John Walker McCoubrey
02/16/2010
We at Penn Press were saddened by the news of the death of John Walker McCoubrey, emeritus professor in the Department of the History of Art at the University of… READ MORE
Category: Academic Life
NYT Interviews Seeman on African Burial Ground Controversy
01/27/2010
In the early 1990's, the coffin of a colonial-era African was unearthed in lower Manhattan in a place now the National Park Service African Burial Ground. The coffin was decorated… READ MORE
Double Prizes for John Van Engen and Sisters and Brothers of the Common Life
01/11/2010
We at Penn Press are proud to spread the news about John Van Engen, professor of history at the University of Notre Dame. Late last week, Van Engen received both… READ MORE
Divided Houses Author Sumption Gives and Receives Praise in TLS Books of the Year
12/18/2009
Just in case you missed it, the Books of the Year list in the Times Literary Supplement contains plenty of praise for Jonathan Sumption's The Hundred Years War, volume III:… READ MORE
Welcome to Philadelphia, Anthropologists!
12/02/2009
This year, the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association takes place in Philadelphia just a few SEPTA stops away from Penn Press. As usual, Editor-in-Chief Peter Agree will be… READ MORE
Visions of Progress–Now in Paperback
11/30/2009
Visions of Progress: The Left-Liberal Tradition in America Doug Rossinow 336 pages | 6 x 9 Cloth 2007 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4049-8 | $39.95 | £26.00 Paper 2009 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2095-7… READ MORE
Black Conservative Intellectuals in Modern America–Now Available
11/23/2009
Black Conservative Intellectuals in Modern America Michael L. Ondaatje 240 pages | 6 x 9 Cloth 2009 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4206-5 | $34.95 | £23.00 Michael L. Ondaatje examines the ideas… READ MORE
Rosner’s The Anatomy Murders Talk on ForumNetwork
11/20/2009
Video of Lisa Rosner's The Anatomy Murders talk at the Harvard Book Store is now available on ForumNetwork. In the ForumNetwork clip, Rosner discusses the Burke and Hare murders and… READ MORE
The Anatomy Murders Corpse of the Day–Dr. Robert Knox
10/28/2009
Many ironies surround the life and body of Robert Knox. Unlike the 16 people who William Burke and William Hare murdered and sold to anatomist Robert Knox for use in his teaching facilities, Knox died of natural causes. Knox’s corpse was buried in tact in 1862, over 30 years after he and his underlings had dismembered and pickled the victims of Burke and Hare.
Historian Lisa Rosner writes, “Robert Knox has been an enigma since his purchase of Burke’s and Hare’s cadavers was first made public.” How could a man of medicine be involved in a series of cold-blooded killings? How could a brilliant scientist fail to notice or suspect that the remarkably fresh bodies on his dissection table had been the victims of foul play? Was Knox, “the boy who buys the beef,” a villain or a fool? History rarely gives simple either-or answers to these questions.
The Anatomy Murders Corpse of the Day–James Wilson, alias Daft Jamie
10/27/2009
One of the most despicable acts in the series of Burke and Hare murders was the killing of Daft Jamie. Young James Wilson wandered the streets of Edinburgh "barefoot and… READ MORE
