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“Economists agree about many things—contrary to popular opinion—but the majority agree about culture only in the sense that they no longer give it much thought.”
So begins the first chapter of “Cultures Merging,” in which Eric Jones—one of the world’s leading economic historians—takes an eloquent, pointed, and personal look at the question of whether culture determines economics or is instead determined by it.
Author: Nicola Miller
The rise of nation-states is a hallmark of the modern age, yet we are still untangling how the phenomenon unfolded across the globe.
Here, Nicola Miller offers new insights into the process of nation-making through an account of 19th-century Latin America, where, she argues, the identity of nascent republics was molded through previously underappreciated means: the creation and sharing of knowledge.
Drawing evidence from Argentina, Chile, and Peru, Republics of Knowledge traces the histories of these countries from the early 1800s, as they gained independence, to their centennial celebrations in the 20th century. Miller identifies how public exchange of ideas affected policymaking, the emergence of a collective identity, and more.
“Climate Dynamics” provides an essential foundation in the physical understanding of Earth’s climate system.
Assuming no previous introduction to the climate system, the book is designed for all science, math, and engineering students at the advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate levels.
This second edition includes updated and expanded information on hydrology, the cryosphere, observed contemporary climate change, and climate prediction.
In addition, the illustrations are expanded and now in full color.
Authors: Robert Hansen & Jackson D. Shedd
California is home to more than 200 species of reptiles and amphibians that can be found in an extraordinary array of habitats, from coastal temperate rainforests with giant redwoods to southeastern deserts offering dazzling wildflower displays each spring.
“California Amphibians and Reptiles” covers every species and subspecies in this biodiverse region of the United States, with outstanding color photography and in-depth species accounts that draw on the latest findings on taxonomy and distribution.
Author: Elif Shafak
This historical novel by Elif Shafak, “There Are Rivers in the Sky,” was published in 2024 and is a meditation on life, loss and love.
Anchored by the Tigris and Thames rivers serving as motifs, the story drifts across centuries, stitching together fractured lives bound by intimacy, trauma, and the quiet power of water.
There are three characters at the heart of this story.
Arthur is a 19th-century linguist whose passion for Mesopotamia’s ruins eclipses his ability to connect with the living.
Narin is a Yazidi girl surviving genocide in 2014 Iraq, her spirit as unyielding as the ancient lands she is forced to flee.
And then there is Zaleekhah, a hydrologist in modern London, drowning in family secrets until she learns to swim toward redemption.
Their stories collide, ripple and reshape one another. Water is not just a metaphor here, it is a character. The rivers breathe life into memories, erode pain, and carry the weight of history.
Arthur’s obsession with the “Epic of Gilgamesh” mirrors his own loneliness as a man chasing immortality through dusty texts while real love slips through his fingers.
Narin’s resilience, rooted in Yazidi traditions, becomes a lifeline in a world determined to erase her people.
As for Zaleekhah, her journey from guilt to grace feels like watching a storm clear — messy, cathartic, and utterly human.
Shafak’s writing is lush, almost tactile. You can taste the silt of the Tigris, feel London’s rain, and ache with the characters.
But here is the catch: this book demands your attention. The timelines —switching between Victorian letters, wartime horror, and modern angst —are a high-wire act.
While the layers add depth, some readers might stumble over dense historical nods or Yazidi cultural nuances. (A glossary would have been a welcome raft.)
Yet, even its flaws pulse with intention. The same complexity that overwhelms also rewards.
This is not a book you breeze through. It is one you wade into, letting the currents tug you into deep, uncomfortable places.
The pacing does drag at times, and Shafak’s ambition occasionally outruns clarity.
In the end, Shafak asks: Can we ever truly outrun history? Or do we, like rivers, carve new paths while carrying the scars of where we have been?
This novel does not answer so much as invite you to sit with the question, long after the last page turns.
Africa’s long 19th century was a time of revolutionary ferment and cultural innovation for the continent’s states, societies, and economies. Yet the period preceding what became known as “the Scramble for Africa” by European powers in the decades leading up to World War I has long been neglected in favor of a Western narrative of colonial rule.
The African Revolution demonstrates that “the Scramble” and the resulting imperial order were as much the culmination of African revolutionary dynamics as they were of European expansionism.
