Books in Brief

May 20, 2025

War, Race, and Culture: Journeys in Trans-Pacific and Asian American Histories

Collage of Gordon Chang and the cover of his book
Gordon H. Chang. Photo by Harrison Truong for Stanford University. Book cover image courtesy of Stanford University Press. 

Author: Gordon H. Chang

Via Stanford University Press

“Writing history, the systematic effort to understand the human past, is a demanding intellectual endeavor. For historian Gordon H. Chang, it has also been a personal and moral enterprise intimately connected to his commitment to realizing a better world. This career-spanning anthology brings together significant essays, developing conversations across his broad-ranging research interests and personal history and engaging a range of topics, from diplomatic history and Asian American history to art history.”

Chang is the Olive H. Palmer Professor in Humanities and a professor in the Department of History.

Photo of James Reichert and the cover of his book (black, red, and grey with Japanese woodblock art)

Literature for the Masses by James Reichert, East Asian Languages and Cultures

Jay Hamilton with the cover of his book

You Got In! Now What? by James T. Hamilton, Communication

Portrait of Jon Krosnick and book cover

The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism by Jon Krosnick, Communication and Political Science

Portrait of Marcus Feldman with cover of Evolution Evolving

Evolution Evolving: The Developmental Origins of Adaptation and Biodiversity by Marcus Feldman, Biology

Photo of Caroline Winterer and cover of How the New World Became Old

How the New World Became Old by Caroline Winterer, History

Cover of Against Constitutional Originalism and photo of Jonathan Gienapp

Against Constitutional Originalism by Jonathan Gienapp, History

Collage of The Cancel Culture Panic cover and a photo of Adrian Daub

The Cancel Culture Panic by Adrian Daub, Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages

Image of Giovanna Ceserani next to an image of the cover of her book A World Made by Travel

A World Made by Travel: The Digital Grand Tour by Giovanna Ceserani, Classics

Image of the cover of the book Laws of the Spirit next to an image of its author, Arial Mayse

Laws of the Spirit: Ritual, Mysticism, and the Commandments in Early Hasidism by Ariel Evan Mayse, Religious Studies

Image of Nicholas Jenkins alongside the cover of his book The Island

The Island: War and Belonging in Auden’s England by Nicholas Jenkins, English

A headshot of Wendy Salkin next to the cover of her book Speaking for Others

Speaking for Others: The Ethics of Informal Political Representation by Wendy Salkin, Philosophy

The cover of the book The Chinese Computer alongside a photo of its author, Thomas Mullaney

The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age by Thomas Mullaney, History

Cover of the book The Way That Leads Among the Lost with a black-and-white photo of a window with bar across it next to a headshot of the author, Angela Garcia, with dark hair in a pony tail

The Way That Leads Among the Lost: Life, Death, and Hope in Mexico City's Anexos by Angela Garcia, Anthropology

Image of author Ana Raquel Minian and the cover of their book In the Shadows of Liberty

In the Shadow of Liberty: The Invisible History of Immigrant Detention in the United States by Ana Raquel Minian, History

Image of the book The Patriarchal Political Order next to an image of its author, Soledad Artiz Prillaman

The Patriarchal Political Order by Soledad Artiz Prillaman, Political Science

Image of the book Measuring in the Renaissance next to an image of its author, Emanuele Lugli

Measuring in the Renaissance by Emanuele Lugli, Art and Art History

Photo of Stephen Hinton alongside the cover of his book.

Kurt Weills Musiktheater: Vom Songspiel zur American Opera by Stephen Hinton, Music

Image of Paul Phillips and the cover of the book The Devil Prefers Mozart

The Devil Prefers Mozart: On Music and Musicians, 1962-1993 by Anthony Burgess; edited by Paul Phillips, Music

Headshot of Jennifer Burns alongside the cover of her book, Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative by Jennifer Burns, History

The cover of the book Multiracial Identities in Colonial French Africa with a black-and-white photo of French African people next to a photo of Rachel Jean-Baptiste wearing glasses and smiling

Multiracial Identities in Colonial French Africa: Race, Childhood, and Citizenship by Rachel Jean-Baptiste, History and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Photo of Michael J. Boskin wearing glasses and smiling and an image of the cover of the Defense Budgeting for a Safer World

Defense Budgeting for a Safer World: The Experts Speak by Michael J. Boskin, Economics and The Hoover Institution

Photo of Deborah M. Gordon wearing a blue blouse and smiling slightly and an image of her book The Ecology of Collective Behavior

The Ecology of Collective Behavior by Deborah M. Gordon, Biology

Photo of Jean-Pierre Dupuy and the cover of the book The War That Must Not Occur, which shows the book's title in white type on a black background

The War That Must Not Occur by Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages

Cover of the book Residual Governance: How South Africa Foretells Planetary Futures showing a Black man bent at the waist using a pickax to mine a rocky area.

Residual Governance: How South Africa Foretells Planetary Futures by Gabrielle Hecht, History

Photo of Robert Sapolsky with a full head of hair as well as a beard and mustache next to an image of the cover of his book, Determined, which has a black cover, white lettering, and the shape of a human head in profile composed of red, yellow, and orange dots. The dots stop above the eyes so there is blackness where the brain would begin.

Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will by Robert M. Sapolsky, Biology

A book cover with the word "The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives" set in black serif type on a white background with faded bars of blue, purple, and red stacked vertically on both sides of the cover. To the right of this is a headshot of co-author Josiah Ober wearing a white collared shirt.

The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives co-authored by Josiah Ober, Political Science and Classics

Shane Denson, author of Post-Cinematic Bodies, with the cover of his book featuring a flower with green leaves as petals surrounded by sky-blue buds and swirls

Post-Cinematic Bodies by Shane Denson, Art and Art History

The cover of the book We've Got You Covered: Reinventing American Health Care featuring a yellow umbrella with the medical symbol staff and snake as the handle, alongside a photo of co-author Liran Einav

We’ve Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care co-authored by Liran Einav, Economics

Persi Diaconis wearing a gray collared shirt next to the cover of his book The Mathematics of Shuffling Cards, which is green with 5 playing cards in the spade suit fanned across the middle

The Mathematics of Shuffling Cards co-authored by Persi Diaconis, Statistics and Mathematics

Asad L. Asad wearing a white collared shirt and black sport coat standing in front of Stanford's Main Quad and the cover of his book, Engage & Evade: How Latino Immigrant Families Manage Surveillance in Everyday Life

Engage and Evade: How Latino Immigrant Families Manage Surveillance in Everyday Life by Asad L. Asad, Sociology

The cover of the book A Certain Justice and its author, Haiyan Lee wearing glasses and a light-purple turtleneck standing in front of Stanford's Main Quad

A Certain Justice: Toward an Ecology of the Chinese Legal Imagination by Haiyan Lee, East Asian Languages and Cultures and Comparative Literature

Cover the book of poetry When I Waked, I Cried to Dream Again with its author, A. Van Jordan wearing a white collared shirt

When I Waked, I Cried To Dream Again by A. Van Jordan, English

Ray Briggs wearing glasses and a blue-and-white checked shirt next to an image of the cover of their book What Even Is Gender?

What Even Is Gender? co-authored by R.A. Briggs, Philosophy

The cover of the book Sacred Foundations alongside a photo of its author, Anna Grzymala-Busse

Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State by Anna Grzymała-Busse, Political Science

Avidit Acharya and the cover of his book The Cartel System of States

The Cartel System of States: An Economic Theory of International Politics co-authored by Avidit Acharya, Political Science

The cover of the book The Greeks and the Rational and its author Josiah Ober

The Greeks and the Rational: The Discovery of Practical Reason by Josiah Ober, Political Science and Classics

The cover of the book Election Day and an image of its author, Emilee Booth Chapman

Election Day: How We Vote and What It Means for Democracy by Emilee Booth Chapman, Political Science

Faculty member Michael Bratman and the cover of his book Shared and Institutional Agency

Shared and Institutional Agency: Toward a Planning Theory of Human Practical Organization by Michael E. Bratman, Philosophy

The cover of Bedouin Bureaucrats and photo of its author, Nora Barakat

Bedouin Bureaucrats: Mobility and Property in the Ottoman Empire by Nora Elizabeth Barakat, History

Book cover of The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover alongside an image of its author, Lerone A. Martin wearing a blue suit , a patterned tie, and a green pocket square.

The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism by Lerone A. Martin, Religious Studies

Photo of author Alexander Nemerov and cover of his book The Forest

The Forest: A Fable of America in the 1830s by Alexander Nemerov, Art and Art History

Image of the book cover for Knots, or the Violence of Desire in Renaissance Florence and the author, Emanuele Lugli

Knots, or the Violence of Desire in Renaissance Florence by Emanuele Lugli, Art and Art History

Four book covers from the children's series Words in My World to the left of a photo of author Nandi Sims

Words in My World series by Nandi Sims, Linguistics

Headshot of Peter Stansky with the cover of his book The Socialist Patriot

The Socialist Patriot: George Orwell and War by Peter Stansky, History

Photo of author Joel Cabrita wearing a striped shirt and light-gray blazer in an academic office filled with books next to an image of the cover of Written Out

Written Out: The Silencing of Regina Gelana Twala by Joel Cabrita, History

Author Paul Ehrlich pictured with the cover of his book Life: A Journey Through Science and Politics

Life: A Journey Through Science and Politics by Paul R. Ehrlich, Biology

The red cover of the book Exponential Families in Theory and Practice with its author, Bradley Efron wearing a sky-blue collared shirt and standing in front of an archway on the Stanford campus

Exponential Families in Theory and Practice by Bradley Efron, Statistics and Biomedical Data Science

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