Independent publisher of bilingual scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences

We are pleased to announce that 'Simply to Be Americans? Literary Radicals Confront Monopoly Capitalism, 1885-1938 ' by Joel Wendland-Liu has been reviewed by Elisabeth Armstrong (Smith College, Northampton, MA) in ‘Socialism and Democracy’, Vol. 40, No. 2, 174–177. (Published online on 18 Aug 2026):

Joel Wendland-Liu picks up the gauntlet thrown down by W.E.B. DuBois in the ambitious cultural history, “Simply to Be Americans?”. DuBois posed the question at an NAACP dinner in 1926 of whether his audience aspired simply to be Americans or sought a more emancipatory future. DuBois answered the question with a resounding no, to be simply American on its terms would never suffice. “’America,’” as Wendland-Liu describes, “configured as a collectivity composed of white, racially pure human beings, although fraught with the presence of non-beings, substantiates, mystifies, and fetishizes racial whiteness as a metonym for the perfectible nation, state power, and ‘bad faith’ required by 100% Americanism” […]
Wendland-Liu places in conversation a wide range of radical authors and their literary production between 1885 and 1938 to develop the deeper, and more difficult answer to DuBois’s question. […]
Each chapter skillfully weaves together close readings of several authors on key themes of fugitivity, anti-patriarchy, anti-capitalism, anti-Black and anti-immigrant racism. […]
The answers to DuBois’s challenge from 1926 are still resonant one hundred years later. […]
These are all current debates and answers, ones we join in today’s politics. […]

[Extract from book review at the journal ‘Socialism and Democracy’, Vol. 40, No. 2, 174–177. (Published online on 18 Aug 2026). Reviewer: Elisabeth Armstrong (Smith College, Northampton, MA). https://doi.org/10.1080/08854300.2026.2710485 ]

Find out more about the book and order your copy here: Simply to Be Americans? Literary Radicals Confront Monopoly Capitalism, 1885-1938

| Recommended by CHOICE, June 2026 Vol. 63 No. 10 |

'Simply to Be...

We are pleased to announce that 'Hannes Meyer: Soviet Architect. Life and Work in the USSR, 1930–1936 ' by Tatiana Efrussi has been reviewed by Daniel Talesnik (University of Bath) in 'The Russian Review', Vol. 85, No. 4.:

In this outstanding book, Tatiana Efrussi follows Swiss architect Hannes Meyer through his Sovietness in the making, unfolding Meyer’s political activities and architectural and urban projects chronologically through six intense years that coincided with a tumultuous period. Meyer was a con- vert who had embraced militant Marxism after being expelled from the directorship of the Bauhaus and moved to Moscow—initially with a group of Bauhaus graduates—and we learn from his texts and letters details of his newfound belief and efforts, which involved rebranding his Bauhaus tenure as already a Marxist pedagogical project. This political allegiance would be with him for the rest of his life, even if he eventually understood that there was no place for him in the Soviet Union, as he leaves before the first show trials in 1936.

[…] A necessary book about the history of foreigners, in particular architects, in the Soviet Union during the 1930s. And really, relevant for everybody with an interest in history curious about how Stalinism operated at all levels.

[Extract from book review at the journal 'The Russian Review', Vol. 85, No. 4. Reviewer: Daniel Talesnik (University of Bath). DOI: 0.1111/russ.70173]

Find out more about the book and order your copy here: Hannes Meyer: Soviet Architect. Life and Work in the USSR, 1930–1936

Swiss architect and urban planner, the second director of the Bauhaus Dessau, Hannes Meyer, spent about six years in the USSR—from 1930 to 1936. This book presents the first in-depth study of Hannes Meyer's activities during the years of early Stalinism. There is a global interest in this architect’s legacy today, but his work can hardly be understood without a closer examination of the key chapter in his career.
This book is an attempt t...

We are pleased to announce that 'The Life and Times of Captain John Low' by Robert Thorp has been reviewed by Dr. David F. Winkler in 'Emerging Civil War', Posted online on September 8, 2026:

[...] Thorp has produced a very readable history of the CSN that broadens our understanding of the war at sea. For British readers, the chapters covering Low’s life in England before and after the American Civil War are an added bonus with Thorp’s insights regarding life during the industrial age. Well Done.

[Extract from book review published on the platform 'Emerging Civil War', Posted online on September 8, 2026. Reviewer: Dr. David F. Winkler. https://emergingcivilwar.com/2026/09/08/book-review-the-life-and-times-of-captain-john-low-an-englishman-in-the-confederate-states-navy/ ]

Find out more about the book and order your copy here: The Life and Times of Captain John Low

Captain John Low (1836 -1906) earned his place in history through four years of service in the Confederate States Navy (1861-1865). He served on CSS 'Fingal', 'Florida', and 'Alabama', and commanded CSS 'Tuscaloosa' and 'Ajax'. However, it would be wrong to define the man simply by his Civil War record. His seventy-year life was full of adventures, triumphs, tragedies, and altruistic philanthropy. He led a good life and was known as a good man, respected and revered by all who knew him. This book contains a detailed account of Captain Low’s whole life from cradle to grave. Using primary source documents, not available to earlier biographers, the author delves into John Low’s life to a much greater depth than any preceding work has been able to achieve. For the first time ever, his genealogy is fully divulged, allowing previously misunderstood relationships to be challenged and corrected, and the roles of his previously unknown siblings to be fully explored. Description of his military service is based on his personal log books and the eye witness accounts of his contemporaries. Along the way, the book sheds ne...

We are pleased to announce that 'Hate speech and abusive behaviour on social media: A cross-cultural perspective' by Luiz Valério P. Trindade has been reviewed by Pragyan Chaturvedi (Banaras Hindu University, India) in 'Network' (British Sociological Association) | Issue 153, Summer 2026. Page 58:

Luiz Valério de Paula Trindade is an eminent scholar in critical media studies and his intellectual oeuvre analyses the intersection of digital communication, race and structural inequality. His “Hate Speech And Abusive Behaviour On Social Media: A Cross-Cultural Perspective” represents an epistemological inquiry into contemporary digital media scholarship. […]
[…] the book is particularly germane for policymakers, scholars, postgraduate students and digital media activists who are interested in regulatory regimes such as platform governance and media regulation. Its epistemic critique and transcultural orientation help in developing holistic understanding of how hate speech asymmetrically influences marginalised communities, thereby jeopardising their democratic values. Holistically, Trindade’s work amounts to a substantive intervention and advances a refined interpretation in critical social media studies for assessing structurally embedded phenomena.

[Extracted from book review published on 'Network' (British Sociological Association) | Issue 153, Summer 2026. Page 58. Reviewer: Pragyan Chaturvedi (Banaras Hindu University, India). https://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/27245/network_summer2026.pdf]

Find out more about the book and order your copy here: Hate speech and abusive behaviour on social media: A cross-cultural perspective

The adverse societal impacts of social media platforms comprise a subject of global concern, given that this digital technology has become a breeding ground for the manifestation of varied forms of online harassment and abuse. Yet, most studies exploring this phenomenon have done so predominantly in Anglophone social contexts (notably, the US and the UK)...

Vernon Press is pleased to announce a new episode on the New Books Network featuring Kurt Warner, author of 'False Idols: How Diversion is Destroying Democracy' (Vernon Press, 2025). Hosted by Dessy Vassileva, the episode explores the book’s timely examination of distraction, civic life, critical thinking, and the pressures currently shaping democratic responsibility.

A timely discussion on diversion and democracy

'False Idols: How Diversion is Destroying Democracy' examines how modern forms of diversion shape civic life and weaken democratic responsibility. Drawing on the ancient Roman idea of “bread and circuses,” Warner explores how contemporary society is saturated with distractions that keep citizens focused on what is immediate, pleasurable, profitable, or spectacular, rather than on what is politically and socially meaningful.

In the episode, Warner discusses how celebrity culture, consumerism, economic pressures, sports, politics, art, music, literature, the internet, social media, and video games can become “false idols.” These forces do not merely entertain us; they influence how we think, what we value, and how we understand our responsibilities to one another.

From ancient Rome to contemporary civic life

A key point of discussion is the book’s comparison between ancient Rome and the contemporary United States. Warner uses “bread and circuses” to consider how societies become complacent when citizens are absorbed by basic needs and entertainment while civic duty fades into the background.

The book argues that democracy depends not only on institutions, but also on attention, critical thinking, and the willingness of citizens to engage with the common good. In this sense, 'False Idols' asks what happens when a society becomes so diverted by spectacle and consumption that it loses sight of democratic responsibility.

Everyday distraction and the shaping of attention

The episode also explores the book’s opening narrative, which follows an...

We are pleased to announce that 'Bandwagoning in International Relations: China, Russia, and Their Neighbors' by Dylan Motin (Kangwon National University, Korea) has been reviewed by Christophe Kerdodé in 'Cahiers du Comité Asie Pacifique’ (Jeunes IHEDN association (in French)), 24e Édition. P. 146:

[...] En somme, le livre apporte un éclairage novateur sur le débat entre la stratégie de l’équilibre et celle du ralliement, tout en exploitant de façon originale la littérature néoréaliste existante. Il a également le mérite d’explorer des cas souvent oubliés. L’auteur aborde frontalement des enjeux de politique internationale et propose des recommandations claires pour les décideurs. Cependant, les chercheurs non réalistes et les spécialistes des États ou régions concernés risquent de rester indifférents aux généralisations et recommandations de Motin. Le débat entre l’équilibre des puissances et le bandwagoning reste bien vivant.

[Extract from book review on ‘'Cahiers du Comité Asie Pacifique’ (Jeunes IHEDN association (in French)), 24e Édition. P. 146. Reviewer: Christophe Kerdodé. https://www.jeunes-ihedn.org/2026/les-cahiers-du-comite-asie-pacifique-n24-la-guerre-hors-limites/]

Find out more about the book and order your copy here: Bandwagoning in International Relations: China, Russia, and Their Neighbors

Whether states balance against or bandwagon with threatening great powers remains an unsolved problem for international relations theory. One school argues that military power compels minor powers to accommodate threats, while another defends that it elicits balancing instead. With the emergence of potential hegemons in both Asia and Europe — namely China and Russia — understanding state alignment is more urgent than ever. This book shows that bandwagoning has been a rare choice in contemporary Asia and Europe. The only states that chose bandwagoning with China or Russia faced both conflicts with third rivals and low levels of U.S. assistance. Going further, I divid...