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December 18th, 2020
As it has the previous 59 years at Purdue University Press, the work of publishing important scholarship pressed on in 2020. This year the Press published 28 new titles by 36 unique authors and editors, as well as the countless contributors to edited collections. There were also several issues added to our subscription and open access journals.
Titles released this year ranged from two essential resources on Parkinson’s disease to Escaping Extermination, a Holocaust memoir published for the first time nearly 80 years after it was written. Another covers the unique history of Indiana’s round barns while Cat and Conservationists takes a deep dive into the conversation around feral and outdoor cats. If these are not your preferred subjects, maybe you’d like to dig into the history of one of America’s favorite garden annuals, the zinnia.
Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of 2020 was our series Purdue Studies in Aeronautics and Astronautics, adding four new titles. John Houbolt: The Unsung Hero of the Apollo Moon Landings by William F. Causey, released in March, at last gives engineer John Houbolt his due for his role in convincing NASA to utilize the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous method that allowed safe travel for Americans to the moon and back. Released in May, A Reluctant Icon: Letters to Neil Armstrong is the second collection of letters sourced from Purdue’s own archives curated by James R. Hansen, Armstrong’s authorized biographer. Through Astronaut Eyes: Photographing Early Human Spaceflight by Jennifer K. Levasseur and British Imperial Air Power: The Royal Air Forces and the Defense of Australia and New Zealand Between the World Wars by Alex M. Spencer were both released in June.
Our Central European Studies series also added three new titles: Croatian Radical Separatism and Diaspora Terrorism During the Cold War by Mate Nikola Tokić, Teaching the Empire: Education and State Loyalty in Late Habsburg Austria by Scott O. Moore, and On Many Routes: Internal, European, and Transatlantic Migration in the Late Habsburg Empire by Annemarie Steidl.
You can find the catalogs that cover our full title output here.
On September 29 Purdue University Press celebrated its 60th anniversary. In the weeks leading up to the anniversary the Press highlighted our relationship with Purdue University with the blog series Putting the “Purdue” in Purdue University Press. The rest of our blog continued to grow, featuring interviews with our many interesting authors, guest posts by others, and helpful books lists.
It should go without saying that the 60th year of scholarly publishing at Purdue University Press was not a predictable one. Starting in March, the year was spent working from the safety of our own homes rather than in the company of our coworkers, and events planned to commemorate our milestone were cancelled or reimagined entirely. In considering this unprecedented year we are endlessly thankful for all who support Purdue University Press in so many ways. While it is worth acknowledging that some of our difficulties pale in comparison to those that so many faced in 2020, we appreciate the opportunity to continue the important work of university presses so that we celebrate another anniversary 60 years from now.
To keep in touch with us in 2021, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and sign up for our email newsletter.
If you have not heard yet, Purdue University Press is running a 40% off sale on all orders through the end of the year. All you need to do to redeem is enter discount code 21GIFT40 when checking out on our website.
Filed under: PurduePress