Welcome to the new University of Washington Press blog! We’ll update this site weekly with Press news, guest posts from our authors, and other original content so bookmark this page and check back often!

Award News

Congratulations to Yukio Lippit, whose book, Painting of the Realm: The Kano House of Painters in 17th-Century Japan, has been named the winner of two prestigious awards: the College Art Association’s 2014 Charles Rufus Morey Book Award and the Association for Asian Studies’ 2014 John Whitney Hall Book Prize.

Upcoming Events

Mark Fiege, author of The Republic of Nature: An Environmental History of the United States, Oregon Historical Society, February 10 at 7:00 p.m.

Guntis Smidchens, author of The Power of Song: Nonviolent National Culture in the Baltic Singing Revolution, Nordic Heritage Museum, February 11 at 7:00 p.m.

Amy Bhatt and Nalini Iyer, authors of Roots and Reflections: South Asians in the Pacific Northwest, Search for Meaning Book Festival, February 17 at Seattle University.

Judy Bentley, co-author of Free Boy: A True Story of Slave and Master, Northwest African American Museum, February 17 at 1 p.m.

Courage in Action: A Symposium in Honor of the Life and Legacy of Gordon K. Hirabayashi, University of Washington, February 22 with special guest Lane Hirabayashi, co-author of A Principled Stand: The Story of Hirbayashi v. United States

Review Highlights

The Republic of Nature: An Environmental History of the United States by Mark Fiege : “comprehensive, interpretively interesting, and ambitious. . . .go out and read this book. You will be enlightened, entertained, and fascinated.” -Eric Foner, H-Environment Roundtable Reviews, January 2014

“Republic of Nature is one of the most important environmental histories of the last decade, as well as one of the most beautifully written.” -Neil M. Maher, Journal of Interdisciplinary History, January 2014


Fighting for the Enemy: Koreans in Japan’s War, 1937-1945 by Brandon Palmer
“Palmer’s study is long overdue in addressing Japan’s colonial policy and how the exigencies of war forced Tokyo to revise its initial policies for a people they long considered to be inferior. A must for any library seeking to upgrade its collection on the Pacific War.” -Choice Reviews, January 2014


Vanishing Ice: Alpine and Polar Landscapes in Art, 1775-2012 by Barbara C. Matilsky (Whatcom Museum): “a model of its kind as it traces artists’ responses to icebound polar and mountain regions over two centuries. A perfect fit for art lovers with an interest in ecological issues.”
-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times, December 2013

Newly Released

Whales and Nations: Environmental Diplomacy on the High Seas
Kurkpatrick Dorsey
Before commercial whaling was outlawed in the 1980s, diplomats, scientists, bureaucrats, environmentalists, and sometimes even whalers themselves attempted to create an international regulatory framework that would allow for a sustainable whaling industry.


The Face of Resistance Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s Fight for Freedom
Aung Zaw / Distributed for Silkworm books
Aung San Suu Kyi is a world-renowned, inspirational symbol of Burmese resistance and courage. Released in 2010 after spending fifteen of the previous twenty-one years under house arrest, many are now looking to her to lead the country. But is it possible for Suu Kyi to mend the deep divisions in Burmese society?


The Power of Song: Nonviolent National Culture in the Baltic Singing Revolution
Guntis Smidchens
The Power of Song shows how the people of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania confronted a military superpower and achieved independence in the Baltic “singing revolution.”


Watch the trailer: