? = Review forthcoming
BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT STUDIES
- One Company, Diverse Workplaces
By Marta Kahancova, visiting assistant professor in the department of political science, Central European University in Budapest. Palgrave, £60.00. ISBN 9780230579774
By presenting empirical evidence from five countries, Kahancova analyses the processes multinationals use to establish and reinforce their position in host-country labour markets.
- The Entrepreneurial Group: Social Identities, Relations, and Collective Action
By Martin Ruef, professor of sociology, Princeton University. Princeton University Press, £24.95. ISBN 9780691138091
Ruef's sociological analysis of entrepreneurial groups during the late 1990s seeks to demonstrate how teams are the driving force behind these start-ups, while also considering how studying the social structure of their actions can shed light on the creation of new organisations.
HISTORY
- Imperial Andamans: Colonial Encounter and Island History
By Aparna Vaidik, assistant professor of history, Georgetown University. Palgrave, £55.00. ISBN 9780230576056
Vaidik investigates the Indian Ocean during a time when the British ruled the seas, providing a new perspective on the history of British colonialism, nationalism and the creation of modern India from its geographic periphery.
- ? Pomodoro! A History of the Tomato in Italy
By David Gentilcore, professor of early modern history, University of Leicester. Columbia University Press, £18.95. ISBN 9780231152068
Exploring the role of elite and peasant cultures in assimilating the tomato into Italian cooking, Gentilcore traces its appearance in medical and agricultural treatises, travel narratives and family recipe books to consider its eventual culinary prominence in the country.
LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS
- Studying the English Language
By Rob Penhallurick, head of English, University of Wales, Swansea. Palgrave, £50.00 and £16.99. ISBN 9780230200142 and 9780230200159
The second edition of this text has been revised to incorporate recent research and features new chapters on Noam Chomsky, US English and the use of English worldwide.
MUSIC STUDIES
- Brahms and the Scherzo
By Ryan McClelland, associate professor of music theory, University of Toronto. Ashgate, £60.00. ISBN 9780754668107
This in-depth study of Johannes Brahms' scherzo-type movements seeks to give readers a greater understanding of his compositional language and creative dialogue with musical traditions.
PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY
- Exploring the Bhagavad Gita: Philosophy, Structure and Meaning
By Ithamar Theodor, based in the department of Asian studies, University of Haifa, Israel. Ashgate, £55.00. ISBN 9780754666585
This study of the Bhagavad Gita looks to present the ancient Hindu text in a new light. Dividing the scripture into sections and providing in-depth commentary, Theodor locates his study within comparative theology to identify the various layers of meaning within the scripture.
- Islamic and Comparative Religious Studies
By William A. Graham, Murray A. Albertson professor of Middle Eastern studies, Harvard University. Ashgate, £60.00. ISBN 9781409400257
This volume collates Graham's work in the field of Islamic studies and is presented under three sections: history and interpretation of Islamic religion; the Koran as scripture; and scripture in the history of religion. It focuses on the analysis and interpretation of the religious dimensions of ritual action, scriptural piety and other major concepts.
PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
- How Did the First Stars and Galaxies Form?
By Abraham Loeb, professor of astronomy, Harvard University. Princeton University Press £52.00 and £16.95. ISBN 9780691145150 and 5167
Loeb considers the initial principles in cosmology, tracing its theoretical foundations and then explaining the physics behind them. The text investigates the gravitational growth of perturbations in an expanding Universe, and the abundance and properties of dark matter halos and galaxies.
POLITICS
- The Origins of Mercosur: Democracy and Regionalization in South America
By Gian Luca Gardini, lecturer in international relations and Latin American politics, University of Bath. Palgrave, £42.50. ISBN 9780230613133
Gardini's study looks at the processes of democratisation and regionalisation in the countries of the Southern Cone of Latin America between 1985 and 1991.
- Dominant Political Parties and Democracy: Concepts, Measures, Cases and Comparisons
Edited by Matthijs Bogaards, associate professor of political science, Jacobs University Bremen; and Francoise Boucek, teaching fellow in the department of politics, Queen Mary, University of London. Palgrave, £75.00. ISBN 9780415485821
Examining dominant parties in both established and new democracies, this text explores the relationship between these parties and the democratic process. Combining theoretical and empirical research, it brings together work from experts in the field including Hermann Giliomee and Kenneth Greene.
PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
- Freud's Drive: Psychoanalysis, Literature and Film
By Teresa De Lauretis, distinguished professor emeritus of the history of consciousness, University of California, Santa Cruz. Palgrave, £19.99. ISBN 97802305492
The author suggests that circumstances in modern society such as geopolitical trauma and shifts in sexual-representational practices are similar to those in the early 20th century when Sigmund Freud revised his view of "the drives". She argues for the renewed relevance of this theory in cinema, literature, metapsychology and cultural theory.
SOCIAL SCIENCES
- ? Sounds of the Borderland: Popular Music, War and Nationalism in Croatia since 1991
By Catherine Baker, postdoctoral research assistant in modern languages, University of Southampton. Ashgate, £55.00. ISBN 9781409403371
Baker presents the first book-length study of the rise of popular music as a medium for political communication and contested identification during and after Croatia's war of independence from Yugoslavia, providing an insight into the role of music in a wartime and post-conflict society.
- ? Living with the Dragon: How the American Public Views the Rise of China
By Benjamin I. Page, Gordon Scott Fulcher professor of decision making, Northwestern University; and Tao Xie, associate professor, Beijing Foreign Studies University. Columbia University Press, £19.00. ISBN 9780231152082
By analysing available opinion polls and surveys, the authors find that the widely held belief in Americans' distrust of China is untrue. Revealing that most Americans favour peaceful engagement with the country, the authors suggest that although US citizens are not happy about China's rapid rise, they are prepared to live with it.
- Hispanic New York: A Sourcebook
Edited by Claudio Ivan Remeseira, founder and director, Hispanic New York Project. Foreword by Andrew Delbanco, professor and director of American studies, Columbia University. Columbia University Press, £62.00. ISBN 9780231148184
This anthology seeks to offer a comprehensive view of the multifaceted heritage of New York, combining primary sources with scholarly and journalistic essays on topics including history, demography, racial and ethnic studies.
THEATRE STUDIES
- Theatre and Sexuality
By Jill Dolan, professor of English and theatre, Princeton University. Palgrave, £4.99. ISBN 9780230220645
Dolan introduces critical methods and artistic practices that link drama, theatre and performance with minority sexualities in both the US and the UK. She also looks at how commercial theatre has embraced the work of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning society.