire Legends in Contemporary American Culture looks at how vampire stories -- from Bram Stoker's Dracula to Blacula, from Bela Lugosi's films to Love at First Bite -- have become part of our ongoing debate about what it means to be human.William Patrick Day looks at how writers and filmmakers as diverse as Anne Rice and Andy Warhol present the vampire as an archetype of human identity, as well as how many post-modern vampire stories reflect our fear and attraction to stories of addiction and violence.
Reconstructing American Historical Cinema Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 464
ISBN: 9780813192390
Pub Date: 21 Aug 2009
Illustrations: photos
Description:
Reconstructing American Historical Cinema explores Hollywood's pivotal interpretations of national history during the height of the studio system. In a radical departure from traditional studies of film and history, J. E.
A History of the Modern Chinese Army Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 432
ISBN: 9780813192406
Pub Date: 14 Aug 2009
Illustrations: 44 b&w photos
Description:
Xiaobing Li's comprehensive examination of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) offers new insights into the military's central place in modern Chinese society. A History of the Modern Chinese Army goes beyond the usual Western assessments of the Chinese military 'threat' and also expands on the politically constricted scholarship of native Chinese military historians. Li offers a sweeping yet thorough study of modern Chinese armed forces in the context of the nation's cultural traditions, its Communist revolution, and recent technological innovations that have radically transformed all aspects of Chinese society.
Ourselves Alone Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 148
ISBN: 9780813192512
Pub Date: 11 Aug 2009
Illustrations: 1 map
Description:
In early April of 1888, sixteen-year-old Mary Ann Donovan stood alone on the quays of Queenstown in county Cork waiting to board a ship for Boston in far-off America. She was but one of almost 700,000 young, usually unmarried women, traveling alone, who left their homes in Ireland during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in a move unprecedented in the annals of European emigration.Using a wide variety of sources -- many of which appear here for the first time -- including personal reminiscences, interviews, oral histories, letter, and autobiographies as well as data from Irish and American census and emigration repots, Janet Nolan makes a sustained analysis of this migration of a generation of young women that puts a new light on Irish social and economic history.
Football and Philosophy Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9780813192192
Pub Date: 31 Jul 2009
Illustrations: 0
Description:
Football and Philosophy: Going Deep investigates many of the issues surrounding the nation's biggest sport. From a review of the flaws of the Bowl Championship Series, to a study of the violence inherent in the game, to an examination of Vince Lombardi's views on winning, the essays in this collection tackle the moral and philosophical principles behind gridiron competition. The result is an insightful, humorous, and original book that will engage all fans of the game.
Darwin and International Relations Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 444
ISBN: 9780813192529
Pub Date: 29 Jul 2009
Description:
Pathbreaking and controversial, Darwin and International Relations offers the first comprehensive analysis of international affairs of state through the lens of evolutionary theory. Bradley A. Thayer provides a new method for investigating and explaining human and state behavior while generating insights into the origins of human and animal warfare, ethnic conflict, and the influence of disease on international relations.
A Political Companion to Henry David Thoreau Cover A Political Companion to Henry David Thoreau Cover
Format: 
Pages: 496
ISBN: 9780813124780
Pub Date: 17 Jul 2009
Series: Political Companions to Great American Authors
Pages: 496
ISBN: 9780813147369
Pub Date: 05 Aug 2014
Series: Political Companions to Great American Authors
Description:
The writings of Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) have captivated scholars, activists, and ecologists for more than a century. Less attention has been paid, however, to the author's political philosophy and its influence on American public life. Although Thoreau's doctrine of civil disobedience has long since become a touchstone of world history, the greater part of his political legacy has been overlooked.