W E B Du Bois: The Great Barrington Editions 2022
Berkshire Publishing Group was founded in Great Barrington, the small western Massachusetts town where Du Bois was born and educated. He wrote eloquently about the town and its people, and he is remembered today as the most influential graduate of the town’s schools. In 2022, we are proud to announce these new editions of two books that open with stories from his childhood in Great Barrington.
The Souls of Black Folk is a founding text of the civil rights movement, a command performance by a young man committed to liberty and justice for all.
The first edition of Autobiography of W. E. B. Du Bois arranged in accordance with the great Black activist’s own notes, refreshingly personal and timely.
“Du Bois is the brook of fire through which we all must pass in order to gain access to the intellectual and political weaponry needed to sustain the radical democratic tradition in our time.” —The African American Century, edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cornel West
W E B Du Bois in Great Barrington
Berkshire Publishing Group was founded in Great Barrington, the small western Massachusetts town where Du Bois was born and educated. He wrote eloquently about the town and its people, and he is remembered today as the most influential graduate of the town’s schools.
Because he became a Communist, his legacy has been a source of conflict in the town, but after many years of debate there is now a W. E. B. Du Bois Middle School. There are signs on roads leading into the town saying, “Birthplace of W. E. B. Du Bois.” And in 2022, over 150 years after Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, his granddaughter was laid to rest in the Mahaiwe Cemetery after a memorial service attended by state and local leaders.
The Great Barrington Editions
The Autobiography of W. E. B. Du Bois opens with these words:
I was born by a golden river and in the shadow of two great hills, five years after the Emancipation Proclamation which began the freeing of American Negro Slaves.
The Souls of Black Folk opens in Great Barrington, with a story of Du Bois’s first experience of what he called “the veil” between the races that took place in a wooden schoolhouse that stood across Main Street from Great Barrington Town Hall.
Du Bois wrote eloquently about his childhood in Great Barrington:
From early years, I attended the town meeting every Spring and in the upper room in that little red brick Town Hall, fronted by a Roman “victory” commemorating the Civil War, I listened to the citizens discuss things about which I knew and had opinions: streets and bridges and schools, and particularly the high school, an institution comparatively new. We had in the town several picturesque hermits, usually retrograde Americans of old families. There was Crosby, the gunsmith, who lived in a lovely dale with brook, waterfall and water wheel. He was a frightful apparition but we boys often ventured to visit him. Particularly there was Beartown Beebe, who came from forest fastnesses which I never penetrated. He was a particularly dirty, ragged, fat old man, who used to come down regularly from his rocks and woods and denounce high school education and expense.
I was 13 or 14 years of age and a student in the small high school with two teachers and perhaps 25 pupils. The high school was not too popular in this rural part of New England and received from the town a much too small appropriation. But the thing that exasperated me was that every Spring at Town Meeting, which I religiously attended, this huge, ragged old man came down from the hills and for an hour or more reviled the high school and demanded its discontinuance.
I remember distinctly how furious I used to get at the stolid town folk, who sat and listened to him. He was nothing and nobody. Yet the town heard him gravely because he was a citizen and property-holder on a small scale and when he was through, they calmly voted the usual funds for the high school. Gradually as I grew up, I began to see that this was the essence of democracy: listening to the other man’s opinion and then voting your own, honestly and intelligently.
Du Bois’s granddaughter was buried in the Mahaiwe Cemetery in 2022, and the small Black church that “Willie” Du Bois attended and wrote about as a teenager is being developed as an educational and cultural center.
Berkshire Publishing is delighted to make his most accessible and relevant books available in new editions, including his Autobiography rearranged, for the first time, in accordance with Du Bois’s instructions and also available for the first time as an ebook. The “Great Barrington Editions” will include The Autobiography of W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, the landmark text of the civil rights movement, and Du Bois’s first novel, The Quest of the Silver Fleece, a grand, sweeping African American saga: Gone with the Wind meets The Scarlet Letter. We have added illustrations, but avoided the excessive appendices and scholarly additions that crowd many reprinted classics. Our editions have a clean, open layout designed to be read, dipped into, and enjoyed.
The film below comes from a Chinese documentary about the welcome given to W. E. B. Du Bois and his wife Shirley Graham when they visited Beijing in 1959, after the US government restored his passport and he was again allowed to travel. These clips show Du Bois speaking at a 91st birthday celebration at Peking University; driving through Shanghai; meeting with Song Qingling, Anna Louise Strong, and Chairman Mao Zedong.The trip was sponsored by the China Peace Committee and the Chinese People’s Association for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.
From the “Publisher’s Note” in the Great Barrington edition
I first thought of publishing a new edition of Du Bois’s autobiography during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, as BLM signs went up around Great Barrington and a crowd of thousands gathered around the town hall he’d known as a boy.
I had been hearing Du Bois’s story for years, at events and over the dinner table, and even published a volume based on his teenage writings about a little church in Great Barrington. I’ve talked about him with many people, including Thomas Bender, a leading scholar of transnational history at New York University, who pointed out that Du Bois’s Harvard dissertation on the Atlantic slave trade was one of the first works of transnational history.
I was familiar with this much-quoted line, “I was born by a golden river in the shadow of two great hills,” and thought of it often because my study window looks across the Housatonic Valley to those two hills.
But when I picked up a copy of the 1968 US edition, I was startled to find that that line, so obviously the opening of an autobiography, did not appear until Chapter 6. Instead, the book opened with a series of chapters about Du Bois’s travels and communist beliefs at the end of his life. How strange, I thought.
I knew Du Bois had been a prolific writer and that he had been active in the world, occupied with political activities, editing, and organizing. Many of his books, including his groundbreaking 1903 The Souls of Black Folk, were put together in haste, compiled from pieces of journalism. Could this book, too, have been assembled hastily?
Over the years, we’ve covered local issues related to Du Bois, and Karen Christensen actually interviewed the man who was said t to be leading the anonymous campaign against the “birthplace of” signs: “He tried to brush me off, but I ended up talking to him for an hour. Here are a few quotes from my notes about the conversation: Du Bois was ‘a bright young man’ who got a ‘free education,’ ‘provided by donations.’ He might have come back to ‘see the fall foliage, but he didn’t do a damned thing for Great Barrington’ and ‘was a socialist for many years.’” But the controversy over Du Bois’s legacy began not long after his death in 1963. Historian Amy Bass wrote a book about it, Those About Him Remained Silent: The Battle over W. E. B. Du Bois,” which covers the early battle as well as the later one over the signs and the naming of the newly built middle school.
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“We’re all in it together”
Things have gone remarkably smoothly, considering the fact that I was in such a flurry before I left that I had my flight time wrong by two hours (fortunately, it
Here’s Berkshire at the Frankfurt Book Fair
Here's a photo that shows our one metre on space at Frankfurt. Enough for current titles, but we'll see about next year!
First meeting with Guangdong People’s Publishing House
I am writing this at the Frankfurt West train station and will post it when I get back to the hotel, in Bad Homburg. Iv'e just come from the Chinese
The power of us, again
I have long known about foreign rights, because my very first book, Home Ecology, was sold to a U.S. publisher in 1990, and that's part of how I came to
London buses forever
I had a tearful moment the other night, stepping off the 38 bus at the bottom of John Street and realizing that that would probably be the last time I
9/11 or 11/9?
When a person enters the United States, there are forms to fill in. The Customs Declaration is available in a number of languages, including Chinese. I was intrigued to notice
Halloween in New England
I've called the blog category on Main Street, but we live in the country, really, and here's a photo from the farm owned by Rachel Fletcher, a friend and colleague
World news, from the BBC and John Simpson
David Levinson and I are temperamentally almost complete opposites, but one thing we share entirely is a fascination with the world and an absorbing concern about global perspectives. This brought
Organic Style is dead, long live organic gardening
Who would have thought? I certainly thought Organic Style was healthy enough (though a little garish, like a slightly over-the-top potted plant). But Rodale's cancelled it, and if you click
No hyphens please: naming conventions round the world
There was a kid in my neighborhood named Donald Duck. Really. That wouldn't have been allowed in Germany. Mom Duck and Dad Duck would have had to choose a name
Email signatures as a sign of the times
HCI (human-computer interaction) is a subject that engrosses us, and one that never fails to throw up new ways to look at our times. I've been doing a lot of
Water, not wi-fi
Online companies, and maybe the rest of us high-tech types, are starting to sound like Marie Antoinette, the queen of France who was beheaded. "Let them eat cake," she reputedly
Title search
I had lunch with Margaux today and we talked about how she wanted to travel from the time she was only 10 or so. Matt, her husband, also had the
Preparing for snow and ice
November is the only time when the weather in Great Barrington reminds me of England . . . in both places, November is a lull before winter, a time of
Coming full circle with community and libraries
On Saturday night I went to Stockbridge for an a capella concert at the Congregational Church, one of the most beautiful buildings in the area, at the prodding of my
McDonalds and the McLibel trial
"McLibel" the film is coming to Main Street! I got heart palpitations when I read about this, because I was one of the many environmental and labor (whoops, labour)
No apologies
The "McLibel" film last night opened with actors reading the apologies to McDonald's (I had the punctuation wrong yesterday--sorry!) made by British television statements and newspapers. Now the British do
Join a global mentoring project
Here's a wonderful idea that we're going to be circulating widely. Please consider pledging that "I will mentor a minimum of two people in the developing world in the area
Du Bois signs okayed
I guess we have to give 'em credit for admitting they were wrong (something that cannot, yet, be granted to the president of the United States, even though staunch supporters
What we’re thankful for
In the United States, it's Thanksgiving Day, a day that unites us more clearly than any other holiday. What a simple ritual--turkey and football, and maybe a parade--unconnected with any
Browsing on the run
Here's a weird idea--weird, that is, till you think about it and then it seems obvious that someone would try. Computers in the gym instead of televisions, so people can
Domesticity at work
I bake for the office. This is not CEOish behavior, I know, but I grew up as the oldest child in a large hungry family, and I cooked my first
Black Friday to Green Christmas
I had a call this week from a reporter at the Daily Mail in London who wants to interview me about having an ethical, green Christmas. I laughed at the
Lighter online?
I'm hunting for statistics comparing the energy and natural resources used by a purchase online (which many people I meet think, incorrectly, is better for the environment) in a shop.
Village halls in the 21st century
I'm staying in rural Hampshire, in a village called Northington, with my oldest friend who was telling about the recent restoration of the village hall. There's a great deal going
Family time in an English village
I had planned to go to the Online meeting in London this week, and to do my usual racing around London to talk up new projects, but in the end
World Sport on the Italian newsstand
Talk about timing: a great review of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport appeared today in Italy's main sports newspaper. David called with the news, sent by our wonderful long-time
Blogging from the World Congress of History Producers
I repent. I have been too wedded to print, to text. "It's about content, stupid," says the sign above my desk at home. Now, after spending less than 24 hours
Italian review of Berkshire’s World Sport, in English
Here's the review, translated by Gherardo Bonini: "Looking back over the years, there have been few good encyclopedias of sport. The Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport, issued this year in
Home to western Massachusetts
I'm still en route home, after almost 24 hours (which allowed time for a meeting in London and, most important, a trip to Neal's Yard for cheese and Monmouth Street
USA faces the world over global warming
Rachel Carson, a US biologist, is credited, internationally, for launching the modern environmental movement. US environmentalists and organizations are widely admired, and when I wrote my first book, Home Ecology,
Recruiting in the country
Carrie Owens and I were in New York last week, right after I got back from Rome and London, for the American Book Producers Association (ABPA) holiday lunch. It was
Transformational connections across the continent
When we were working on the Encyclopedia of Leadership, I heard a lot about transformation. James MacGregor Burns, our senior editor, is renowned for the idea of transformational leadership. That
Arm-twisting with a smile
We're in the midst of putting together the first Berkshire catalogue--we finally have enough publications to make a catalogue!--and one of the things that entails is putting together editorial boards
Security services online
How fascinating, to be able to read FAQs about the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in English, Spanish, Russian, French, Arabic, or Chinese. The FBI's site, on the other hand,
Reading Beautiful Ghosts
I've just finished a second detective story set in China. This latest, Beautiful Ghosts, by Eliot Pattison, takes place in Tibet for the most part, with some excursions to Beijing
Typewriters reborn
Although I loathe the idea of "collecting," there are a couple of things I seem to acquire more of than I really need or can use. The largest of them
Driving left and right
My daughter Rachel came across the world mapped by whether people drive on the left or right. Driving on the left does seem to be a British imperial legacy, though
The gift of yourself: be a global mentor
I always resolve to be well-prepared for Christmas, so instead of tension about gifts and decorations and cooking I can enjoy this special time with my family. But I still
American cultural bias
I was planning to write about the moral imperatives of publishing (celebrating Christmas, even in our nonsecular way, led to a lot of conversation about this), but I'm so riled
Springsteen Live!
Talked to Jonathan Daen today, our longtime friend and advisor, and found out that the 1975 Bruce Springsteen photos on the Grinnell College website came from a box in his
Is it a revolution?
I've been putting together the second issue of our quarterly newsletter, the Berkshire Savant, and thinking about why we do things that don't pay (I should probably think about this
If community came first
We're all juggling tasks like mad this week. One thing I have to do is write the description for the Community Building Handbook I'm going to edit next year, to
Praise from Lester Brown is praise indeed!
"The Armchair Environmentalist is filled with wisdom for those who want to live an environmentally responsible life. For example, simply saying no to bottled water will save energy and measurably
Celebrating with Australian style
Mark Danderson was one of our first advisory board members, and he gets credit for our most popular office tradition. Now you might think the fitness activities would be most
Hooray Henry!
"Do you know who Henry Winkler is?" David asked a couple of weeks ago. I was insulted. While my pop culture knowledge may be somewhat deficient (Carrie says I spent
The risk of a global perspective
One of Rachel's plans for 2006 is to learn to drive, and this reminded me of a favorite anecdote that shows what can happen in a household where "global perspective"
Bei Da comes to Main Street
People are talking about China, even in small town America. NPR aired a story last week about the number of Beijing University (Bei Da) graduates in the United States and
We’re really going to learn Chinese
Tom taught me a little Chinese today. This is a huge breakthrough, because when I came back from China in 2002 and said I needed to learn a little of
Civic duty
Sounds good, doesn't it, "civic duty"? Almost the only time one ever hears the word duty in modern discourse, or so it seems to me, is when we talk about
Cooling the planet
I've neglected this site--though I'm blogging away at Berkshire Publishing--but that's going to change soon. We're in the process of setting up a larger, interactive site related to my next
Jury service questionnaire
As I mentioned, we were treated well at the Pittsfield, MA, court today. The judge even came down to thank us before we were dismissed at 3pm ("I could have
Library drill team
I didn't see it, but apparently a drill team competition is quite the draw at ALA. Marcy just found these photos from the Marin County Free Library Drill Team--these librarians
Berkshire bloggers
I love the chance to write about things that catch my eye, without worrying about how they fit into a book, but the point of this blog is really to
The end of cyberspace
We have a remarkable board of advisors. The one whose opening line still makes me smile is Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. "We've obviously been living in parallel universes," he said. He
A Pattern Language
Yesterday Karen and I discovered we share a passion for Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language. What's your favorite?, she asked me, and I immediately thought of the teenager's separate living
Bad day for the homeless
Homeless people are on my mind a lot as we finish up work on our Homeless Handbook. There are plenty of bad days for all of America's 3.5 million homeless
Homeless in paradise
Homelessness isn't evident at home in Great Barrington the way it is here in southern California. We're in Santa Barbara, where homeless people are everywhere--or so it seems to us,
A place to call home
Back to the theme of homelessness. There was a time when I, a young single mother, worried about becoming homeless. Now, I find myself in the odd position of not
Prison libraries
We're at ALA in San Antonio, handing out buttons that say, "Libraries make the world a better place." These go with our book project, The Libraries We Love (and nominations
Accolades to guide us
Publishing is a quiet business. We labor to create books and databases that people will use in libraries and at their desks at home or in a dorm room. We
Goodies for Good People
Before Berkshire Publishing began exhibiting at the American Library Association (ALA) conference last year, Berkshire folks attended a conference as visitors to get "the lay of the land." We were
Bright lights
Small town Great Barrington doesn't offer a lot in the way of sparkling events, so I was glad to receive an invitation to an eco fashion party in New York
Small town doings
After the SIIA Content Summit in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday, I'm looking forward to having most of February at home in Great Barrington. I had flu last time
Information Summit in New York
This trip to New York for the SIIA Information Industry Summit 2006 has been a massive disappointment. Mostly because of me: I've got an awful cold and am not in
SIIA gets better
Already today's better. The sun is shining. A guy from Yahoo! had some real stuff to say (and there were questions). And the nice Hispanic woman in the ladies' room
Anthropologist to the rescue
In her Wednesday column in the New York Times the hot redhead Maureen Dowd opened by suggesting that the White House hire an anthropologist. I am an anthropologist. I've offered
Pouncing online
I'm fascinated by Internet metaphors. I'd heard about drama llamas and sad pandas (my son called me once because his sister IMed that I was a sad panda), but today
Who’s blogging, 2006
If you're a regular reader, you probably realize that I did not join the US Army in 1966. That was David Levinson, who spent his Army career working in a
Writing softball history
I was trying to find something about the Canadian badminton player with whom I share a name, and instead found myself quoted about the history of softball on the International
Our national sports holiday
Today is Super Bowl Sunday. I don’t know what the equivalent is in any other country: a single day, a winter Sunday, that has its own food and community rituals
Wikis, global perspectives, and peanut butter
Wikis are getting a lot of attention in encyclopedia land, and they're definitely an interesting tool. Not for everything, but for some kinds of collaboration. We have, for example, set
Good content will triumph
Interesting comments from the famous Davos conference about how to start a 'new media empire. My ears perked up when I saw the headline. Hm, media empire? My little operation
Deluged in Great Barrington
We're deluged but, no, not with snow. The big blizzard skirted the Berkshires. It's beautifully wintry here, and everyone got to work but Joe, who happened to have gone to
A Valentine for America?
Love is in the air! Not only is this the closing day for Libraries We Love nominations, but it's the launch of a website we've created to gather information about
Mao & me?
The collegiality and friendship of our authors is the heart of the work we do, and all of us relish our contacts with people all over the world. They make
Debating Google, “The elephant in the room: values and the public good”
My latest contribution to the Google Debate, hosted by Electronic Publishing Services in London, has just gone up. Comments on "The elephant in the room: values and the public good"
Libraries should be about books: the UK debate
Libraries are a hot topic in the UK, and it's a good thing. A good thing for people who live there and for Berkshire Publishing, too. We're in the process
What are e-books good for?
Interesting article, from way back in 2004, about e-books and how they can coexist quite happily with print books: "Ebooks: Neither E, Nor Books" by Cory Doctorow.
Community at the Coffee Shop
The most disconcerting part of my day is when I step outside, onto Main Street. In the office, which is on the second floor of a big brick building, I'm
The history of curling–and maybe the future of sports at Berkshire Publishing
My lack of appreciation for the sport of curling has not gone unnoticed. While everyone else in the office is getting ready for the open house at the nearest curling
What the world thinks about America
Our new website, www.LoveUsHateUS.com, is humming with thoughts from around the world. In fact, the discussion is so lively that we're going to set up a forum, in addition to
Google isn’t perfect
On the mantelpiece in my office (yes, dear reader, I have a fireplace in my office: one advantage of life in a building that I've heard described as "like something
“A Many-Splendoured Thing” and the Community in Popular Culture database
I'm charged up about the popular culture databases we're developing--we have a couple online, and they're great, but bigger things are in store - because I keep picking terrible movies.
Streaming radio for dummy
I'm feeling dumb. In a midwinter craving for music, I first discovered the wonders (and dangers) of buying via iTunes. Then--quite a few downloads later, with today being, somehow, a
Jolly curlers
I'm on the losing side, it seems, when it comes to deciding whether Berkshire Publishing should be skipping and hacking. Liz Steffey, our intrepid squash-playing China EA, has already enlisted
Du Bois in Great Barrington
Tonight we watched a documentary about the life of W.E.B. Du Bois, the famous scholar-activist, in a cinema only a few steps from where Du Bois and his mother lived
Jon Stewart as Enabler?
First off, let me say that I adore Jon Stewart. My life is truly richer since we broke down and ordered a satellite package that would bring him back into
Rituals of the road, squash at Grand Central Station
En route to London for three days business (and fun) before the business of the London Book Fair. It's a long trip to JFK but I prefer it to Boston
Slightly Foxed
Every once in a while something comes along that reminds me how much I love books. My last copy of the Literary Review came with a flyer about a new
A perfect day in London
I spend yesterday either talking about networks and connections or experiencing them in rather amazing ways. Because I lived in London in my twenties, the connections I find here are
My first London Book Fair
The new London Book Fair location, far in the east of London in an area called Docklands (because that's what it was), is a disappointment. Poor directions, few people on
London Book Fair and the power of local knowledge
Almost everyone looks tired at a book fair. I know I do. It's a crazy process, frankly. Everyone books appointments at half hour intervals, even though the halls take 10
Inspiration for high quality independent publishing
Because David Levinson and I write books as well as edit and publish them, Berkshire Publishing Group might be described as an attempt by two nonfiction and academic authors to
Upside down for a new perspective on the world
This has nothing to do with business but I can't help sharing the news that I did my first handstand today. I still can't quite believe it. Here's how it
Experiments in progress
Only minutes after my last post, it started snowing. But it's warmed up now and there really is a feeling of spring in the air, shoots coming up, and even
What cellphones and IM tell us about evolution
I can tell what projects David is working on by the things he notices. He came back from getting the Sunday paper and mentioned that everyone who drove past seemed
Debunking urban legends
One of the subjects that comes up all the time in an enterprise like ours, where we take the work of people who spend their lives studying and writing about
St. Patrick’s Day in Kazakhstan
Nearly five years ago, in April 2001, we were in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and heard a story that we bring up every year on St. Patrick's Day. David and I, and
En route to Kazakhstan
En route to Kazakhstan, originally uploaded by KarenChristensen. Some of our friends were worried about our trip to Central Asia in April 2001, so we decided to tease them by
Our authors and the perspectives they provide
Our contributors are simply amazing. They are what make a reference publishing business possible, and they often make it immensely satisfying. Oddly enough, publishers seldom sing their authors; I've known
The dangers of technology
Blogging is dangerous. In January I was in New York for a two-day conference run by an organization I had just joined, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). I
Time to have a life, off-line
I'd read something about Virtual Sticky Notes before, but just came across this post in a little morning browsing (I have marketing, and technology, on my mind). I love the
A Novel Way into History
Marcy Ross writes: My wonderful local library, The Roeliff Jansen Community Library, wanted to begin a book group last fall. To start the group, they'd already approached my neighbor
Waking up to global warming
From the Worldwatch Institute this week: "In a remarkable shift with far-reaching policy implications, prominent U.S. news organizations are declaring the debate on climate change '"over.' This week's cover story
A taste of spring
I've heard a joke about the seasons in Vermont, that there's winter and the Fourth of July. But the end of March has been balmy and everyone's enjoying it (global
World music with Lucy Durán
A new highlight of my weekends is listening to Lucy Durán's program "World Routes" on BBC Radio 3. I thought I'd missed it today--forgetting that Europe changed its clocks last
First jobs of spring
Two important things accomplished today: Two garden beds prepped and planted--thanks to Tom and Rachel, who have taken to lecturing me on global warming and the wastefulness of grainfed meat--with
Blackwell Publishing goes carbon neutral
Credit where credit is due! First, to Peter Saugman for letting me know about this, and then to Blackwell Publishing which has announced that it is going carbon neutral. This
Goo-da April Fool’s
Google can do anything. I guess that's what our readers believe, since almost no one has caught my April Fool's joke in our e-newsletter. Marcy says I should have added
Hop Stop
Just as there are reasons we grab a fast-food meal instead of making lentil soup or a vegetable stir-fry, there are reasons we jump into the car instead of using
Big domains that matter
There's so much going on right now that it's hard to know where to begin. "We are starting," I said this evening, "four businesses at once." But it makes sense,
My Chinese name
Liz Steffey, assistant for China projects, was concerned when she looked at my Chinese business card, produced before a trip to China in 2002 by a company that does such
Spring is sprung
Well, maybe. Fingers crossed. After thinking nothing but China China China, it occurs to me to look out my window at Town Hall and remember just where on the planet
The libraries we love
One librarian jumped up and down with joy when she heard that her library would be included in our book, Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love. And all
Off the beaten track
I met Javier Diaz Reynoso when I was 16 and visiting my cousin Cheryl, who was studying in Guadalajara, Mexico. We reconnected 25 years later, after Cheryl died, and he
An Easter basket in China
Before we dive into the post-Easter period of burgeoning springtime, I feel I should record the fact that five years ago we spent Easter in China, in Dunhuang, a town
Hu would have thought?
We've been planning a China newsletter for two years. We started working in earnest in October, and at first planned to launch in February. Now we've got issue one at
Mary Pope Osborne
No wonder I haven't seen our neighbor Mary Pope Osborne around. According to Publishers Weekly, she's on the second half of a spring book tour and in Greensboro, NC, "the
Today we launch GUANXI: THE CHINA LETTER
It's May Day, a day that sets the United States apart in a most peculiar way: we are the only nation on earth that does not celebrate this as a
Elected to the SIIA Content Division Board
Some people thought I had enough on my plate, but somehow the announcement of an election stirred me to write a campaign statement that started with the words on the
Libraries should be a place for books
At the SIIA Content Summit in New York in January, I wrote down a phrase, something one of the speakers said. "Physical libraries are shutting down right and left." I
The most beautiful walk in the world
That title is not meant to be a truth: there are thousands, millions, of other beautiful walks. But when I walked to work yesterday down Castle Hill, I felt that
Rain gardens 101
I've been browsing for rainbarrels, thinking of ways we might make it easier to keep all the vegetable and flower beds watered this summer. The barrels themselves seem easy, and
Jane Jacobs’s unique place at Berkshire Publishing
We don't publish biographical entries on living people, not because we want to follow that old English reference model but because doing so is so fraught with conflict (I guess
Love Us, Hate Us Hits Home
I'm having fun adding famous quotes to Berkshire's Love Us, Hate Us: What the World Thinks of America. After seeing the Scottish comedian Billy Connolly on The Daily Show, I
Off my feet in San Francisco at the Software & Information Industry Association’s Content Summit
I can hear the bell of the cable cars on Powell Street, but I won't be riding one while I'm in San Francisco for the Software & Information Industry Association's
The CODiE awards in San Francisco
Blogging at Berkshire I have always felt free to say what I like. It's my company, after all, and who's to complain? (Except David. But I'm safe there. I am
Notes from BookExpo: a waist- level view
This week has been complicated by icepacks, crutches, and the need for foot elevation. Fortunately, David met me at Dulles Airport Thursday night, so I have his help on
Pat Robertson, faith healing, and other tidbits from Tidewater
Sunday provided quite a change from the technology talk of the past week. We're now in the Tidewater area of Virginia, home to the Christian Broadcasting Network started by Pat
Norman Rockwell and the African American Trail Guide
Norman Rockwell, the iconic American painter, is a local figure round here. In one of his paintings, Norman Rockwell's "The Golden Rule", which can be seen on the page linked
Berkshire is “small, ruthless, and all Edge”
I don't like (and hope you share the feeling) blogs that endless quote from other blogs. But this is irresistible. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang is the editor/innovator I wrote to a
Hot topics: copyrights, and creatorship
One of the hot topics in publishing is plain old copyright--which may be old but is far from plain vanilla today. I've been wondering why there isn't a simple cribsheet
LoveUSHateUS.com
A regional paper spotted one of our projects and made it the Valley Advocate's "Website of the Week". They chose to quote one of the wacky comments but there are
Beautiful books
I have never had enough time to read. This is a comforting thought, oddly enough, because I often feel guilty because I'm not reading as much as I want to--or
Americans just can’t help themselves
It must be our size and border security (haven't been attacked by Mexico or Canada for a while) that makes us so insular. Even clever, educated Americans make silly mistakes
Do librarians love books?
I read a startling anecdote on The Good Library Blog from the well-known British novelist Susan Hill (who is also active, amazingly, in the blogosphere). Public librarians in Britain can't
Print-on-demand is not publishing
While it's always great to see references to local institutions in the national press, this article, "More Booksellers Turn to Publishing," in Publishers Weekly worries me. Print-on-demand is not publishing!
Connecting past and present, and future
Here's a fresh way to think about the end of the Paleozoic period, from A Land (1951) by Jacquetta Hawkes: "It was already certain that this [Britain] would never be
T. S. Eliot projects–including the delayed Eliot letters–under way
I haven't mentioned some delightful news: Faber & Faber announces two new T. S. Eliot projects. I worked with Valerie Eliot, Eliot's widow, on the letters in 1986-88, seeing Volume
The battle over literary rights
Literary estate battles are hot, it seems, with a new battle about the Steinbeck estate and an even hotter one in which the heirs of James Joyce are under assault
Comparing U.S. and U.K. libraries
An article about libraries in the London Observer has things hopping--for us, too, as the article mentioned our Good Library Blog, written by Tim Coates. Here's the related blog, "Bring
Quoted in the New Yorker
I hadn't read the article I mentioned earlier today, saving it to read at home tonight (I've got a job here, and it's over 7000 words). So my sister-in-law got
Guanxi expert on Google News today
Tom alerted me to the fact that Peter Morici, who contributed one of the feature articles to the first issue of Guanxi: The China Letter last month, is on the
Reading between the lines of the Tanglewood program
Summer's finally arrived in the Berkshires, with a temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday. I finally opened the Tanglewood brochure that's been lying on my desk for several days. Tanglewood
Rethinking sustainability in the garden
Tom's home from college and full of ideas for making our lifeways sustainable. "Aren't they already?" people ask, thinking that because I've written several books about eco living I must
“Bringing the World to Beijing” in Guanxi: The China Letter
It was just over five years ago that David and I, with our kids Tom and Rachel, were in Beijing during the period when the city was bidding for the
Good Libraries: USA vs. UK
By staffer Marcy Ross: I revere British culture; I admit it. If I could get a direct feed to the BBC TV channels, I'd be in heaven. (Sorry, BBC
Custard creams and virtual teacakes
We were talking last week about setting up a satellite office in that great urban center, the Pioneer Valley. That's the part of Massachusetts people in Boston call "Western Mass,"
Pizza after work and “An Inconvenient Truth”
We have strange ideas about fun. Pizza after work, sure. Anybody would understand that. But going to see "An Inconvenient Truth," the new film about global warming? Not sure everyone
A symphony of blogs
English has an amazing variety of collective nouns and many specific usages, including a sleuth of bears and a murder of crows (though I sometimes wonder if the linguists are
Thinking locally
There's nowhere on earth I'd rather be this evening. I'm sitting on the deck, listening to birds (and the occasional car) and looking at my garden. From here, I can't
Eco Living and what matters most
After watching An Inconvenient Truth the other night, there’s been a lot of discussion in the office about What We Can Do. The air-conditioning was turned down, and I think
This year’s summer interns
About this time every year the papers run articles about the pros and cons the cultural manifestation called "the internship." In theory, having some extra help in the summer makes
Technomorphism
I'm experimenting with a new blog writing software, recommended by a fellow in Minnesota called Griff Wigley who wrote about my blogging a couple weeks ago and then wrote to
The origins of the Libraries We Love
On Saturday we drove through the small Catskills town of Stoneridge, New York, and were reminded that that's where the Libraries We Love project began. It was a spring day
Fighting the Patriot Act: librarians who won’t keep quiet
It's the 4th of July holiday here in the States, a quiet day for me because I've been working on the next issue of Guanxi and reading a lot about
Summer on the Hill
There are two Hills in my life. One is the urban ghetto called "The Hill" in the 1980s TV program Hill Street Blues , which David and I have been
“Literary License” in the New Yorker
You would think I'd have better, or at least more pressing, things to do than write letters to the editor. And I do. But I found myself feeling quite disgusted
Synchronicity online
World historians talk about synchronism: the ways developments in different places or cultures sometimes harmonize, without a causal relationship. Jung explained sychronicity as the result of a collective unconsciousness, and
Book cover for the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability
When we first started doing our big idea encyclopedias (Leadership, Community, and so on), timid publishing people asked, "Aren't you afraid of running out of ideas?" It's a big wide
A note from Osama
From the Washington Times: "At a Chicago news conference, Bush called "incorrect" a report this week that the CIA had disbanded the unit set up to track the Saudi dissident.
Hang your clothes out (or in) to dry
The energy crisis has become such a prominent subject in our house that I've had to ask that it not be brought up at meals--though this evening Tom did start
Find in a Library: Worldcat
Here's an amazing thing I just discovered (forgive me for being behind the times): I can easily see libraries that have a copy of our titles through Worldcat. It doesn't
Berkshire Publishing is “Wacky, wild, and welcoming”
We're reorganizing our website because we have so much new stuff going on, including a growing block of blogs on different subjects (mostly written by me, but that too is
Innovation at Earth Policy Institute
I had dinner last night with an old friend, Lester Brown, who founded the Worldwatch Institute and more recently started a new organization, the Earth Policy Institute (EPI). I knew
“Foreign Policy Implications of China’s Energy Policy” in Washington DC
Yesterday I attended a briefing in Washington on "Foreign Policy Implications of China's Energy Policy," sponsored by the Heinrich Böll Foundation North America and Worldwatch Institute. Pan Jiahua, executive director
Can a global perspective make us “future-proof”?
I was intrigued to come across an article about how to create "Future-proof URLs", given the state of the world on this fine July day. As Jon Stewart put it
Guest editor for Against the Grain
Katina Strauch, the clever and iconoclastic creator of both Against the Grain, a popular library journal, and the internationally renowned Charleston Conference (I know it's renowned because people in Europe
Too many encyclopedias? Not enough friends?
One of my favorite people, Barry Wellman, was quoted in widely circulated reports a week or two ago about a study's findings that a quarter of Americans have no one
Looking for a leader
Naturally, we're talking about global politics. Most of the staff at Berkshire is under 30, which lends a fresh perspective to the discussion. This morning Liz (Steffey), who works on
The importance of trust
I'm on my way to New York for meetings about Global Perspectives on the United States and Guanxi: The China Letter. These are my two main projects these days, along
Preparing for Wikimania
It rained most of the day on Saturday and was cloudy until the evening on Sunday. A perfect weekend for reading and ironing and catching up at home. I also
The real scoop on bagels (and Banbury cakes)
Here’s a weekend story. We often get bagels from a great locally owned place here in Great Barrington. It was started by a retired advertising executive and his wife (who
Science and serendipity
When I was in New York last Thursday, I went to a dinner hosted by Marty Edelston, owner and publisher of Boardroom Inc., a company that with great success publishes
Reasonable research–is this so difficult?
I'm preparing a couple of contracts today, conscious of the problems publishing contracts pose for authors--and book packagers, which is what we were until two years ago. Most of our
Sin and sustainability
Here's a remarkable perspective, brought to my attention by Tom. The Church of England has declared that "It's a sin to fly. "Claire Foster, the church's environment policy director, said:
Leslie Burger, ALA’s new president, and a library we love
When we began planning a book to celebrate America's libraries, now called The Libraries We Love, I asked friends and colleagues to recommend people for an advisory board. Nancy Kranich,
Extract from Jay A. Conger’s “Transformational and Visionary Leadership”
Further to my post of this morning about Leslie Burger, here’s an introduction to “Transformational and Visionary Leadership” by the well-known leadership scholar Jay A. Conger’s article in Berkshire’s Encyclopedia
Hackers attack Berkshire Publishing
As Tim Coates put it on the Good Library Blog, we suffered a biscuit attack over the weekend. This is the second time our LoveUsHateUS.com, an interactive website about global
Becoming interdisciplinary
I've been writing lately about interdisciplinary thinking and scholarship, and the first article, "Becoming Interdisciplinary: A publisher's perspective," is published today in the August issue of YBP's online magazine, Academia.
“Becoming Interdisciplinary: A Publisher’s Perspective”
I've been writing lately about interdisciplinary thinking and scholarship, and the first article, "Becoming Interdisciplinary: A publisher's perspective," is published today in the August issue of YBP's online magazine, Academia.
Who me, an adventurous woman?
Sometimes it seems that Berkshire have made a specialty of disheartening topics, like terrorism and global perspectives on the United States. As a result, I'm thrilled to have signed a
Free downloads of Patterns of Global Terrorism
As a public service during the month leading up to the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we've decided to post our edition of Patterns of Global Terrorism 1985-2005:
Oil and water shouldn’t mix
I've noticed a trend here that strikes me as a good sign. I've seen two or three people drinking water out of glass bottles they've obviously refilled. This solves the
What the world thinks–from Aljazeera
I have a deep affection for all "my" authors, the thousands of wonderful scholars and experts who write for our publications, but I have to admit to a certain partiality
Scitalk project aims to bridge the ‘two cultures’ divide
Serendipity. Thumbing through The Author, a publication of my favorite writers organization, the UK Society of Authors (I first became an author in the UK, and one of my publishers
I didn’t make it to Wikimania
It was a glorious weekend in the Berkshires--bright blue skies, cool breezes, and clean green scents. But it was a mixed-up weekend, too. I was almost ready to set off
Berkshire’s first podcast
I'm delighted to announce our first podcast, an interview with Tim Coates of the Good Library Blog. Tim was interviewed by a Berkshire editor, Marcy Ross, who has worked on
What’s wrong with social networking?
I've been in DC for two days for meetings about China and sustainability. I love the fact that these things are so much the buzz, but DC is a world
Organic food for one and all (but what does “organic” mean now?)
Food has always been a central environmental concern, but there are some new issues arising. One is the growing conflict between fuel and food--or, one might say, between SUV drivers
Remembering Ed Beauchamp
It's Sunday afternoon and I was folding clothes just now. Amongst the shirts and socks was a baggy white t-shirt that says, "A woman's place is in the ring." It
Appliances aren’t just energy accessories
In some cases, a new household appliance can save a good deal of energy. This is true for refrigerators and freezers, and for washing machines (especially if you choose front-loading).
Berkshire online in China
I leave for Beijing a week from Friday and am already in that state of mind where I'm counting down every hour, and a little panicky about all the things
Chinese version of Eco Living now online
I recently received a copy of the Thai edition of the Armchair Environmentalist, and am pleased to announce the free online version of Eco Living (2000) in Chinese at GuanxiOnline.
British connections–hands across the sea!
While I'm focusing these days on China, my heart remains in England. I am dumbstruck to find these sweet remarks by Tim Coates (the power behind the Good Library Blog,
Marvin Mudrick and his chickens
I seem to be writing a lot about interdisciplinary thinking these days, a good thing considering the work we’re undertaking on the future, and sustainability! The latest article is called
Marvin Mudrick and His Chickens – Take 1
I seem to be writing a lot about interdisciplinary thinking these days, a good thing considering the work we’re undertaking on the future, and sustainability! The latest article is called
The Original Berkshire Residents
We've been delving into much of Berkshire County's history working on African American Heritage in the Upper Housatonic Valley. But yesterday Liz Steffey and I went a step further into
Ben Stein and China
I'm not known for my expertise on popular culture (unlike editor Marcy Ross, whose knowledge is breathtaking), and what I do know is completely random (and bicultural, because I lived
The open road
I don't object to a stopover at Narita, the airport in Tokyo. It's a chance to have some Japanese food in an airport cafeteria (I choose the most exotic meal
Website hosting
I'm blogging in haste from Narita Airport in Tokyo, en route to China, and here's a link I've been meaning to pass along: SustainableWebsites, Green Web Hosting. We're planning to
First day in Beijing
On my other trips to Asia I've plunged straight into business within an hour of arrival, so I was determined to have some transition time on this trip--that jet
Beijing International Publishing Forum
I don't know how you feel about spending the day listening to people read speeches. I went to a college with no lecture classes, and I am not sure I've
Dining at the Great Hall of the People
Originally published 30 August 2006, and updated in 2020. First day of a trade fair is ridiculously intense, and in Beijing that's magnified. I'm rushing off to another dinner
Walking around Beijing
Here's a photo of a group of children playing a lively game of cards in a hutong, or alleyway, the traditional housing area of Beijing. I'd read about how the
Reflections on Beijing traffic
When I first visited Beijing in 2001 with David and our kids, then 12 and 15, we stayed in a hotel on a main road not far from Tianamen Square.
Becky Clark and Billie Jean King
Even after a banquet at the Great Hall of the People on Tienanmen Square and exciting days in Beijing, I can't wait to post a message received from home, from
Listening in China
I've been listening to jazz since I arrived in China, first Duke Ellington which I'd accidentally brought along, and then downloads from iTunes. I'm not a jazz listener, generally, but
Is there a chicken on the train?
My guide here in Guangzhou is a lovely young editor, Ellen Wong, whom I met last year at the Frankfurt Book Fair. She said today she has the same feeling
Our new partnership with Guangdong People’s Publishing House
Guangzhou was a whirlwind of activity. From the airport, we went to Mr. Jin's house for supper, and after the first good night's sleep I'd had in a week, Ellen
China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong (CELAP) in Shanghai
Shanghai is a glittering metropolis, the kind of city that easily fool Western visitors that China is just like Manhattan. It's a far more complex place than that, though, and
Podcasts from China, with home stories
I wanted to do podcast interviews from China but didn't have time to sort out the software, even with great advice from my new friend Steve Mirsky, the podcast maven
Blogging with Jonathan Schwartz of Sun Microsystems
Me and who?? I guess this should be "Who and I??" or "Me and whom??" But I'm too jetlagged to figure out the correct syntax for a question that
Living dangerously–our new blogging software
I logged onto Movable Type just now and found that Trevor had made the switch to the newest version. I'd okayed this a couple days ago, but I'm nervous about
Day 1 of the Global Information Summit: Stay out of China?
Yesterday morning, the Global Information Summit in Amerstam kicked off with a speech (accompanied by detailed PowerPoint, sadly) by Ruud Bakker of VNU, one of the major international publishers based
Anne Frank’s Secret Annex
I'm leaving Amsterdam in a few minutes, but after three beautiful days here I'm delighted that SIIA will be back in a year for a second Global Information Industry Summit.
Anne Frank's Secret Annex
I'm leaving Amsterdam in a few minutes, but after three beautiful days here I'm delighted that SIIA will be back in a year for a second Global Information Industry Summit.
Day 2 of the Global Information Industry Summit
Fun to see two GIIS bloggers, Richard Charkin and me, mentioned in this article, "Chiefs who blog." At GIIS I watched Richard blogging--he hijacked one of the vendor's computers during
GIIS 2006 China panel preparations
We GIIS China panelists were having dinner together in Amsterdam, and Joachim Bartels was talking about flying Concord and getting special immigration clearance in Moscow. I shook my head. "But
From Mecklenburgh Square and the Goodenough Club
I've been listening to jazz a lot on this nearly four-week trip, something completely new to me. I bought some of iTunes basic collections, of Ella Fitzgerald and some early
An introduction to www.openDemocracy.net
I've been traveling for almost four weeks but even on this last day in London I've made another wonderful contact, with Isabel Hilton, a journalist, radio presenter, and China specialist
Air travel alternatives
One of the questions asked at "Question Time" at the Resurgence 40th birthday celebration and conference last Saturday was about how much environmentalists fly. The session was hosted by a
Final moments at Heathrow: discovering Sebastian Faulks
My flight yesterday was at 8.55 from Heathrow, so I was on the Tube at Russell Square at just after 6. Not much time at the airport but I managed
Rituals of homecoming
It's offputting to be a "CEO blogger." When I was interviewed by Rachel Konrad for the AP article on "Chiefs who blog," she was startled when I said I post
Lots of love
"Chinese libraries for 900 million farmers," said the headline. Did you get that, 900 million farmers? That's three times the population of the United States. From what I can tell,
An eye for an eye?
This is the season of the Jewish holidays, which means overflowing motels in the Berkshires and our eating at home. David goes to a small synagogue in the Catskills with
Guangdong-Berkshire party at Frankfurt
If you're reading our blog, please consider yourself invited to the party! This is a contract signing ceremony and reception being held on Friday at the Frankfurt Book Fair, to
Getting our titles across the Atlantic
I opened an envelope right before leaving the office today, on my way home to finish packing for the trip to Frankfurt. (I'm at the airport now.) It came from
Day 1, Frankfurt
I guess I'm coping well enough with all the travel, but last week I lost for several hours, my son's birthday cake, baked early that morning to be packed and
Day 2, Frankfurt
International book rights are a sporting event, I've decided. Publishing people are not known for their physical prowess, but the boasting you hear about how many hours at a stretch,
Haskert & Foley in the Berkshire database
We talk often about the remarkable scholars we work with, but our database includes other people, too. David, concerned that I might be distracted from the political news at home
Guangdong-Berkshire Signing Ceremony–with photos!
A large group of publishers attend under the umbrella of the Chinese Publishing Delegation, a huge installation decorated in glowing yellow and red, with large red paper lanterns and special
My new London neighborhood
Until last year, Camberwell, in south London, was my London neighborhood. I used to stay with friends and see other former neighbors and I could even wander into the Greek
Crowds and clouds in Westminster Abbey
While the Independent's headline was about how America is eating the world, I spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon (as a break from the next issue of Guanxi and
Corporations and the Cluetrain Manifesto
It's hardly surprising that I should find myself meeting people who work for the BBC. Global media, right? And a nonprofit corporation--that's also a good fit with Berkshire Publishing at
The upside of jetlag
I'll the traveling I've done of late (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, home. Amsterdam, London, home. London, Frankfurt, London, and finally HOME) has an upside for some friends and family.
Mao in bed
There's nothing like having the right book to hand in a moment of need, but I'd not have imagined that a biography of Mao would be perfect for a weekend
Mao and libraries
I thought you might enjoy a summary of Mao's early connections with books and libraries, drawn from my weekend reading: Mao Zedong was born in 1893 and in August 1918,
Berkshire’s other lives
Halloween's approaching, a wonderful occasion in New England. The tradition of harvest season decoration is alive and well, and in our neighborhood trick-or-treating retains a traditional feeling--though a lot of
Making British history
We had an email today from the British Library, asking to archive one of our websites as part of their effort to preserve "UK documentary heritage." It's quite thrilling to
Vermont scenery en route home from the New England Library Association conference
David and I are just back from a whirlwind trip to Burlington, Vermont, where the New England Library Association was meeting. We had a lively and enjoyable dinner with our
Of books and libraries and innovation
Last week was a whirlwind and I was not a good office mate because I was still coughing--after-effect of my post-travel cold--so I worked at home when I could.
David’s new book about the Clinton AME Zion Church
David's new book, Sewing Circles, Dime Suppers, and W.E.B. Du Bois: A History of the Clinton AME Zion Church, was launched on Saturday at the church's 136th anniversary. Last year
An introduction to rock climbing with Jules Harrell
What a day! Berkshire breezes that wrap their arms round you, soft golden sunlight, and distant hills dappled with the last russets and golds. I was the luckiest person around,
Thinking about America, inside and out
It strikes me that for a global company we are doing a lot of American subjects these days, between our African American titles and the Libraries We Love, which is
“Mountain research” at Boulder Bookworks
My return to the United States in 1991 came about in part because a small Colorado publisher purchased rights to my first book. The key person who brought this about
Sign of the times: no more yellow ribbons
As we drove to Charleston , I realized that there'd be a drastic change since I was last in the south: the yellow "Support Our Troops" ribbon-shaped magnets have almost
Notes from the Charleston Conference
I appreciate the people who blog conferences, in the sense that they sit in the sessions and record what's said, questions asked, answered, and dodged. Not my way of working,
A postscript from the Charleston Conference
Hey, I was wrong! Scott Plutchak was on a panel about Open Access and was shrewd and insightful and balanced. Curiously, he too used a religious metaphor when talking about
Religion and money
I’m reading an amazing book, about an early debate about Darwinism, and will write about that shortly–religion and science, a subject that is being much discussed these days. But religion
World Congress of History Producers–Talking about new media and short forms
As I remembered, this is an exceptionally good conference for networking. I think people working in film and television are a bit more outgoing than publishing people, and they're definitely
Looking for Churchill
Last night was the only evening event of the World Congress of History Producers: cocktails at the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum, not far from 10 Downing Street. The
One of the real world series: The Ashes 2006-7
We've just sent out the first galley proofs of Global Perspectives on the United States to the major reviewers, and more will be going out next week while the indexing
Cricket and croquet
On the Tube last night, Rachel said, "Mum, explain cricket to me." (Yes, it may have been the first time in history that a teenager has asked this question of
My London library
After a gap of over 15 years, I am now a card-carrying user of a London library, the Holborn Library on Theobalds Road. Because I stay just up the street
My first trip to Ireland, and now to London Online
Last night I had supper in an Italian restaurant in Cork, Ireland, with a Chinese colleague, and made plans to meet her in Beijing in April. That's one aspect of
The large and small of it
It's always been clear that we are a small independent publisher, but only in the last week have I begun to realize just how very small we are in our
Company footwear
I've never been a stiletto woman, except for a couple weeks when I was 20, but I'm starting to think of starting a company dress code that requires comfortable shoes.
Social Networking program at London Online
Getting to a conference doesn't require social networking (SN) particularly, but it does require on-the-ground knowledge management (KM), and the organizers of London Online are clearly not expert in KM:
A horrible idea
Dave Pollard mentioned, enthusiastically, something called NTag that would put contact information and those interest/responsibility checkboxes that one fills in when registering for conferences into one's badge. The result would
Home to Yoga5
It's time to write something about one of the things that keeps me sane and healthy: astanga yoga at a new studio in Great Barrington, Yoga5. I stumbled into this
First snow in Great Barrington
I'm working on another article on social media, and trying to make sense of the whole thing. This makes blogging a different experience: it becomes what anthropologists call "participant observation."
Seriality and synchronicity
I was at a "Lunch with a Commissioning Editor" at the World Congress of History Producers last month and experienced something called seriality, or better synchronicity, when the editor, Jennifer
“Home Field Advantage” and the New York Knicks
D. Randall Smith, a contributor to the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport was interviewed about home field advantage for yesterday's story about the New York Knicks's abysmal season. I have
The inventor of the Web and public libraries
Here's a great quote, and a fascinating discussion about censorship and inacurracy in Wikipedia, from a lengthy comment by Lloyd Coles our very own Good Library Blog: Sir Tim Berners-Lee's
Berkshire holiday party snaps
It was a bright day, in a room just off Laurel Lake in Lee, MA, and our photos have suffered as a result. But even with the glare, you'll see
Clinton AME Zion Church
Esther Dozier, the dynamic pastor of the Clinton AME Zion Church, needed a photo of David presenting his book about the church to her, so I went down (after an
What’s wrong with user “help desks”?
I was pleased to have Trevor, our IT guy, tell me that he agrees about the downsides of user help desks. Here are a few paragraphs about this from an
A great information page
You don't want to know why I was reading up on how to collect and preserve insects, but you might like to see this fine example of the free information
YouTube and genius–not?
I wasn't much impressed by the film Borat (I even felt badly about the portrayal of Kazakhstan, a country that didn't make a great impression on us in 2001) and
First look (and touch and feel): preview copies of Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love have arrived!
We were promised first, preview copies of Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love by 15 December and they arrived on the 14th! Here's a preview of the book,
Visit to the blogosphere
If you're not a regular user of Flickr or Skype or Wikipedia, please take a look at this blog entry to get a sense of the discussion that evolving in
This Fleeting World
Working on world history today, many e-mail exchanges with David Christian, the remarkable historian who has done so much to eludicate the bigger kind of history, the history of the
No questions?
When doing an interview or making a presentation, I used to worry about not knowing enough about whatever I was supposed to be talking about. (I had an hour on
Trying not to be “soooo 2006”
When I started blogging, almost two years ago now, my charming son Tom commented, "weblogs are so 2002." Maybe they were, but they seem to be alive and kicking in
“Gift this music”
Back to the real world, on iTunes. "Gift this music," says the button. Is something wrong with, "Give this music"? Isn't this the season of giving? Perhaps this is a
Encyclopaedia of all the World’s knowledge
I thought I'd share this wonderful advertisement Marcy found in a copy of Scientific American from 1896. The focus on "genuine merit," excellent production values, and the "thousands of special
Upgrade for January
My post title is a double entendre, because Upgrade is the name of the Software and Information Industry's magazine but "Upgrade for January" is also what I'm aiming to do,
Rituals of celebration, and loss
This is the season of celebration and rituals of all kinds, from champagne at midnight to lentils for good luck. It's the time when politicians take office here in the
Knowledge propagation: can we learn from nature?
Not long ago I was idling away an evening with the 2003 Heronswood Nursery catalog. This is a famous catalog that no longer exists (nor does the nursery, as of
Knowledge propagation: can we learn from nature?
Not long ago I was idling away an evening with the 2003 Heronswood Nursery catalog. This is a famous catalog that no longer exists (nor does the nursery, as of
Sustainability is hot
So's the United States. Record setting temperatures have everyone talking about the weather, and I'm dazzled by the way people can notice but not seem very, very scared. But it
Mason Library’s makeover
Here's a photo of our own Mason Library, which is undergoing a major renovation and expansion, on a beautiful winter's morning. Mason Library is getting incredible media play, because we're
Getting ready for ALA
Anyone who reads this blog is more than welcome to come to the party we're hosting next week with BookExpo, to celebrate The Libraries We Love at the American Library
Libraries We Love goes to Seattle–and Paris
Delightful to arrive in Seattle for the American Library Association conference and be greeted by enthusiastic cab drivers ("my favorite convention") and by a piece in the Seattle Times: Â
Only in Seattle
I realize I haven't yet clued you in about the reference to Paris is the last post (yes, indeed, Libraries We Love is going to Paris), but getting enough sleep
ALA at its best
The city of Seattle was a bright, welcoming place today and everyone seems positively to welcome these thousands of librarians and their accompanying spouses and all the companies that depend
Reference enthusiasts
There's a very strange button on display here that says, "Reference Is Cool." I thought it must be tongue in cheek, but there's really and truly an established company that
Feet and football–on the move in Seattle
As I left the hall yesterday I noticed more than one person shambling along, and it wasn't just the overweight and unfit but people who looked otherwise quite spry. That's
Celebrating the libraries we love at the Seattle Public Library
There's little time to write about last night's party because we have an early flight, and after the near-miss at Logan last week, when the kind staff and captain of
Party pix
We're in the midst of uploading a couple video clips to YouTube (gotta keep that social media rolling), but in the meantime for those who wonder if anyone turned up
Cardiff to Chengdu–what global publishing is really like (and the dangers of Skype chat)
I'm fascinated by coincidence, and was relieved to find out that there are scientists, too, as well as people like Jung, who share this interest. This morning's example was being
SIIA’s Information Industry Summit in New York
Back to Cipriani's, with its sandstone walls, marble columns, vaulted roof, and chandeliers tiered with wreaths of lights, definitely designed on the same scale as the lovely hall of Grand
Alien thoughts
As I was getting into CEO dress this morning, ready to talk about copyright and valuation and acquisitions, I started laughing. My colleagues here don't realize that I am an
Second Life, real life, and online community
A virtual reality platform called Second Life has provoked quite a few jokes about the trouble we have managing our first lives. I’m intrigued by the fact that Second Life
Oddments at the end of IIS 2007
"Have you had a good conference?" people ask, and I can answer with a resounding 'yes.' I have met so many people, seen people who now seem like old friends
ForeWord This Week: The Libraries We Love
While at the Information Summit I had my mind on business-to-business content, thinking of new ways to develop our work in areas including social media, global perspectives, and of course
Tim Coates’s Manifesto for Good Libraries
Tim Coates has become an acclaimed and feared blogger in less than a year, with hits per month that I envy--and that many a large company would pay good money
Global literacy: +5-1/2 hours to Mumbai
David and I wrote a book some years back called the Global Village Companion. (Rather cool: here's its local page in Worldcat, showing the New England libraries with a copy.)
What Wikipedia is good for
As someone who's generally in favor of social media, I was thrilled to discover this week what Wikipedia really is good for: reading about television shows. I'm asked now and
Snow falling on Valentine’s Day
I have a blog category "On Main Street," and that's really what you have here: the view from my office window during today's snowstorm. The first is looking west, up
Love fests
"The day of forced love," Liz says her brother calls Valentine's Day. The commercialization of what was (is?) a saint's day is quite remarkable, and the moderate snowstorm that's hit
To know or not to know?
"The less I know, the better I can do my job." I heard this yesterday on TV and it got me thinking about how much most of us need to
Choosing the right social software tools
How do we choose the right social software tools? That's what's on my mind this morning, as I make plans for the launch of Berkshire's Sustainability Project and also the
My first letter in Chinese
Yes, I wrote my first business letter in Chinese, after months of extensive study and gruelling nights spent learning characters. By candlelight. This would make a good April Fool's Day
Synchronicity for Chinese New Year
Regular readers will know that I'm intrigued by the idea of synchronicity, and that I've come out about this after learning that scientists, too, pay attention to this, as well
Inches and bowler hats: Seeing America from other perspectives
One of my responsibilities is to bring a global perspective to our publications and marketing materials. Given that I am a white American, this may seem a bit far-fetched, and
Meeting Ray Anderson
I am in Atlanta, Georgia, on a quick visit to meet two remarkable people working on global sustainability issues, C.S. Kiang, dean of the new College of Environmental Sciences
A bad travel day–Atlanta to Great Barrington
Since I've complained vociferously about airport security in recent years, as expensive and ineffectual, and about security personnel, as frivolous or fascist, it's only fair to give some praise. Yesterday,
Against the Grain Profile: Richard Charkin
Born & lived: Born in London UK and have lived there and Oxford, with two short stretches in Boston. Early life: Perfectly fine, thank you. Family: One wife, three children,
“Aikido” from the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport
Aikido is a Japanese martial art that includes techniques for fighting empty handed, with weapons, or for subduing an armed opponent. The distinctive feature of aikido is characterized by a
Christensen’s map of social media
Here is a simple scheme for sorting social media technologies, based on four activities: Knowledge Management Relationship Management Collaboration Entertainment Knowledge Management Humans have been storing information for at
A plug for Anthony Trollope
One of my causes is old books. This isn't for educational or moral reasons, though there's definitely a lot to be said on both scores for reading literature from times
Oscar afterthoughts
How telling that I wrote yesterday about old books--the popular culture of the past--and didn't realize that it was the day of the Academy Awards. The real irony is that
Facial recognition and the boundaries of community
Community is a key concept in much that we do, and I'm always puzzling over it, both in terms of how it works in our personal lives and on the
The value of (old) books
Of course there's another way to look at old books, not as something to read but as an item to trade and sell. The first big online used book database
Bronislaw Malinowski’s advice on how to decide which books are worthy of your attention
I've been meaning to post this for months. It's a comment about book marketing by John Kremer that seemed to be serious: Sometimes when you get so many books to
Our first blogging editor
I went to Alex Soojung-Kim Pang's blog just now to see if he was online. Alex is editing the Berkshire Encyclopedia of the 21st Century, while, goddess help me, I've
Talk the talk
Here's a telling default option, on a system called italki.com that links language learners across the world: English as the native language, Mandarin Chinese as the language to learn. I
Going visual: Skype video, podcasts, and a interview with William McNeill
It was a bit of synchronicity that I wrote a few days ago about the importance of facial recognition in building relations, because the world of visual communication is coming
From New York, China perspectives
We're always talking about "perspectives," so I was thrilled to hear the word many times from WANG Jisi of Peking University at an event tonight. I cannot write much of
New Yorker or New Scientist?
You might think that my favorite magazine would be the New Yorker, or Granta, but in fact it's the New Scientist. New Scientist is the British equivalent of Scientific American,
Homecoming
I felt like a weekender yesterday. I caught the 3.46 from Grand Central Station to Wassaic after four days in New York. There was a sea of cars waiting, under
Green is sexy–and there’s a pleasant change!
When I first started working with environmentalists, in London, green was certainly not sexy. Thick woolly sweaters and bowl-shaped haircuts were common, and a general disdain for anything sleek or
Hearing from readers of the Libraries We Love
I love hearing from people about our books. This happens rarely with reference (though we've plans underway to do something about that), but it's no surprise that our new book
Berkshire staffers enjoying Daylight Savings Time
Leaving the office while it's still light is such a treat, and the thermometer hit 70 degrees Fahrenheit today, so we're really feeling the spring thaw. I happened to catch
Details, details
I love details: I don't just want great sweeps of history or grand theory. I like to see how things play out in real life. That's what drives some of
March Madness strikes
I feel more comfortable talking about cricket than most American sports, but now that the college basketball championships are here, I have a new opportunity. Liz got a pool started
Ideological disconnect
I am suffering from ideological disconnect. I find myself with friends who (1) run a hedge fund, and (2) represent one of the world's major publishing companies, known to many
Gut check: a new way to look at Lent
I had lunch today with a friend who when we met said, "I'm day-fasting." Well, I thought, that's fine: I'll have to eat my proscuitto sandwich while he watches? What
Experiencing hunger: a Lenten perspective
I had lunch today with a friend who when we met said, "I'm day-fasting." Well, I thought, that's fine: I'll have to eat my proscuitto sandwich while he watches? What
March Madness, and the squash nationals too
While the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Extreme Sports is at the printer, the buzz in the office is more traditional sport. I walked into the big room where four staffers work
Bodily fluids, posted en route to Beijing
[From O'Hare Airport, a post I meant to publish yesterday] Ours is an informal office. No slick corporate space, no dress code (we talk about having dress UP days), and
First evening in Beijing
I'm traveling with my 21-year-old son Tom, who is 6'2, a former footballer currently sporting a Marine-style haircut. He got the college curls cut off on Wednesday so he can
Time challenges
The first challenge is, of course, a 13-hour time change. I know I won't feel really myself for at least a week. But it's nice to think that by the
Street life in Beijing
On Tuesday night I sent emails to let people know I would be back in Beijing. When I got to my computer in the morning there were ten emails
American Libraries magazine review of the Libraries We Love
In Mary Ellen Quinn's column in the March American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association, opens with a review of Berkshire's Heart of the Community: The Libraries We
An afternoon at the Temple of Heaven
The park around the Temple of Heaven is a wonderful place to be, especially on a bright spring day when the trees are beginning to bud. There were many Western
Traveling with a young China hand
Tom's language skills are coming back. This evening, at the rather too elegant restaurant some students sent us to, perhaps as a joke given how we were dressed, he had
What can China do for the world in the 21st century?
I sat down to lunch today with a group of students from Peking University and one of them said with a smile, "Karen, would you like to choose the fish?
Spring, by force of wardrobe
A note from my daughter Rachel included this line, which made me miss her very much, ". . . the office is quiet and it's raining out, raining hard. I
Sense and sensibility
I spent most of today at a Chinese climate change symposium, with many speakers and a ton of information on initiatives in construction and car manufacture. Did you know that
Night communities
One point Barry W. made last week, in his talk at SUNY Albany, was that there are new "night communities" as a result of social media. It's easy now to
Climate change awareness in China
On Wednesday I attended an all-day forum on climate change in Beijing. The English title was, "Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction: Responsibility and Competitiveness Forum," and it was sponsored by
Guangzhou to Hong Kong, by some kind of sea transport
I'm writing this on the ferry from Zhuhai (pronounced joo-high), a city near the gambling resort of Macau, to Hong Kong. Tom and I had a whirlwind tour of Guangzhou
Linguistic daring
This really should go on the Guanxi blog, but it's so much part of the flow of recent posts that I'll drop it here, and expand a bit at Guanxionline
April Fool’s Day, retrospectively
I'm afraid I completely missed April Fool's Day this year—I didn't go online to read the British papers, which always come up with great stories, and I didn't write a
Is it in the genes?
I've been checking through photos taken on the trip and was editing this one of Tom's trying a chicken's foot at our morning tea with Ellen Wong when I remembered
A reason to love the U.S.
I was happy to receive an e-mail from Marcy Ross, in the office in Great Barrington, with the latest comment from Berkshire's LoveUSHateUs.com website: I think it's understandable that other
CCTV–and backing up!
When I first started working on computers (yes, I remember those days, of XT computers and WordStar), someone in the industry told me that there were three rules I should
What is the “real China”? An afternoon at Tsinghua University
I spent an engrossing afternoon at Tsinghua University, learning about a new medical information project and talking about our China projects. This was followed by a tour of the campus,
Easter Day, Beijing
Of course it isn't Easter Day here, but these flags flying over the market at Nu Ren Jie (Ladies Street) certainly have the right colors. I had a fascinating early
No money no talk
I've been reviewing the next issue of Guanxi: The China Letter, focused on intellectual property. That's made me especially alert to signs in the markets related to faux goods, and
Reference debate in the blogosphere
Boring, humdrum reference books being debated in the blogosphere--surely this is an April Fool's joke? No, really, and Richard Charkin, CE of Macmillan and one of my favorite people on
Daniel A. Bell: Teaching Political Theory
I first got in touch with Daniel A. Bell in 2001, when we were working on the Encyclopedia of Community, because he had written on communitarianism and also lived
Do I love Google after all?
When my post vanished the other day, I e-mailed Trevor. Why, I said, was there only an early version saved under WordPress and couldn't he somehow rescue my wee bit
Checking the story
A couple weeks ago I called a local (i.e. Great Barrington) politician, Tony Blair, ((We call him "our Tony Blair.")) to ask if he had really said what the newspapers
The joys of an unlocked phone
It's so easy, now that my Cingular phone has been unlocked, to set up for local calling in a new place. I arrived in Hong Kong, checked in, and walked
Not yet Twittering in Hong Kong
This is more of a Twitter than a blog post, but it's such a silly situation I can't resist recording it. I'm sitting in bed looking across Hong Kong harbor,
Blogfest: Is it navel-gazing or are we bringing serious discussion into view?
I thought of navel gazing when I started this post because (1) it is self-congratulatory to put in a link to someone's praising a discussion I am part of, "While
Midwest Book Review of Berkshire’s Global Perspectives
This speaks for itself: A two volume, non-partisan survey drawing upon contributions by experts which include government officials, academic scholars, business professionals, and ordinary citizens from around the world, "Global
The 39-hour day
I've lived my first 39-hour day, and that's not hyperbole. I woke up at 4am in Hong Kong and went to bed at 10pm in San Francisco, and because of
It’s conference season
Here are the programs for the joint SIIA conferences here, and I'll be writing about a few of the sessions. (In truth, I have been writing, but want to edit
The economics of trust
Interesting topic for the first keynote today: Trust. Trust comes up in almost any conversation one has about going business in China, as being essential to success there, and
Person to person and place to place
Global networking: I met Christine Loh in Beijing, when she spoke at the Economist Intelligence Unit's breakfast meeting on 29 March, and when I visited her at Civic Exchange in
Land of opportunity
Liz met me at Logan Airport in Boston this morning and we got to catch up on the drive home. She'd gone into Boston to play mixed doubles squash with
Word of mouth–Skype hype
But it's not hype. Skype really is transformative. I truly want everyone I work with (well, those I like--and that's most almost all of them) to use this service, and
Springtime, snowtime
The weather improved dramatically the day I returned to the Berkshires. But it's still cold in the hills, as our own Scott Eldridge shows. He went hiking in a part
Data mining
Making use - let alone sense - of today's deluge of User-Generated Content (I've capped it, having just heard the acronym UGC) is a huge business challenge. I've been pondering
Brand Tsunami
Speaking of brands, I was startled recently to see a type of deodorant called Tsunami, which to me is a bit like naming something Hurricane Katrina (I realize that tsunamis
Crime and punishment
A subject we've done extensive work on but don't talk about much is criminal justice. David Levinson has written on aggression and violence, cross-culturally, and also was editor-in-chief of the
“Mass Murder” from the Encyclopedia of Crime & Punishment (Sage/Berkshire 2002)
(c) Berkshire Publishing Group 2002 @EH = Mass Murder Criminologists distinguish between two types of multiple homicide based on their timing: mass murder, in which a number of victims are
How was China?
I was 19 when I first went to England,and my best friend Roxanne Teske came over for six months. She Eurailed while I studied for Oxbridge, and we explored Devon
New Year’s resolutions
WordPress is a wonderful and terrifying system, keeping all my draft post titles on the dashboard along with a count (which started at over 50 when we may the changeover
Welcome to Vermont
I love visiting Vermont, and today couldn't have been better because the sun came out and the daffodils were blooming. Here's a photo from the visitors' center just after you
Publishing’s dark secret
After a long meeting with Bob Costanza, director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont, on Friday, Rachel and I stopped in Montpelier, the lovely
Trust, privacy, and publishing
There have been a number of comments on my post about trust, written after four weeks in China, where the word comes up a lot, and in response to a
How about trust and honor?
To continue the theme of trust, I was mulling over different reasons we have to trust other people. We talk quite often about ethics, integrity, even a moral compass. But
The Trustful Business
I can't resist including this photo, posted at my Guanxi Blog from Beijing. Most of my blogging is done at Berkshire, but we're about to launch - within days -
Trusting authors
When I think of the trust an author (or journalist or speaker) needs to elicit, quickly, from his/her audience, I see myself offering my hand to a child I don't
Invasion of the body snatchers
Berkshire Publishing operates out of picturesque offices in a turn-of-the-20th-century brick building on Main Street in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a town with a full-time population of 7,700. It's a casual
Green sex again
I'm thrilled to have The Armchair Environmentalist selected as the first book feature on a new website called Green Is Sexy. Thinking back to my early days as an environmentalist
The sports jones
Another subject that came up at staff meeting yesterday was sports publishing. We are starting to publish trade and professional books, in addition to the reference works we are known
Bush on freedom of the press
I've been in Boston all day, on the road since 6am, so I'm going to use executive privilege and post an email from associate editor Scott Eldridge: Direct quote from
The nature of blog comments
I'm told that in China it's considered polite to leave a comment, even if just a mild note of approval. Lots of people are incessant commentors (and even use software
Sweating and praying (sort of) in New York
At six o'clock this morning I was in a room in New York filled with the sound of chanting and dozens of sweating bodies. The astanga yoga studio I go
User-generated content – who owns it?
Who owns user- generated content? This was one of the unopened - or rather unanswered - questions at the SIIA Brown Bag lunch I attended in New York last week.
Do as I say . . .
Remember that line from your parents? "Do as I say, not as I do?" My favorite variation is my commando brother's line about "walking the talk or talking the walk."
The China frenzy
A colleague here in DC wrote me that the China frenzy in this town in incessant, and for someone like me it's quite intoxicating - even though the law school
More on user-generated content
I mentioned blogs to a friend in New York the other day and he went on a gentle tirade. He's frustrated by the distraction blogs present and and he
Of manicures and monitoring – the Fiesole Retreat in Hong Kong
Here is a long overdue, idiosyncratic, and long (do note my first use of the Read More functionality of WordPress) report on the Fiesole Retreat in Hong Kong last month,
More praise for Anthony Trollope
This has nothing to do with China or publishing or social media, but I was reading Framley Parsonage, published in 1861, on the plane today and found a passage that
Bloggers but not Second Lifers
All roads once led to Rome, they say. Today all my roads lead to China. I had lunch on Thursday with Debbie Weil, author of the Corporate Blogging Handbook, and
Graduation pledges
I was tearful at today's graduation ceremony at Grinnell College, in Iowa, watching my son Tom and his classmates as they prepare to take the next steps in their lives.
Proud of the United States
There are many countries where free speech is not a right – or at least not much of a reality. And the United States is certainly not perfect in this
Extreme numbering
Our latest publication, the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Extreme Sports, is drawing some flak – which definitely in line with the subject of the book. We're getting calls from people who
On the bamboo path
Getting ready for BookExpo in New York required, I thought, a hotel and some meal reservations and then a lot of meetings in the calendar. But Liz Steffey and Erin
China Town Hall meetings tomorrow (31 May)
I've written about this at my GuanxiBlog, but have to mention it here. If you happen to be in one of the 30 participating cities, do take advantage of this
BookExpo heist
It's getting so a day without wifi is a rare occurrence. Even when I'm taking a day off, I almost always have it available. To be in New York at
Special Libraries Association (SLA) in Denver
"All the news that's fit to print." Like newspapers, bloggers have to choose what to report. I was at the international reception here at Special Libraries Association (SLA) in Denver,
Tears in Great Barrington
I can't finish my post about the BookExpo social media panel, because I've been crying for the past hour about the news that our beloved friend Esther Dozier, pastor of
Esther Dozier at the Clinton AME Zion Church
The media, local and otherwise, will follow the Esther Dozier story from now on, and I'm sure we will be told much that is later revealed to be untrue and
Starred review for Berkshire’s Global Perspectives on the United States
We love all reviews--only asking that the authors' or editors' names be spelled correctly. (Tes, you sense a sensitive Christianson, whoops, Christensen.) But there's nothing better than a starred review
Memorial flowers
Odd to see peonies from my garden and the card we all signed on the front page of the paper today. It was my dear friend Diane Wortis who suggested
What do you know about Mongolia?
Or, you might reasonably ask, what do *I* know about Mongolia? Not much, but, as Sherlock Holmes said more than once, the important thing is to know where you can
The quality of Google Books
One of the great things about organizing a conference panel is the remarkable people you have a chance to meet virtually, and sometimes even meet in person. I'll be writing
This Fleeting World is published
I'm at the World History Association conference in Milwaukee and have the delightful experience of meeting some of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History authors and also being here with
Visit www.LoveUSHateUS.com
I sometimes forget that we ourselves at Berkshire Publishing are engaged in one of the most remarkable and rich experiments around in UGC (User-Generated Content), at our LoveUSHateUS? website. This
The China track
I've been focusing on China for the last couple of years, and have become used to the look of bewilderment on people's faces when they find out that my business
A frivolous sign lover
I may not be clued in to pop culture, but I do pay attention to wacky bumperstickers and strange names. I was in the so-sedate state of Wisconsin last weekend
Tragic Death of a Modern Leader
I’ve been crying for the past hour about the news that our beloved friend Esther Dozier, pastor of the AME Zion Church here in Great
Berkshire Encyclopedia of Extreme Sports
Berkshire is known for its unique global sports publications so we’re delighted to have produced the first serious reference work on a fascinating new phenomenon in sport, the Berkshire Encyclopedia
What the World Thinks About America
With a presidential election campaign ahead, global leadership and U.S. relations with other nations will be an essential part of discussion and debate in classrooms as well as around the
Greetings from Great Barrington!
As promised, we have moved our newsletter to a blog platform—which means a more dynamic layout that lets us provide more information and also enables you to comment, add information,
Who writes encyclopedias?
We're in the midst of an encyclopedia blitz, with our July Berkshire Contributors Quarterly about to go out to nearly 5,000 past Berkshire authors who we hope will help with
Online snake oil
Don't you love the term 'snake oil'? When I hear it, I visualize a dark-haired man with a pointy beard at the back of a covered wagon, waving a bottle
Encyclopedia authors
There's going to be more about encyclopedia creation here than you've seen in a while because I have recently been plunged into the maelstrom of some fascinating projects that I
Life is large
A colleague sent me a CD a couple years ago with a title song called, "Life is Large," suggesting that that might be a good tagline for Berkshire Publishing. I
Inspiring encyclopedias
There are more than a few people who think I'm mad - or nuts, as we Americans say - but I've always denied it. Until today, when I found myself
Down and dirty, learning to change a tire
We love learning at Berkshire Publishing and I don't mind getting my hands dirty, but it was a bit humiliating to admit that I didn't know how to change a
Tim Coates blogs for better libraries
I'm speaking on the Community & Collaboration panel at the Global Information Industry Summit in a couple weeks about how to choose the right social networking tools for whatever it
Multimedia message
Multimedia message, originally uploaded by KarenChristensen. Seen in milwaukee.
Why I love British newspapers
I've tried to love the New York Times. Really and truly I have. And I do like it now. I appreciate it, and read it when I find the time
Vincent Cerf, cofather of the Internet
Don't you love that, "cofather of the Internet"? That's how Vincent Cerf has been described, and today he is the Chief Internet Evangelist at Google. We were delighted when he
Day 1, Post 1, Global Information Industry Summit
"How do we do a better job of incorporating Web 2.0 tools into our traditional platforms?" asked Matthew Hong, vice president and general manager of Open Web Markets at Gale
Day 1, a postscript only
A witch's striptease, and later a woman bellydancing to "Amazing Grace" played on bagpipes. Where else but Berlin? More details on tonight's SIIA dinner in tomorrow's post; after focusing on
Street life in Berlin
I've just walked into my Berlin apartment after an after-the-conference dinner with some of my favorite people from SIIA. The restaurant happened to be 10 minutes' walk from the apartment
My first widget
It's probably not the first. The Flickr badge you see below is a widget, too, I think. But I had a long conversation this evening about widgets with Dan Gisolfi,
Publisher Case Studies from China
Not all conferences are exhilarating, but the GIIS certainly was, and in unexpected ways. That's the serendipity effect, I guess, which came up a couple of times in relation to
Howard Rheingold speaking about cooperation in London
I now can send photos from my phone straight to the blog, using Flickr. I think I can write a text message to be the post, but I haven't figured
16 ways to interact
Here's a diagram that really worked, though of course it isn't legible here. It shows a whole Amazon product page – which is long – as a very small image
Texperts on the Tube
I love reading subway adverts in New York, but the London Tube has better ones. Here's my favorite find: a information company called Texperts. What a fabulous name! Here, every
Digital natives talking about community
There are all kinds of reasons for having kids, but one great thing is that they watch and read stuff that you miss, and if you're lucky, as I am,
“Amazing Grace” at the Global Information Industry Summit
One of the activities at GIIS was "Dinner at a Medieval Castle," and that's where the entertainment I mentioned took place. I had wonderful dinner companions – my dear friend
Lion and mouse: The British Library and Berkshire Publishing
What do the British Library and Berkshire Publishing have in common?, I asked a couple of days ago. To explain, I need to take you to the final panel of
Widgets for lunch on Thursday
Just signed up for the SIIA Brown Bag lunch on Thursday, which is available by webcast too: "Think Small: Why Widgets are the Next Big Thing for Content Distribution." We're
Straw bale gardening
I use straw bales for insulation against the back of my house and then mulch with the damp, dark straw in the spring, but in a quest for mesclun seed,
Berkshire features extremely global in Kirkus Reviews
The autumn Reference Review special issue of the well-known Kirkus Reviews magazine puts Berkshire's latest titles at the front of the starting line-up. Not surprisingly, the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Extreme
Book reviews, Salman Rushie, and Stephen Colbert
Marcy and I were talking this afternoon about the time and effort Kirkus put into their reviews, calling us with questions after having carefully examined the volumes (I won't say
‘S Wonderful
In my widget quest, I explored the plugins available for WordPress and installed something called FoxyTunes. Lo and behold, I now have a button that inserts details of the music
Exact Editions of Berkshire titles available now
An exciting and exacting development here at Berkshire: you can now browse a number of our recent bestselling titles thanks to an innovative European company, Exact Editions. We offering these
Moon cake season, and a full moon tomorrow
I love being able to upload a photo from my phone, but what a shame I haven't yet learned to get a title in! Webb Shaw got in a question
First comments on Berkshire’s ExactEditions
First, an explanation of the challenge and promise of this system from Adam Hodgkin of Exact Editions, with some images showing what they've had to do to cope with our
Next social networking events
A little advance notice about my next chances to speak about social networking. If you'll be in New York on 31 October or in Shanghai at the end of November,
Exactly right for Berkshire authors, too
I've often written about how much we love our authors, but I probably haven't said enough about how much we rely on them, and how the conversations that go on
Charkin celebrates 10 years
Here's an article about Richard Charkin's move from Macmillan to Bloomsbury. Richard is a friend and someone I turn to when I need advice --and I always know that his
Spotted in Great Barrington
I don't write much about small town life these days because I'm so engrossed in work that I never seem to experience it. But this morning the phone rang at
Condolences to my New York friends
A friend pointed out that irony of New York's having become, since 11 September 2001, a symbol of American patriotism--and sometimes excessive nationalism. Many people in the middle regions of
Criticizing America
I couldn't believe that I'd let the words out of my mouth, but sometimes small town life is just too much. I was at the bank trying to set up
Along the road, driving through New England
I'm on my way to Vermont and it's easy to see from the flora along the roadsides that we haven't yet had a frost - in years past, we have
Good facts, bad facts, and the supposed wisdom of crowds
I've long been a skeptic about medical advice on food, because the experts change their minds so often. An article in the New York Times last week about a new
The Herbarium at the University of Vermont
I visited the Herbarium with Rachel, who's delighted to have a work-study job there. What a lovely Victorian place, with long windows looking out onto the UVM campus and Vermont
Go Bosox (and no mercy for the Yankees)
It's clear that I simply have not grasped the seriousness of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. You've got to remember that I did not grow up on the East Coast. I
Futurists walking the talk
I'm writing a Publisher's Letter for our 2008 catalog and plan to mention events coming up that are relevant to our publications, to show that we're not just creating encyclopedias
A night to believe (yes, Red Sox again)
No reason I shouldn't be blogging about sports, given my publishing and also editing some of the major reference works on the subject, but those who know me may be
Disney’s portraits of America
This line in the newspaper caught my attention the other day, "U.S. Government Partners with Disney to Welcome International Visitors Portraits of America to be Featured in International Arrivals Areas,
Copyright 2.0 and a welcome sign of resistance to Google and Microsoft
I'm as sick of hearing and reading the numbers "2.0" as you are, but that's what the article I'm posting here has been titled. The article is a blog post
History in quotes, and the accuracy of the Web
I'm writing the Publisher's Note for the next issue of Guanxi: The China Letter, a background briefing about Chinese history, and want to quote a few people about the important
Wikipedia on CD/ROM
CD/what? The URL, http://www.wikipediaondvd.com/site.php, says "DVD" but (and I thought this was a bVerlogosphere joke) it is according to the text a CD/ROM containing articles from Wikipedia. Well, there are
Rainbow over East Mountain
I was talking to a friend in New York who asked, "Is it snowing?" "No!" I said, "It's beautiful now that the rain has stopped. The hills are gorgeous." A
Charleston Conference soothsaying
John Barnes of Gale speaking about the "Future of Electronic Publishing" at the Charleston Conference. Sent from my phone; will write something about the future later! Finally, days later, a
Getting ready for Shanghai
It's absurd that I am having trouble finding time to blog because I am so busy getting ready to go to Shanghai to talk about corporate blogging. Unlike some people
Viral publishing and social media
It's been pleasant this week to get a couple of requests to publish things I've written about social media. There's a lovely symmetry or circularity in this, as it's networking
Guanxi with savoir faire from Exact Editions
I've written about our book launch with Exact Editions. Now, as our flight to Shanghai is boarding, I'm going to copy a post about a new Exact Editions experiment: Adam
Two cultures, new cultures
I mentioned the "two cultures" yesterday and perhaps should explain this important way of expressing the intellectual and political problem of divided viewpoints, in the West, that results from a
Sourcebook: Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction
As I listened to the other presentations at the Nurturing and Commercializing Online Communities conference in Shanghai, I found myself thinking about human-computer interaction and how apt it is that
Plagiarism at Berkshire, and in American academia
I'm in China now and one of the topics that comes up often is IPR--intellectual property rights. This mainly refers to pirating, large-scale and blatant commercial copying of books ranging
Virtual tomatoes
In a post entitled "Still Salad Days for China Web 2.0" Alan Tien of ChinaTechNews.com provides some ideas about the conference I attended (and spoke at) last week. I'll be
Organic encyclopedias
Thinking about the year ahead, as a publisher that focuses on the future more than ever before (in fact, at the end of 2008 you'll see the four-volume Berkshire Encyclopedia
Happy birthday, Berkshire
Berkshire is the smallest and newest reference company around. Most of the companies you know have been around for decades, even centuries, while we'll be celebrating our third birthday next
Shanghai-Beijing trip
Editor Liz Steffey and I have just returned from China. Our first stop was Shanghai, where I spoke about blogging and moderated a closing session on enterprise social networking at
Berkshire & the British Library
I'm as sick of hearing and reading about Things 2.0 as you are, but "Copyright 2.0" is what a blog post I wrote at the Global Information Industry Summit in
An organic approach to encyclopedias
I've spent the day at home catching up at the whirlwind trip to Shanghai and Beijing. "Catching up" means everything from sorting mail to dealing with marketing plans, as well
China’s green growth
Fascinating article, "China promises less-wasteful growth in 2008," just forwarded to me by my pal Bob Nylen, confirmation that our 2008 focus on China and sustainability is where we should
Al Gore addresses the U.S. and China on global warming
OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Al Gore received his Nobel Peace Prize on Monday and urged the United States and China to make the boldest moves on climate change or "stand
Out of sequence: a post from Beijing posted in Great Barrington
Bad blogging practice but sometimes it takes me a few days to catch up with myself. Here's a post I wrote, offline, a week ago: Back to the hotel after
Web magic
I was hit this week with a massive influx of what amounted to listserv spam this week, thanks to someone I’ve had only the briefest correspondence with. The worst part
Would Jane Austen have been a blogger?
I’m trying to be provocative, yes. The article I’m suggesting you read is actually called Would Orwell have been a blogger? “The great essayist would be appalled by the writing,
Bob Nylen’s memoir announced
A dear friend and colleague and western Massachusetts resident, Bob Nylen, has just signed a book deal with Random House. Here's what Publishers Weekly has to say: Kurt Andersen, who
O’Reilly goes to Great Barrington
When I moved to Great Barrington in 1992, no one knew where it was. Now, it's on national TV, on the Fox News program hosted by conservative Bill O'Reilly, described
“Old libraries and old librarians”
Librarians truly defy definition. Just when I'm beginning to think there's some way to characterize them, at least in broad groups, someone comes along who couldn't possiby fit - and
Advice on O’Reilly and the Great Barrington “holiday lights” program?
Two things puzzle me about the "O'Reilly Factor" show this week. First, why doesn't Fox News keep the clips live and accessible, whether free or paid, with nice clear links
Beijing in New York
This is the first advertisement I've seen for the Beijing Olympics, spotted as I walked up Lexington Avenue. You'll see the Chrysler Building in the background. I wish I had
Google is dangerous, say European researchers
Researchers at the University of Graz in Austria have produced a staggering "Report on dangers and opportunities posed by large search engines, particularly Google" that in nearly 200 pages goes
New Year’s Day 2008: Sea change and transformations
I talk about transformation a lot. Probably too much. But when one is developing a business focused preparing people for the future - and moving from traditional publishing into new
New Year's Day 2008: Sea change and transformations
I talk about transformation a lot. Probably too much. But when one is developing a business focused preparing people for the future - and moving from traditional publishing into new
Zeitgeist? Me?
I never ever feel like I'm with it. I was the commune runaway who didn't like rock music and joined the library. Today, when I'm being asked to speak about
Time check: keeping up with my communities
I read a list of predictions for 2008 that included something about how we would get sick of social networking and endlessly invitations to "join my community." I belong to
Berkshire Publishing and Warren Buffet
No, there's no connection between Berkshire Publishing and Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway - at least not yet. And it took me a while to realize that some people, unfamiliar with
“No Berkshares please”
 The small notice below "DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED" reads"No Berkshares please." I saw this at the public library in Great Barrington, where Berkshares, a hugely publicized form of local currency, were
Controlling online communities
In the old days, people had kids to get planting and harvesting done, to care for them in their old age, and to visit their grave on feast days. Today,
Welcome to the party: finally going green
It's amazing to see green tips and news about climate change in all kinds of publications - even, I'm told, on Fox News - and over the past few months
Xenophobia, xenophilia, xenowhat
I was talking to a fellow named Ethan Zuckerman - entrepreneur, founder of Global Voices, and skilled turkey-smoker - not long ago and he used the word xenophilia in the
Leisure blogging
It's fascinating that blogging developed in an era when no one has any time. We don't really have time to read what our friends write, and we don't really have
Bloggers against plagiarism
Plagiarism is plague that challenges publishers like us and of course presents a challenge for anyone who writes and publishes online and wants their creative and intellectual effort to receive
Super Tuesday in Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Voting in Great Barrington, MA, originally uploaded by KarenChristensen. The Massachusetts primary isn't usually a big deal here - this is the bluest of blue states, and for registered Democrats
A good word for Google Books
I don't often have good things to say about Google - and my general distrust was heightened by the two Google speakers at last week's Information Industry Summit, who were
More praise for Google?
No, I have not tasted that sweet, jewel-colored, and utterly nutrientless liquid since childhood. I still have queasy thoughts about Google controlling the world's security cameras (I think I posted
“The perfect soda cracker”
I love living in New England in part because there are so many of these ghosts of times, and advertising, past. I look for faded paint on the sides of
American craziness about temperature
There are a number of things I just can't figure about Americans, but the one that's more obvious, and numerical, than anything else is the way they (we) heat our
American regionalism
Throwing a person's words back at them takes on new meaning online. I was about to watch a presentation about some online community building software yesterday and suddenly realized that
U.S. leadership with a global perspective
As day dawns on this important day in the U.S. election process, when important primary votes in Ohio and Texas will shape the course of the presidential election, I thought
Royalty free printing
This is a royalty-free arrangement I love, perfectly reasonable and ethical, and good for the environment. How thrilled I was to discover that there are websites where I can choose
Green cleaning fudged again
I can't tell you how many times I have read this statement, about "How to Clean Windows with Vinegar": "If cleaning with vinegar left streaks on your windows, it wasn't
Enter “This Fleeting World”
This nice review arrived over the weekend: History teachers wrestling with the question, "How do I teach all the stuff that makes up world history?" might find some answers here.
This Fleeting World in action
Here's an e-mail from Bob Bain, a well-known world history teacher and trainer of teachers. It's from some months back but explains the utility of this beautiful little book: Hi
Berkshire’s new e-bookshop
I've always loved the sound of bookshop. It makes me think of Charing Cross Road, and the wonderful funky little shop called Books for A Change that was so important
King James and the Olympics
Where else but Berkshire would you find King James--yes, that King James, the one for whom the great translation is name--and the Olympics mentioned in a single article? I was
History speaks: the past and the present in China
Naturally I like the famous line attributed to Harvard philosopher George Santayana, that, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." (I say attributed only because it
First hand in Tibet
Here's an article worth reading, from the Economist: "A week in Tibet: Trashing the Beijing Road." I've been watching the TV series "Band of Brothers" with Tom and saw an
Neighborly note on the blackboard
Against the Grain, the library journal, does profiles of people in the industry with a standard Q&A. One of the questions is, What is your philosophy of life? I am
The global village, and Duncan Mackay on Tibet
The way this blog flips between local and global is a little dizzying, for me anyway, but that's life in the global village. Now we're back to the China-Tibet drama,
“Tibet’s Image in the Modern West”
From Berkshire's Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, published by Scribners. (c) Berkshire Publishing 2002. All Rights Reserved. "Tibet's Image in the Modern West" Tibet occupies a unique place in the Western
Olympic torch should not be turned into lightning rod
Publishing about China is always a fascinating challenge, but in these recent days it's all the more complex. Yet so much of the press coverage isn't complex at all. Here's
Taliesen West before Buying & Selling E-Content
I will figure out how to rotate this photo [DONE] taken yesterday at Frank Lloyd Wright's winter retreat, Taliesin West, in the hills of Scottsdale, Arizona, but after doing my
Cheese and China
On the panel yesterday, here at Buying & Selling E-Content in Scottsdale, we were asked about the biggest challenge related to blogging. I think I said something about time, which
Sign up to go to a China Town Hall on Thursday (or Friday if you’re in Asia)
Events in China, and America's response, have a direct impact on all our lives. The second CHINA Town Hall on Thursday, 17 April 2008, is organized by the National Committee
BAO Nai-Leng, get well soon!
I was at a meeting in New York not long ago with a friend and colleague whose English name is Bob Nylen. That is, his only name at that point
Blogging for Beijing
Some people love blogs, other people hate 'em. As always, I am somewhere in the middle. At least I know what they are. When I saw an entry called "Blogs"
BAO Nai Leng times two
Read yesterday's post for the background on this gorgeous snap of the BAO boys!
The United States and Human Rights
From Global Perspectives on the United States, Vol. 3. (c) Berkshire Publishing 2007. All Rights Reserved. The United States and Human Rights In the U.S. Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson
Earth Day, Antioch College, and Arthur Morgan
I got the cover today for the new US printing of the Armchair Environmentalist. While I’m not exactly an armchair type and the title wasn’t my idea, I’ve come to
Bad Pando
We're in the midst of lots of content delivery and everyone is moving graphics files hither and thither (once we find the damned things). I decided to try a platform
Great Barrington’s famous magnolia
Last year this tree was the talk of the town - maybe even the talk of the southern Berkshires - because the quick-shop gas station next door wanted to expand
Arthur Morgan’s vision for the future
Multimedia message, originally uploaded by KarenChristensen. I wasn't exaggerating in what I wrote about Arthur Morgan a few days ago. He was an astonishingly creative thinker, with a breadth
Not on Main Street: my first porcupine
My first live porcupine, that is. I have seen a dead one in the road before, and have promised my kids that next time we come across a dead porcupine
Green Data Centres conference in July
It may not get you as excited as it does me, but I'm truly thrilled to be chairing the first day of the first Green Data Centres Conference, launching 1
Skype is working in Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Of course all eyes have been on China these past few days, and I've thought in particular of a colleague in Chengdu, who works at the China Council for the
Joseph Stiglitz’s recommendations on a sustainable growth strategy for China
The world historians call it synchronicity. Whether that or good fortune or coincidence, how perfect it was just now to come across this piece about a speech recently given by
Photos from Chengdu
My friend Ben in Chengdu has sent this link to a Chinese blog with many photos from the disaster.
A letter about Libraries We Love
It's such a pleasure to hear from readers--it doesn't happen enough with encyclopedias--and Prem Kishore has given me permission to quote her letter here. Her reference to "read your heart
Tibet’s Image in the Modern West
One of the the things I haven't got to of late is putting together a collection of articles on Tibet for free download, to provide the history and context needed
LinkedIn is irritating
My main complaint about LinkedIn is that it's a cold system, no fun at all. Very much geared to the middle-management salesguy, stylistically. When I'm on the site - as
The United States as a standard bearer for human rights?
One of the more thought-provoking articles Berkshire has published recently is Jeremy Bendik-Keymer's piece on human rights in the third volume of Global Perspectives on the United States. Here are
Entering Great Barrington, birthplace of W.E.B. Du Bois
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } I couldn't resist a photo of
“Berkshire Tom” answers our staff Q&A
I have become a Freecylist today - finally signing up for Freecycle.org so we can give away office furniture and miscellanea - and after exchanging e-mails with "Berkshire Tom," the
“Berkshire Tom” answers our staff Q&A
I have become a Freecylist today - finally signing up for Freecycle.org so we can give away office furniture and miscellanea - and after exchanging e-mails with "Berkshire Tom," the
Community in popular culture
Now that I've brought Jon Stewart into the community, or the discussion of community, I should mention that Berkshire Publishing created a database of "Community and Popular Culture" a few
From the plains of Iowa, an author writes
Judy Polumbaum, a Berkshire author and leading light of our newly launched China blog site, BAOblogs.com, is one of the thousands of people displaced by flooding in Iowa, and you
“Berkshire Tom” answers our staff Q&A
I have become a Freecylist today - finally signing up for Freecycle.org so we can give away office furniture and miscellanea - and after exchanging e-mails with "Berkshire Tom," the
Technology companies face the music
I am a passionate proponent of new technologies but one reason I've published a lot on technology (the entire Berkshire Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction as well as articles in virtually
Off to London
I love marathon trips but this is a little much: three conferences, three different subjects/communities, in six days. And of course I have to pack in a few other things
Green Data Centres Conference at the Bloomsbury Holiday Inn
I've got one more day of conferencing, Day 2 of the Green Data Centres Conference at the Bloomsbury Holiday Inn. I'm the "chair" of this particular event, which means that
Berkshire featured in Publishers Weekly article
It's great to get coverage anywhere, but to have an excellent article in Publishers Weekly timed to coincide with launch of China Gold is a especially wonderful. PW's New England
A Berkshire weekend
I don't spend all that much time in the Berkshires at weekends, but thousands of other people do. I'm here this weekend and it's turning out wonderfully--not only perfect weather,
The Berkshire Experience
In summertime, the words "The Berkshire Experience" suggest evenings on the lawn at Tanglewood, hiking the Appalachian Trail, and shopping the antique stores of Route 7. But that's the title,
Opening ceremonies
For years I've wanted to write an article with the title "Welcome, Stranger" because it would give me a reason to talk to people about concepts of hospitality. I think
Bad e-manners
Today's pick for worst e-manners is dnoisacc1980@halonmarketing.com and CNN.com. I've been deluged by e-newsletters from these people, unsubscribed repeatedly, and now got a mail that requires me to choose a
Becoming bilingual
If only. I've had to speak some Spanish this week and that was a challenge, and my little bit of Chinese would hardly suggest to anyone just how much I
Xobni sounds Chinese?
Not really, but I suppose it might look a little bit Chinese to anyone watching the Olympics and seeing all those names beginning with X. Like the city of Xian,
Encyclopedia of China: Space Programs
I am, along with pretty much everyone at Berkshire, absorbed in final weeks of work on the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China. And always one to make complicated things more complex,
Academic publishing: nouvelle, fusion, and more to come
Count on Richard Charkin to put together the team to do something new in publishing--and to surprise us not only with the ingredients but with the menu itself. Academic publishing
Risky interviews
 I just finished an interview with Library Journal. This was done by e-mail, so I could write exactly what I wanted to say. It's easier on the journalist and gives
Science lesson
We literary types, not to mention the social scientists I spend so much of my professional life with, are not particularly au fait with the latest in scientific research, but
The greatest country on earth
When wasps started coming into my office this morning and banging against the window (there's a nest outside, behind some moulding that's come loose--the joys of owning an old house),
LinkedIn is not for me–but Amazon’s rising
I've never been a fan of LinkedIn, much as I appreciate the way they've used word of mouth marketing and maintained something of a monopoly on professional data storage, because
Berkshire’s Patterns of Global Terrorism appears on the big screen
Well, not that I could see. I finally got around to watching The Kingdom but there were no books in evidence, even in the brief scenes that took place in
Are we a socialist country now?
"Are we a socialist country now?" That's what my son asked me over a latte at Ruby's Cafe this morning. I've heard a number of Chinese people or Westerners who
Test video from the Berkshire Blog
I've been endlessly frustrated about not knowing how to get some video on our site, and somehow got started down this primrose path today. I've spent more time than I
Another go at video blogging
This is going to take some practice. It is weird to sit in one's office talking to a computer screen, and what I need to do is make a screen
“Librarians Against Palin”
That's the headline on the Library Journal website! I can't say I've been overwhelmed by the latest vice-presidential candidate's potential, or credentials, but I had not thought about her in
Michael Palin for President
Every time I hear the name Palin I've beeing thinking of a more familiar Palin. I mentioned this to Terry Jones, another of the Monty Python team and an old
Good Morning America comes to the Berkshires
Traffic was tied up a couple days ago because the TV program Good Morning America started a whistle-stop train tour here in the Berkshires, first with a visit to the
Wen Jiabao in New York
I haven't written up my notes on a memorable day, 23 September, when the UN began its new session in New York and I attended a luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria
Stupid Answers
Search is fairly good, on a basic question like mine this morning, "best ways to ship to England." I decided to look at Yahoo Answers because I'd just read that
How about weird encyclopedia articles?
Reading the news (I wander between the BBC, NPR, CNN, and MSNBC, with idle forays to the Daily Show), I came across this blog about weird advertisements. What a fun
Interview in Library Journal
The interview I did a few weeks ago - titled, "It's the Content, Stupid" - appeared today in Library Journal and got me to stop work for a minute to
The first Western book about China
We are in immersed, inundated, deluged, in these final weeks of work on the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China. There are many frustrations, and a startling number of wonderful moments. Not
Berkshire authors ROCK
Wonderful beginnings today. Our first foreign rights sale, which is nice to see right before the Frankfurt Book Fair, where I'll really be tackling this new aspect of publishing. A
China business interview with Karen Christensen in the Women’s Times
China business interview with Karen Christensen in the Women's Times September 2008 FOCUS: IN BUSINESS WITH CHINA by Elissa Alford China was on view for just over two weeks last
Perspectives on the falling stock markets
Having supper with Bill McNeill, the eminent world historian, is always a pleasure, but last night there was a bonus: new perspectives on the falling stock markets. We were talking
Community highjacked
I've spent a good bit of the day with a far-flung team, exploring social networking ideas and figuring out how Berkshire can begin to provide community space for our authors
Frankfurt Book Fair
I'm disappointed that my photo of our booth--with autumn leaves and a big photo of the Berkshire hills as well as Chinese lanterns--hasn't appeared. Technical problems, I'm afraid, have plagued
Berkshire (aka BERSHIRE) at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2008
Those with a particularly acute editorial eye will note that we were not only BERSHIRE--K missing--but Publishing Company instead of Publishing Group. I'm promised a corrected sign for next year,
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
It was a British friend who used to throw bits of French into his letters, which impressed me in spite of my having discovered early on that he was not
Skype phone
Friends and colleagues on Skype have been plagued the last few days by phone calls from me, because I have finally got a Skype phone. This is a UK mobile
Allowed on Facebook?
My son Tom doesn't think I should be allowed on Facebook, and I suppose he will "unfriend" me one of these days (where's a kid to go?). I'm spending more
Can’t be everywhere
I was at the Lamb, one of London's best pubs happily located a few minutes' walk from my digs at the Goodenough Club, last night, and not in New York
China’s crucial role
The New York Times has a good editorial today, "As China Goes, So Goes ...," about the role China has now, in the global economic crisis, and about how we
Widget bookshelf
I'm going to move this to the sidebar, but thought I'd test the code here. This is where something like Shelfari provides something I really want--and would, in fact, pay
$975 to spare? — learn how to prepare for recession
I find the conference invitation below fascinating. Fiddling while Rome burns? That's not a good analogy. Maybe this is simply proof that "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." (That's
BBC misreporting
I've been hearing complaints about the BBC's reporting on China that have reinforced my impressions, but here is an example of misreporting that is much easily to dissect. The BBC
While the world holds its breath…
... Here I am in Great Barrington, golden leaves gently making their way to the ground as a first light snowfall melts off the eaves. I have decided to keep
Berkshire staffers on their bikes
Finally, I'm getting this photo, taken before the snow and cold, uploaded to show our valiant editorial staff, Bill Siever and Chris Gauthier, setting off for home. Apparently Bill would
Google Book Search Settlement
Here's some good news for authors and publishers, and for readers, too: The grand settlement of the Google Book Search lawsuits this week may be one of those rare events
What happened to hash browns?
I'm rereading Pearl S. Buck's 1931 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel, The Good Earth. This book was probably my introduction to China, picked from my grandmother's bookshelf when I was a little girl.
Election Day 2008
Here I am voting in the Searles School gym in Great Barrington this morning. The photo's big because I want to show the setting: the flag, the old basketball backstop
Photo album from Great Barrington
Here's the photo album from Election Day 2008 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. I'm getting the photos up quickly and we'll add some comments.
Headlines from around the world
This is great fun, newspaper headlines from around the world. The British headlines are the silliest. But who can complain? My daughter Rachel called just now, still almost giddy with
Perspective
We've been watching the Daily Show online, and enjoyed a segment with Doris Kearns Goodwin (who has, I guess, put plagiarism behind her). Stories of ugly presidential campaigns in history
Why the world was rooting for Obama on Tuesday
Here's an article from the FT, "Obama's victory: a change the world should believe in," that gives a good overview of what people around the world saw in the choice
The road ahead
Whether we're covering the whole of the human past (in the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History), the challenges of the present (in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Sustainability), or exploring what's
Speaking at AHA in January
If you happen to be making your way to New York in early January for the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, please do come about to a session
Sustainability and going green
It's no coincidence that we're launching the Encyclopedia of Sustainability with Volume 1: The Business of Sustainability. Drawing on the resources of a well-known business school and a network of
Encyclopedia of China
It's taken longer than we hoped to get this behemoth project done, but the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China is now in production after extensive updating of articles to ensure full
What the world thinks about America
What could be more timely? With the inauguration of the first U.S. president who would have, polls show, been elected by every other country in the world, global leadership and
Celebrating sports with China Gold
At Berkshire, we can't stay away from sports for long. Introducing students and the public to China through the stories of the 2008 Olympics was an irresistible opportunity. The result
“It’s the Content, Stupid!” in Library Journal
Fortunately, I got another chance to tell our story in an interview titled, "It's the Content, Stupid" in Library Journal last month. "It's the content, stupid," is a sign I
Breathless in Publishers Weekly
Not long before the Olympics, Publishers Weekly ran a story called, "Berkshire Publishing Goes to China." I often get breathless with excitement when I talk about Berkshire's global projects and
Talking to the Women’s Times
A recent interview in the western Massachusetts Women's Times suggested that I have a rather closer connection to Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger, due to my having been made
A game-changing year
Some time ago I wrote, "Our goal is to help Americans, and others, better understand the world we share." This has been a year of transitions at Berkshire, a year
Chinese history–publishing has been more important than we realize
Sure, there's the printing press, and the Diamond Sutra, the world's first printed book. But I have just learned that Charlie Soong, who funded Sun Yat-sen and the revolutionaries who
Lucy Hooberman leaves BBC to lead innovation in the English Midlands
I've mentioned Lucy Hooberman's Global Mentoring project before--back in 2005, which clues me in to just how long I have been writing a blog (read it here). While that project
LoveUSHateUS.com gets new life, post-election
There's a new breeze blowing in the United States, and it is not just the chill winds of Wall Street and Detroit. A friend sent a message from a friend
Barack Obama on the importance of books, and libraries
Thanks to Tim Coates, who writes the widely and wildly read UK Good Library Blog (which we are proud to sponsor and host), I've come across a speech given by
More comments from LoveUSHateUS.com, mostly about France and the United States
‘How did it happen when I wasn’t looking?’ This is what came to mind as I was reading through some comments on LoveUSHateUS.com this evening. If you have grown-up or
Streaming radio
I want to recommend a Dutch radio station I listen to a lot: avroklassiek.nl. They offer Baroque music, streaming endlessly without a bit of chat in any language. I play
Paying to participate–does that create a different community?
From LinkedIn, 14 June 2008, an exchange that includes a statement that is worth looking at, as we think about what creates viable, vibrant communities: "anything that reduces participation in
Berkshire editor and author is University Teacher of the Year in Australia
Historian Marnie Hughes-Warrington of Macquarie University, who teaches "big history" as well as world history, has been selected for the 2008 Prime Minister's University Teacher of the Year award. "You
‘Tis the season – when we talk about homelessness
It's strange to think that there is a season for homelessness, but there's no doubt that it's when the northern winter arrives and Christmas approaches that the press pays attention
Web2.0h…Really?
This looks like a winner: Web2.0h...Really?, a blog that looks at social media with some skepticism. And some welcome clarity.
The first of our new line of free posters
These are thumbnails, but full-size high-resolution versions (US sizes as well as A4 and A3) are being made available to our library customers and to teachers. Contact us if you
Santa Claus is Chinese
This article was published two years ago but I can’t resist quoting it here, as we get close to Christmas. I know Santa Claus is Chinese because each Christmas morning
Out of the mouths of babes
In this case, my nearly 20-year-old daughter, who said just now, "The trouble with China is that it just keeps happening." If only I had time to convey the drama
Small businesses should get more credit
More public credit, that is, for their contribution to the global economy, as well as the bank credit they need to survive and grow. Small businesses - like Berkshire Publishing
William McNeill now on YouTube
I forgot to tell Bill last night over supper that I've managed to upload this video clip to YouTube, but I know he'll be pleased. We were doing some recording,
The benighted US of A
I'm not sure most Americans realize that many people think of us as rather backward. I remember the young man at the counter at W.H. Smith, the British newsagent, who
Toughing it out–with Verizon as well as the New England winter
Verizon mistakenly shut down our Internet on Monday morning: human error, as far as anyone can figure, someone reading from a six-month-old work order from when we moved to the
$1.34 billion “rabbit ears” program
Speaking of ways in which the United States isn't quite as technologically advanced as we might like to imagine (and as our wealth might suggest), I'm still puzzling over how
Gmail on paper, by post — and it isn’t April Fool’s Day
Can this be true, that Google would print and ship to me all the mail -- junk, copies, spam, and obsolete - that I use its copious storage for? The
Our first Chinese-speaking senator?
Perhaps there have been other U.S. senators who spoke Chinese - even in the past, when a surprising number of people in public life were the children of western missionaries
“The historian McNeill,” Patricia Cornwell, and William Wordsworth
I was reading a Patricia Cornwell thriller a few weeks back and blinked when I saw these words in a passage about forensic investigation (the novel's plot revolves around the
In memory of Bob Nylen, or BAO Nai-Leng
About a year ago, I set off on a round of meetings with an experienced media entrepreneur, Bob Nylen, to get some feedback on plans for expanded China-focused publishing. Bob
A reason to use Google: safe browsing
You need a reason to use Google? Well, now that I've received my first package about the class action settlement, I'm feeling better about the Google Book Snatch fiasco. And
Behind the scenes at Encyclopedia of China headquarters
Editorial assistant Bill Siever, who has been known to get to work at 5am (maybe even earlier--how would I know?) sent an email yesterday alluding to The Shining and I
IP advice for creators, OwnIt.org
I came across this site, OwnIt.org, in reading about John Howkins, the author of "Creative Economy" in the Encyclopedia of China. OwnIt offers "free intellectual property advice for creative businesses."
“Post-Mao Dreaming” at Smith College
In the midst of checking proofs, I had a week filled with Chinese art outings: a visit to a new exhibit at the Smith College Art Museum and
Jury duty done
Massachusetts has a "one-day, one-trial" system according to the lisping Chief Justice of the Commonwealth's Supreme Court who did the video introduction we saw this morning. Maybe it wasn't a
Take a look at Berkshire’s China!
Here's the e-card I sent out a few days ago with news and links to sample pages and Table of Contents for the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, and
Twittering the Encyclopedia of China
My friend Isaac Mao suggested I make a special offer of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China via Twitter. Dell is apparently doing this and, heck, what's to stop a tiny
India vs. China — IT anomalies
Isn't it wonderful when the news actually echoes one's own more obscure interests and information quests. I was pondering today the disconnect between the endless stream of e-mails I get
Was Töfood töo convincing?
I'm rather disappointed. People seem to have believed my April Fools Day joke. Tom says this means it was really good, but I'm not so sure. Anyhow, here it
AIG comes to the Berkshires
This one's really good -- and I can imagine the red-faced outrage of the good liberals of the Berkshires: "Red Lion Inn welcomes AIG executives."
Where to build a business
You can imagine the reaction I get when I tell people I have a company focused on China and global sustainability but am based in a tiny town in the
Greener PCs
I have a feeling that I'm going to learn a lot about "greenwashing" -- and premium pricing -- as I dive into the Encyclopedia of Sustainability determined to make Berkshire
Beautiful serendipity
I talk now and then about the pleasures of wandering in the library stacks, and about how there's just not the same serendipity online, but living in a small town
“Media in Chinese Politics” at Harvard Fairbank Center
Great conference, but what terrible timing: a freakishly beautiful and warm April Saturday and we spent all day inside learning about "Media in Chinese Politics" at Harvard's Fairbank Center. Indoors,
Sustainable publishing at Berkshire–and elsewhere
If Richard Charkin says it, it's probably good sense, good business, and controversial. The issue of book returns is virtually unknown to the book-buying public, and it isn't much of
Twittering in China
Not only am I doing some research for a new book about community by using Twitter, in spite of thinking it's a silly idea, but I have started writing on
Preview and search the entire Encyclopedia of China
We've been working with Exact Editions for a while, but they're really gone above and beyond with the online version of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, live as of this
Learning HTML — but not fast enough
I'm into self sufficiency, but I have to confess that when it comes to HTML, here on the blog and elsewhere, I succumb to cellphone and Skype, because my daughter
The inside word — behind the scenes at Berkshire Publishing
Here's an e-mail (or email -- the difference being the subject of yet another editorial conversation!) exchange between senior editor Mary Bagg and project coordinator Bill Siever, both veterans of
A festive New York launch for the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China
I'm on my way to New York for a remarkable "Berkshire" event tomorrow: a China celebration in New York on May Day that brings the renowned author Simon Winchester, a
Encyclopedia of China introduced in World Journal
I haven't forgotten that I need to report on the New York launch of the Encyclopedia of China, when Simon Winchester enthralled a high-powered audience of China experts with a
How Berkshire came to China
I'm going to be spending a lot of time talking about the Encyclopedia of China this year, and a question I'm often asked is one I struggled for a while
Reference Book of the Week: International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports
A big thanks to librarian Angel Rivera for a surprise review of a favorite reference work from 2002 that I was reminded of this morning as we were working on
A Great Cloud of Witnesses
Yes, I was an English major. In publishing, that's so common that it's embarrassing, and I have encouraged my kids to major in anything else -- preferably in a science.
Encyclopedia + jiaozi
Here we are, the core design, composition, and editorial team! For more photos from the party, visit us at Flickr. The photos there are captioned with everyone's name. For now,
The other Karen Christensens
It's been amusing to see my son Tom Christensen respond to the fact that there is a well-known China expert at Princeton, and until recently at the State Department, whose
Self-respect online
I don't know what to think about all the middle-aged people, almost all men, who are great enthusiastists for iPhones and Twitter and Plaxo and LinkedIn and even Facebook. It's
My last year in London
At the office we've been editing some TV interviews I did 20 years ago, when I was a young mum in London, and new author of one of the first
Launch for Encyclopedia of China in New York City
In the six years since the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China was published, our China-related activities have blossomed. I've got publishing agreements with four Chinese companies and will be speaking
I want community, not another “connection”
I started this post in the autumn of 2008 and it's wrong. I thought that online social networking would level out because people would be too busy trying to keep
Local baby sightings: it’s springtime in the Berkshires
Yesterday we had a deer wandering around the house and outside our office windows. It was young, nimble, and not particularly bothered by our presence. Comments ranged from, "How adorable!"
Hot chocolate in June
After three glorious days of sunshine and weather in the 70s, at last, and even more important temperatures above 50 at night so the tomato plants can start to grow,
Lester Brown: Plan B 2.0, 3.0, and more
One of my oldest friends in the environmental world is one of the world's most eminent environmentalists, and here's a new article about him that provides a fascinating history, too:
Twitter matters
I'm a publisher and a writer, so attribution matters a lot to me. This post needs attribution, you see, to my daughter who has been, like thousands of her peers
Looking glass world, #iranelection
There are many extraordinary and important aspects of what is going on, online and off, in Iran and in coverage of the Iranian election. The most striking thing, though, is
Real world commendations to Twitter
International news can seem unreal, disembodied, and that's so often the problem with online communications. But here's Twitter responding to the campaign to stop them doing maintenance tonight: Down Time
“Revolution – Iran” from the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History
"Revolution - Iran" from the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History (c) Berkshire 2005 The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a defining moment in modern Iranian history, a precursor to bringing
Iran articles from Berkshire reference works
Berkshire's Encyclopedia of Modern Asia (Scribners 2002) was in press when the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists in 2001, and it was a huge relief to us that
Islamic Countries’ Women’s Sports Solidarity Council
International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports, (c) Berkshire Publishing 2001 The Islamic Countries' Women's Sports Solidarity Council (ICWSSC) was formed by Islamic women to encourage women's participation in both
A Mother’s China Instinct
For Immediate Release: 23 June 2009 Great Barrington, Massachusetts—The world’s least likely China expert may be a New England publisher, Karen Christensen, whose interest in preparing her two children for
Women’s Sports in Iran
International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports, (c) Berkshire Publishing 2001 Iran is a West Asian nation with a population of 65 million. The country's official and most widely spoken
“Iran” from Ethnic Groups Worldwide
(c) Berkshire The Islamic Republic of Iran is located in the Middle East and is bordered by Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan on the north, Afghanistan and Pakistan
“Iran and the United States” from Global Perspectives on the United States
(c) Berkshire 2007 Statistical Snapshot of Iran Capital Tehran Government type theocratic republic Area 1.648 million sq km; slightly larger than Alaska Population 68,688,433 (July 2006 est.) Population below poverty
My experience with Iran
I've been struggling with HTML and WordPress, trying to get a collection of Berkshire articles on Iran up. They're very useful, and quite broad, but as you'll see at this
“Leaving Western Civ Behind,” a lecture by William H. McNeill, 26 June 2009
I'm about to set off for Boston and Salem, with a western Massachusetts contingent. Here's an invitation to our main event at the World History Association conference, which starts this
“Leaving Western Civ Behind,” a lecture by William H. McNeill
For Immediate Release: 26 June 2009 Karen Christensen requests the pleasure of your company at the Berkshire Publishing Group Public Lecture in World History
Photos, finally, from WHA conference
I've been trying to upload photos from the WHA conference, and especially from the wonderful evening a week ago when Bill McNeill gave a talk called, "Leaving Western Civ Behind,"
Tom’s gentle incarceration in Lanzhou
Tom's time in the gulag has been as kind and gentle as could possibly be. They've been bringing him flowers and fruit and food every three hours, and he has
World History revival
I'm often surprised by the good stuff in my own files, forgotten entirely sometimes and stumbled on by accident. Like this set of questions developed in advance of the only
Invented by machine?
When Robert Plotkin, our IP lawyer, came to my office and tried to explain this to me a few years ago, I got the gist but still found it hard
Quotations about the Spirit of Sustainability
I was trying to come up with a way for our authors to send quotations from sacred texts but also from favorite environmental and other books to us. A deluge
Aikido and bodysurfing: thoughts about cross training in sports
I had a martial arts instructor who died on K2 in 1985, shortly after her autobiography, Clouds From Both Sides, was published. In the book she described how budokan (aikido
Chinese stockbroker et al. joke
Picked up this story up from a very serious listserv I belong to and thought I should pass it along: A crowd of people are standing by a deep, fast-flowing
Dickens, IPR, and China’s rise
Popular 19th-century English novelists were infuriated about IPR infringement - by the United States. I am grateful to James Fallows for reminding me about this parallel, which I knew from
T. S. Eliot and China
My life and work have not kept to the straight and narrow, or to a single path, but it's always amazed me to see how disparate experiences and people connect
The moral certainty of environmentalists
Sorting old papers last weekend, I found letter from London editor about book chapter I contributed to a book about green politics in Europe. I wrote about green lifestyle change,
Delane’s War by Tim Coates, the Good Library campaigner
Tim Coates has been doing battle on behalf of citizens, readers, and authors as he's tirelessly campaigned for improved public libraries in the UK. Now he's written a history that
Krakatoa and global thinking
A few passages from Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded that I was especially riveted by, I think because they are so relevant to the changes we are making in
Google & the Library, Karen Christensen 2005
"Google & the Library" contributed to Google Debate site hosted by EPS in London in those early dates, before the Google Book Settlement By Karen Christensen, Berkshire Publishing Group Our
New graduate’s email to his college’s fundraising department
Tom, age 23, gave me permission to post this letter to Grinnell College (amongst the richest of private colleges in the United States, and a place he loves), sent from
Comments from contributors to the Encyclopedia of China
Here's what contributors have to say about the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China. If you're not a Berkshire author but have ideas to share, please email them to china.updates [at] berkshirepublishing
Warm bread this morning
CEOs are not supposed to share recipes, but the Grant Loaf, which I made this morning, is both a historic World War II recipe and a lesson in sustainable eating
Ideas and questions about sustainable publishing – in print and online
Please add as a comment here your ideas and questions for online aggregators and for print publishers about sustainability initiatives. Information about efforts in your library system or institution to
Eliot Letters published at last
I'm over the moon that the second volume of the T S Eliot Letters, which I helped edit over 20 years ago, are published! Here's the memoir I wrote for
The solitude of the coffee shop
Fascinating to consider how we became so capable of being alone together. The quiet and solitude of a modern Western coffee shop is more like libraries used to be.
Retrospectives on Pancake Day
Yes, Shrove Tuesday is known as Pancake Day here at Berkshire Publishing and we'll be gathering for the English variety later on. But in the tiny town of Sheffield to
The O’Reilly Factor, Great Barrington conservatives, & “bridging” social capital
Great Barrington got national press in December 2007 when the conservative television program "The O'Reilly Factor," which provides the inspiration for Steven Colbert's wacky parody "The Colbert Report," came to
Online decline of citation communities
Survey Finds Citations Growing Narrower as Journals Move Online, Jennifer Couzin, 08/07/18, Science : 329. A sociologist argues on page 395 of this week’s issue of Science that making scholarly
William McNeill at the White House
For Immediate Release: 25 February 2010 William McNeill at the White House The rhythm of my country life includes evenings with a long-retired world historian, William H. McNeill, who has
At 92, William H. McNeill goes to the White House to receive National Humanities Medal
The rhythm of my country life includes evenings with a long-retired world historian, William H. McNeill, who has in many ways inspired Berkshire Publishing. I drive southeast, often with one
China to Celebrate American 4th of July Holiday
1 April 2010, Great Barrington, MA—In order to build on the new spirit of cooperation evident in a meeting on Monday between President Barack Obama and the new Chinese ambassador
Berkshire Blog back online
We were hacked, but I'm back at last, with more secure password, plug-ins disabled, and apparently other secure measures taken. I see that China is probably going to relax its
Small-town moment: after the driving license test
Walking down to celebrate Rachel
How to walk to school
I spotted the book How to Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Renaissance at BookExpo last year. It's the story of urban school revived by a group of
Hold the presses for Bill Gates
Rachel and I were having a quick snack at the Hong Kong airport between flights and the book was already at the printers. I managed to get online for
The greenest places on earth
I suppose Great Barrington, the small New England town where I run Berkshire Publishing, might be said to qualify as one of the greenest places on earth. Not only because
Best China books
Today I'll be sifting through the extensive responses to our Best China Books survey, which was a very short questionnaire tied to the very short reading list in our very
Future food and sustainability
Sushi isn't future food but I guess sea plants are. Bill just cc'd me on a message to the scholar who will write on "Algae" for the Natural Resources volume
Algae to Risk Management & more in the Encyclopedia of Sustainability
I asked Bill Siever to send a list of some of the topics in the Encyclopedia of Sustainability he finds most intriguing and surprising. I'll be using these in some
More China reading recommendations
Some little-known China books recommended at China Beat: 1) Jay Denby, (1910) Letters of a Shanghai Griffin, Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh – China books are all so horrendously serious and
Discounts on _This Fleeting World_
David Christian's This Fleeting World: A Short History of Humanity is available directly from Berkshire (with discounts on multiple copies - students can order together and save 10-30%, see below),
Call for Papers on “Perceptions of China,” AAS/ICAS conference 2011
The panel titles are “Global Representations of China” and “China Sees the World ," and the papers are to be presented at the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) and
Elsewhere Communities
Thanks to @ethan (Ethan Zuckerman) for link to this editorial in the Stabroek News, a paper in Guyana (a nation on the northern coast of South America): "Elsewhere Communities." An
My three-turbine weekend
The wind turbines are only one of the memorable things about our wonderful weekend on Martha's Vineyard, but it was striking to see three of them, in different places. The
A whale’s tale
(Apologies for the title of this post! I'll bet there have been more bad puns and bad titles and terribly rhymes with the word whale than anything else in English.
Thoughts about “Your Online Life”
"We spend more and more time online, but feel less and less connected." via 10 Reasons to Stop Apologizing for Your Online Life - Alexandra Samuel - The Conversation -
“Finding My People”
I have no idea what iClone is, but there is a note I recognize here and it's interesting to see someone writing about their desire to find a community, and
Google Earth as a community?
I don't know that I'd agree about this being a community, but an interesting use of the word at the Ecology of Education blog: Google Earth, on the flip side,
Growing up in a small town
I came to Great Barrington because I wanted my two children "to be from somewhere." There are many times I have told myself what a mistake that was, that I
INTERPERSONAL DIVIDE: book website with curriculum
INTERPERSONAL DIVIDE is a thoughtful book about community and the online world, and I've just discovered that the author, Michael Bugeja, has put sample syllabi on his website. And beautifully
“Feel at home abroad” – Telegraph
Isn't this just an upmarket variation on the package holiday, rather than anything one can really call community? . . . they have a ready-made social life waiting for them.
My days with SIIA
I'm sketching out new ventures for Berkshire Publishing, which means digging through old notes. I came across this e-mail from Ed Keating, VP of the Content Division at the Software
Constant Gardens for New York
I belonged to a community garden as a teenager in Palo Alto and had an allotment in London, so it's easy for me to see the story behind this story
SE5 Forum for Camberwell
I'm finding terrific websites for my old, and former, neighborhood, including SE5 Forum for Camberwell. Odd, isn't it that Great Barrington has nothing like this? Maybe not: Great Barrington has
“In the Berkshires, Eating Locally Is a Tradition” Really?
Activists have a Peter Pan mentality: they often think that if we just believe, it'll come true. This is a nice idea but it is totally incorrect:
Faith by Proxy
Faith or damnation by proxy? I was doing some research for my new book and happened upon a website called Faithbyproxy.com. Evidence that the Internet has something for everyone! It's
Sprawl and the Decline of Social Capital – and Health
Hardly a surprise that commuting leads to a decline in physical and social health, but the important point is that commutes are the result of how we design cities, site
My New York neighborhood
As I write a book I describe as a tale of two villages, Camberwell and Great Barrington, I am glad to have yet a third village to use as another
The Jade Emperor’s stone fish
As I prepare for a few quiet days at the beach (weather reports bode well) before returning to Beijing for 10 days and then a slew of events in late
Change ahead
Thin gossamer cirrus clouds generally indicate a change in weather, usually preceding fronts that move from west to east. They form about 5 miles or more above the earth and
Visit us at the MSLA conference in Sturbridge
Amy Fredsall, our wonderful customer service coordinator, is now at the Massachusetts School Libraries Association in Sturbridge, with lots of books and flyers to show, and quite a number of
Marvin Mudrick and his Chickens
This essay was published in Coastline magazine in 2006. I chose UCSB over Yale because of Marvin Mudrick, and there were times I thought I’d been crazy to do
Press release: “China in the Berkshires” with Ambassador Nicholas Platt
Great Barrington, Massachusetts—On Friday, 22 October 2010, Berkshire Publishing Group joins the Trustees of Reservations in hosting a first “China in the Berkshires” event at which Ambassador Nicholas Platt will
Berkshire Publishing Collection now available on Credo Reference
For immediate release, 11 November 2010 Boston, Oxford, and Great Barrington—Credo Reference, the award-winning online reference library, has significantly expanded their agreement with the Berkshire Publishing Group. Five major Berkshire
Bulletin boards, real & virtual
I was dashing out for a walk before darkness fell but a couple walking up Castle Street waylaid me by crossing the street to introduce themselves. This is what community
How Sage Reference creates its publications – not how we work!
I'm startled that a division of a serious academic publishing company would develop its publications with the kind of quality standards one tends to associate with firms of far less
Internet snobbery rears its head
I've been called a snob and an elitist more than once, so it's a good lesson, I suppose, to have the tables turned by my daughter, Rachel, the Internet snob.
“This twittering world” – T. S. Eliot
Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. These lines from T. S. Eliot's poem "Burnt Norton" have appeared
"This twittering world" – T. S. Eliot
Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. These lines from T. S. Eliot's poem "Burnt Norton" have appeared
Berkshire’s Building Sustainable Libraries Survey, December 2010
As we launch Berkshire's "Building Sustainable Libraries Survey" with Against The Grain journal (ATG), where preliminary survey results will appear, I want to acknowledge the people who contributed suggestions and
Celebrating World History (2nd edition) with Bill McNeill
We had pounding rain and wind and gloomy skies all day yesterday, but the sun shone for today's drive to Colebrook, Connecticut. The whole local Berkshire team--not only those of
Salps: On the beach at East Hampton and now on Law & Politics
At the end of the summer I spent a couple of days in East Hampton, New York, on the Long Island Sound. We were incredibly lucky. It was the beginning
London 2012’s Sebastian Coe and Berkshire’s Encyclopedia of World Sport,
Sports is one of the most important ways the world comes together, and Berkshire is proud to have published more about global sports than any other publisher. We began in
The Spirit of Sustainability in Catholic Library World
Appropriate to get our first review in the religious press at Christmas time. Catholic Library World has reviewed Berkshire's The Spirit of Sustainability, and here are a few lines from
Swan Lakes: Berkshire Holiday Greetings
As well as this lovely photograph of trumpeter swans on ice, we thought we should share a story about swans in China and about other swan species in
Sign up to attend China’s Economy forum at New York Stock Exchange
I look forward to seeing old and new friends at the New York Stock Exchange on 10 January! Here is the invitation I was allowed to pass along to Berkshire
January News: Happy Happy New Year
I stopped at the Great Barrington Bagel Company as the first hot bagels were being tumbled into bins. Waiting for the tray of my favorite bagel - the Tornado, named
HU Jintao and the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China
Tania Branigan, a well-known journalist who writes about China for the Guardian newspaper in the UK (and who blogs and uses Twitter to a degree that I am awestruck
Winter in the Berkshires
Here's a note I sent to our neighborhood listserv today: I would hate to think that anyone doesn’t realize how easy it is to have flowers indoors in winter if
Berkshire in CHINA DAILY
As I head to the local library to watch two Chinese documentaries, during this week of the Spring Festival (not just the Chinese New Year, as other Asians point out),
Libya’s Ethnic Groups
Here's an article about the ethnic composition of Libya from a 1998 Berkshire title, Ethnic Groups Worldwide: Libya The Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is located in North Africa and
Announcing: China Futures Fellowship Applications, 2011–2012
Please read this document carefully before applying. There is a great deal of information here and in the application form itself that will answer your questions about the timing, activities,
History of Nuclear Power
Here's a succinct history from one of our publications that offers, I think, admirably balanced discussion of what is not an even more complicated and emotive subject. "Nuclear Power" -
The “Rise of China” Takes on New Meaning
1 April 2011, Great Barrington, Massachusetts—As concern about China’s global stature intensifies, a preoccupation with height has surged in the Middle Kingdom. Last month, a wildly popular text message
Blogging from Beijing
This is one way to get posts to Twitter, via my blog. Smoggy in Beijing, but trees in blossom.
Perfect meal for jetlag
Waterzooi is odd thing to eat on arrival in Beijing, but it turns out to be a perfect dish when one is fresh off a three-flight trip from Hawaii. Here's
Broken sleep isn’t broken
Good to read, as I sit reading in the middle of the Beijing night, that quiet time awake is not something to resist but perfectly normal, even without jetlag, according
Big History at TED Conference with Bill Gates | Wired.com
Berkshire author David Christian on Big History at the TED Conference last month, thanks to Bill Gates's acting as a "curator." I love seeing how this new, bigger world history
Morning walk in Beijing
Along the canals in Dongzhimen, after yoga. This part of Beijing is good for walking because there is a network of canals. Unfortunately they are mostly torn up at the
Not April Fool’s, the silliest error about China I’ve ever seen
And from a well-known investment blog! Do read the comments. Quite enlightening how how this writer thinks. China's Water Crisis Is an Investment Opportunity - Seeking Alpha.
July 2011: World History Association comes to Beijing
Berkshire will sponsor a lecture named for historian William H. McNeill when Capital Normal University's Global History Center will host the 20th Annual WHA Conference on its Beijing campus, 7th-10th
“Most influential” Chinese include Sidney Shapiro
"American-born author Sidney Shapiro, 95, receives a lifetime-achievement award at the 2010-2011 Chinese Influencing the World awards ceremony." via Honors for most influential. I had never heard of Shapiro, but
A clearer Beijing morning
I can, for the first time, see the mountains from the Beijing apartment where friends have so kindly made me at home. The sun is shining and there is blue
Our first trip to China, April 2001
Ten years ago, I arrived in China during one of the most tense moments in recent US-China relations: On April 1, an American surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet
This Is Islam now on Kindle
Amazon was quick about this, and a good thing given the relevance of the subject. The cover is beautiful and so is the interior, by the way. Amazon.com: This Is
Hedgehog pet in a bucket on Shanghai street
One of the most amazing sights on this trip was this hedgehog. Tom told me it was a hedgehog and I didn't believe him. "Watch closely," he said, and when
Uninstalled creepy @xobni
After a creepy virus-like reinstall that messed up my email during my last day in Beijing. I'm trying to finish up some emails to applicants for the China Futures Fellowships.
Earth Day Special: Save over $500
Save 33% (over $500.00) on the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability if you order by Monday! Limited-time-only Earth Day Special! The Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability is a ground-breaking interdisciplinary
Sustainability authors from 47 countries
The Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability is going to be massive, and it's clearly going to break Berkshire Publishing's record for the largest number of authors on a single project. We're
David Christian speaks at TED Conference
Berkshire author David Christian explained "big history" at the TED Conference recently. David's presentation was curated by Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and supporter of the Big History Project, and
New: Africa in World History
Our first copies of Africa in World History arrived today. It's always a relief to hold the first copies of a new book and make sure we've avoided the fate of
Lewis Mumford on YouTube, talking about the city in history
Lewis Mumford appeared on the cover of TIME on 18 April 1938 (click here to view), after the publication of his first book on the city, The Culture of Cities.
Garlic and roses in Beijing
I'm taking a sybaritic approach to jetlag. Greeted by my dear friend Phil in Dongzhimen with tea and fruit, then off to favorite hutong for foot massage. Indeed the roses
Peking Man visit
The bones of "Peking Man" went missing in 1941, but the Zhoukoudian site outside Beijing where they were first discovered in 1921 was much better than I expected
Berkshire sponsors McNeill Keynote Lecture in Beijing
This morning, on the lucky date of 8 July, I had the good fortune to introduce the World History Association Conference's opening session, a lecture by LIU Xincheng, president of
Publishing agreement signed in Beijing
On 11 July 2011, Berkshire signs a memorandum of understanding with the Multimedia Press of the Open University of China at a meeting in Beijing. We have been working towards
Jetlag China: day becomes night, night becomes day
Last month, I suggested that we schedule a staff canoe trip and picnic for this afternoon, knowing it would be Day 2 of my return from China and planning to
British English versus American English
The following text about British English versus American English comes from our forthcoming Berkshire Manual of International Style, which is our extensive copyediting manual expanded to serve as a guide
In Memoriam: Ray Anderson
“Visionary Entrepreneur and Champion for the Environment, Has Died at Age 77,” says a press release of 8 August 2011. Ray Anderson was indeed a visionary entrepreneur and champion
Trainspotting, from Beijing to the Berkshires (Karen’s Letter, August 2011)
Trains have been on my mind since April, when I tried the new service from Shanghai to Hangzhou. The plum and cherry trees were in full bloom and the weeping
Beijing bicycling
Here's Tom's story of a bicycle accident in Beijing, with photo at left of the repair crew straightening out the damaged wheel. He writes: "Cycling south after picking up the
Green printing of This Fleeting World
Berkshire's bestselling little book on big history, This Fleeting World, is going into a fourth printing, and there are a lot of eager teachers waiting for it to roll off
The Letters of T. S. Eliot, 2nd verse
The new US edition of the first two volumes of The Letters of T. S. Eliot has received an amazing amount of attention in the press: nearly a page in
October storm report – from Beijing!
I wouldn’t be able to post this news from Berkshire Publishing’s offices today because we are still without Internet after the storm on Saturday that dropped 20 inches of snow
Berkshire’s Internet service restored
Good news from Great Barrington: Verizon and Time Warner have got our lines back up, so scattered staff can come back to Castle Street offices starting on Thursday morning. Bill
Berkshire CEO speaks at Notre Dame (and sees her first football game)
I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of twenty-five faculty members, administrators, librarians, and students at Notre Dame University on my way back from Beijing two weeks ago.
Berkshire 2012 Calendars Available Now (and for the very first time!)
"The longer the night, the more our dreams." Berkshire Publishing Group introduces four new 2012 calendars: This Is China 2012, Sustainability 2012, Libraries We Love 2012, and Art in World
Berkshire Train Campaign is going full steam
That’s “Berkshire” as in the region, not just Berkshire Publishing. But at Berkshire Publishing we are taking the lead in campaigning for train service from New York City’s Grand Central
Crossing the Atlantic
It's fortuitous that the "On Point" blog was going live today, because this coincides with the delivery of an issue of The Author, the quarterly magazine of the UK Society
Share your story of global collaboration
This is the email I sent to Berkshire authors this morning, and they are coming up trumps – lots of ideas and examples coming, and I’d love to hear from
Announcing The Berkshire Manual of Style for International Publishing
For Immediate Release: Great Barrington, MA, December, 2011 Black & white & read all over: The Berkshire Manual of Style for International Publishing A bold little
Weird Weather, Ecosystems, and Cute, Furry Animals
Invasive Japanese Barberry, Bartholomew’s Cobble, Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA. Photo by Amy Siever (Scroll down for image of cute, cuddly, charismatic koala) We at Berkshire Publishing Group are very aware of
Well, maybe not so much » LinkedIn is irritating
I wrote about the downsides of online networking platforms like LinkedIn in June 2008 - » LinkedIn is irritating but as 2012 begins I'm finding myself more active in, though
From the Punctuation-Police Blotter
By Mary Bagg Every once in a while I’m copied on an email exchange in progress and asked to police a point of style or grammar that has the sender
Taking public education seriously
As Berkshire Publishing focuses more on education, on learning as well as teaching, I found myself reflecting on a passage from a book called The Company of Strangers, by Parker
Berkshire Publishing at History Makers 2012
For Immediate Release: 20 January 2012 Berkshire Publishing and History Makers International 2012
Capitalism and Cycles
Even though here in the Berkshires we are experiencing an uncommonly mild winter, we still can yearn to get away from it all. Some of us might dream of a
Reality blog: upgrade to Office 2010
OMG IT WORKED HOLY &$^$ Thank you Trevor -Bill ________________________________________ From: Trevor Young Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2012 2:35 PM To: Bill Siever Cc: Marjolijn Kaiser Subject: RE: Question re:
Xi Jinping lunch in Washington DC
I'm thrilled that next Wednesday I will have a chance to see and hear China's next president, Xi Jinping, in Washington: At the invitation of Vice President Joseph Biden, Chinese
Em dashes, Ebooks, and Berkshire’s Little Book of Mormon
By Mary Bagg Conversations about Mormonism during these early months leading up to the US presidential campaign have been notable, notes Berkshire’s CEO Karen Christensen, for a lack of knowledge
The United States and China: Be Mine, Valentine?
It always surprises people to find out just how popular some Western holidays are in China. I was stunned the first time I saw a Christmas tree and heard “White
Pancake Day at Berkshire Publishing
We have for years celebrating the British holiday called Pancake Day, which was one of the big discoveries of my first spring in England. I'd gone to live there with
Comments from Norman Moss, author of a British-American dictionary
I received an email today from an author named Norman Moss, who had read my letter in the UK Society of Authors magazine, The Author. He has kindly given me
Typos Give Away a Scam Artist
By Mary Bagg My husband Bob, who is a poet and a translator of ancient Greek drama, got an email out of the blue yesterday inviting him to speak for
International Women’s Day
Today is International Women's Day and we are celebrating at Berkshire Publishing by taking a long walk in the beautiful spring weather later this afternoon. The Christian Science Monitor has
“How do I cite a tweet?” Please don’t!
But if you have to (and that should be so rare as almost not to need a rule), the Modern Language Association advises: Begin the entry in the works-cited list
Berkshire Essentials: World Environmental History and the Little Book of Mormon
For Immediate Release: 9 March 2012 Berkshire Essentials: The Little Book of Mormon and World Environmental History Two New Berkshire Essentials Available from Berkshire Publishing
Spring peepers and poetry
This email is too good not to share with international friends. It comes from our friend Erik Hoffner at Orion magazine, which has offices on Main Street in Great Barrington,
Finding the Editor Within by Luc Sante
By Karen Christensen A terrific essay in the Wall Street Journal that will be useful to our Berkshire Publishing authors and to anyone struggling late at night or in the
Encyclopedias in the digital age: another way to look at the Britannica drama
An article in the New York Times today, "After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses," has got everyone excited because they think this is news. But Britannica has been
Marvelous photos from English newspapers
Lots of amusing notes about punctation and capitalization, illustrated with photos, on a blog called The Joy of English.
Jorge Luis Borges on why encyclopedias (or encyclopaedias)
The book I brought to read at night and on the drive to and from Toronto (when Amy takes the wheel) has nothing to do with Asia, or China. It's
“Going Out” (Zouchuqu) – Berkshire’s China strategy
The part of the ChinaConnectU.com designed for students in China who are thinking of coming abroad to study is called [Chinese characters] Zouchuqu, or "Going Out." This is the
May you live in interesting times
News from China has been interesting this week, indeed, which lead to a discussion of the supposed Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." We have a small collection
“Skypo” of the day from our lead editor Mary Bagg
Our lead editor, Mary Bagg, recently blogged in this blog: "The moral of the story is not a new or terribly exciting one—if you want a letter (or an email)
From the Christian Science Monitor: “Usage should reflect how we think about the online world”
By Karen Christensen Berkshire still uses uppercase for the word Internet. Our Manual of Style, reflecting Chicago and standard US usage, says, "Internet (not 'the Net')." I would add to
Race to the South Pole as a leadership case study
I love the case studies we included in the Encyclopedia of Leadership, which Berkshire published with Sage Reference in 2004. Today is 100 years since the death of Robert F.
Chinese Firm To Build Friendship Wall
A look at the (humorous) proposal for a trilingual 'Friendship Wall' between the US and Mexico, drawing parallels to the Great Wall of China. Happy April Fools!
Chinese names in current China news
By Karen Christensen The press has done a fairly good job with Chinese names in all the recent reporting, though I did see a few references to "Bo Bo Guagua."
Earth Day and the Vital Importance of Greening China
As we prepare to publish volume seven of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability, and in conjunction with our Earth Day Special for both that set and the Berkshire Encyclopedia of
Late authors, memorable excuses
My success as a publisher of thousands of academic writers is that I am a notorious last-minute author myself. I know all the tricks, excuses, and distractions that keep a
Chinese Legal System – background to current news
Today's China Bytes provide background to the recent drama in China over the escape from house arrest in Shandong Province of the blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng: a historical overview of
And he really does mean “a thousand people”
Here's Bill Siever's current out of office message, which I found hilarious even though he is simply explaining the facts of the matter. I have removed his Skype name and
The walk to Main Street
Berkshire Publishing used to have offices on Main Street and my walk to work was down Castle Street - the prettiest and shortest commute in the world, I often thought.
Upsides and downsides to native-plant gardening
While I still appreciate native species and have even used native honeysuckle colors on my newly painted house (there's no simply way to decorate than to work from nature: soft
Hannover Principles for sustainability from 1992
As we prepare for Rio +20 and the launch of the full 10 volumes of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability, I was glad to come across another document from 1992,
Rio +20, World +20, Karen +20
Greetings! 2012 is a year of environmental anniversaries: 20 years since the first Rio Conference, 25 years since Our Common Future (known as the Brundtland Report) gave the world
Encyclopedia of China publishers meet, greet, and eat in the Big Apple
There is a Chinese Encyclopedia of China just as there is an English (and now American) Encyclopaedia Britannica, and I’ve naturally been interested in that publication and in the publishing
The sporting life of a wannabe jock and sports virgin
I was looking through some of my earliest journalism, written for my college's alumni magazine during my first year at Santa Barbara. I walked into that job after a brief
Rio +20, World +20, Karen +20
2012 is a year of environmental anniversaries: 20 years since the first Rio Conference, 25 years since Our Common Future (known as the Brundtland Report) gave the world a definition
For Whom the Knock Knock Joke Tolls
"Knock knock" "Who's there?" "To" "To who?" "To WHOM!!!" (To be said in an exasperated manner.) Or, as I originally told this, in telling it to my co-worker, Mar: "Knock
Sunflower fields forever
I travel from western Massachusetts, to the West Village of New York City most weeks. This means a 45-minute drive from Great Barrington to the Metro-North station at Wassaic followed
Staff skypes about today’s tornado warning
Great Barrington, Massachusetts, 26 July 2012: [12:54:57 PM] Tom Christensen: the internet says that shutters in new england were more important before widespread glass, and some houses had a waxed
More staff skypes about the tornado warning
[3:55:10 PM] Trevor Young: Thanks Tom - dregs are still bad enough. I was out of power for 4 days last summer from a modest storm. [3:55:44 PM] Tom Christensen:
Why Going Digital is Dangerous, Expensive, and Essential op-ed in Library Journal
Library Journal just published an op-ed I wrote about the dangers of going digital. I thought I would share it with some additional details just for friends and colleagues. Digital
How Sustainable are the London Olympics?
An excerpt from the article on London in the upcoming Volume 9 of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability: The bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics was a close match
Sustainability requires a new sense of community
I’m writing an article about “Community” for the final volume of my company’s Encyclopedia of Sustainability. The volume is called The Future of Sustainability so
Libraries We Love talks to Ian Anstice
We begin our new blog series, Libraries We Love, with Ian Anstice, "Librarian in Charge" at Cheshire West and Chester Council and creator of Public Libraries News. Ian, where were
Anna Myers is going to be married
Berkshire Publishing's wonderful graphic designer, production manager, and ebook maven, Anna Myers, is going to be married to her long-time beau, Frank Sabatini, on 11 August, at Simon's Rock College,
The first Chinese gold medalist – Scottish runner Eric Liddell
Read the whole story of Chinese sports in Berkshire's China Gold: China’s Quest for Global Power and Olympic Glory (2008). As we said on the cover: The Olympics are
“Home Field Advantage” at London Olympics
Why is the UK doing so well in London? Is it due to the traditional sporting rivalry with France and Australia, or to Britain's increasingly diverse population? Or is it
Berkshire to follow Britannica & Cambridge UP in China
The Beijing International Book Fair starts tomorrow and I’m delighted to be able to announce that we have just made arrangements for a Shanghai-based publishing company to translate the entire
Karen’ Letter: On Silent Spring’s 50th Anniversary
Today is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. A year or two after the book’s publication, soon after I learned to read, I picked
Pin to WIN in our 1st-ever Pinterest Contest!
BERKSHIRE has been very busy behind the scenes lately. We’ve jumped head-first into social media with updates to our blogs, cool Youtube videos and a new look on Twitter; we've
We’re dedicating the Encyclopedia of Sustainability to Generation Next
As with so many things that have happened with this project, Bill Siever's trip to Maine last weekend brought a marvelous new story, and more synchronicity. Here's his email
Bill Siever turns to WORLD SPORT
There's never a dull moment or downtime at Berkshire Publishing. The day after the Encyclopedia of Sustainability went to the printers (copies roll off the presses and into shipping cartons
Create course materials with Berkshire AcademicPub: Sustainability content available now
Berkshire Publishing is partnering with AcademicPub to offer you the opportunity to assemble custom materials for your courses. The Berkshire AcademicPub partnership lets you: Keep costs low for your students
Karen’s Letter: Harvest Time in Great Barrington
In a community where farming is valued as it is here in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, harvest time is a big deal. The Berkshire region prides itself on locally produced
Soccer, football, meters, and yards
Here's a note I sent to Karen Christensen, our CEO and one of the editors of the original Encyclopedia of World Sport, that will turn up eventually in the introduction
Berkshire Publishing is open
I was outside long before dawn: the full moon luminous behind trees to west. Looking east, where I have a view of the mountains, rippled clouds made a huge ring
On missing the World Series
Post by Bill Siever, project coordinator: I'm delving into the sports world now, for our new third edition of the Encyclopedia of World Sport, which anyone who knows me well
Voting with the boss
Post by Bill Siever: On Tuesday, Election Day here in the US, I went to vote with my boss, Karen, and her daughter (and my co-worker) Rachel. It reminded me
Remembering Valerie Eliot
I learned about Valerie Eliot's death before the news went out on the wire services yesterday because an acute reporter at The Times (that is, The Times of London) found
Pork: always tender or naturally raised
Bill Siever reports: I don't get to eat pork as often as I'd like to, because my wife doesn't eat it. But last night I went out and bought three
Having fun without paying – a sure way to sink the economy!
The other night at my dad's birthday party we played a great game whose name escapes me at the moment (it’s loosely based on the game "telephone") and we were
T. S. Eliot and Berkshire Publishing
A year ago I wrote one of my monthly e-letters about how I’ve moved between literature and science, and I’m glad now, as I revisit the Eliot story after the
Thanksgiving indeed, at Berkshire Publishing!
“This is undoubtedly the most important and readable reference on sustainability of our time” – Jim MacNeill, Secretary-General of the Brundtland Commission and chief architect and lead author of Our
Words and Pictures – Can’t We All Get Along?
I just finished a marvelous book with the dry-as-dry-toast name The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by a Yale statistician and sculptor named Edward R. Tufte. I've come to learn
Eating Chinese food in China
Portraits on the wall of a Xinjiang restaurant in Beijing While my bath is running - a hot bath followed by lemon-ginger tea and melatonin being my current
Why Winter is the Best Possible Season
Today's theme is my love for winter. Here's to what I hope will be a blissfully snowy winter. A few things that I love about winter, in no particular
The Unsustainable Life and Times of Lily Bart
Today’s lesson is on Lily Bart, the central character in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth. I’ve just read the book, finally, having felt somewhat compelled to do so by
Guns and Nature and How They’re Linked
As everyone has no doubt heard by now, we had a tragic shooting at an elementary school not too far from here Friday, 14 December, 2012. It happened in the
Christmas in Beijing 2012
Would you be able to explain the difference between Jesus and Santa Claus, or the symbolism of different Hanukkah and Christmas foods? These were topics of conversation as Berkshire
Berkshire Notes: The Worst Kind of American Exceptionalism
Greetings to all Berkshire authors and friends [this message was sent by email to contributors around the world, but we’re posting it here, too, so we can add comments and
Cross Country Skiing in the Wild West (the Berkshires)
At Berkshire we put a lot of effort into making sure our publications and general communications are global, with titles like the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport and the Berkshire
News from Anna in Long Island City
I was quite surprised Wednesday afternoon (9 January) to hear sirens and see a multitude of fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars converging on the street near our apartment. I couldn't
From T. S. Eliot’s poem
Footfalls echo in the memory Down the passage which we did not take Towards the door we never opened Into the rose-garden. My words echo Thus, in your mind.
Tech battle update: hooray for Zoho, boo for Microsoft
Last week, I reported on our battles to try to get our project management program to improve. I’m happy to report that I got a very nice and thorough answer
Storms, Zombies, and a Sustainable Future (Karen’s Letter: February 2013)
A winter's drive to visit historian William H. McNeill leads to a conversation about the importance of community as we plan for extreme weather and think about a sustainable future.
Nature is very dependable! (at least sometimes)
How's this for accuracy? Yesterday I mentioned to my wife that we saw a skunk at work, and wondered if it was a bad thing to see a skunk out
First Flowers! (At Least Here)
This weekend we jumped ahead an hour, and I think we're all feeling a bit zombie-like today as a result. On the other hand, it's always a good thing to
Some Fun Sports Facts
We're in the process of wrapping up work on the third edition of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport, which has been a lot of fun to work on. I
T S Eliot Estate $40 million cheese deal
London, UK: T S Eliot marketing deal sets stage for global cheese-eating campaign Announced today is the first major licensing agreement inked by the T S Eliot Estate: a
Holy Cow Do We Have Sustainability Covered
Wow, I just want to say that we have an incredible array of topics covered in the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability. (Not to toot our own horn or anything!) The
That vs. Which and “Why the Left Hates Families”
When we were on vacation in Britain earlier this month I noticed that people seldom made a distinction between "which" and "that" in sentences, and I've been reading a bunch
“Yay,” “yeah,” heck “yea,” and “w00t! w00t!”
Important bulletin to staff on the use of the words "yay," "yeah," and "yea": "Yay" is not in Merriam Webster* (our standard) but yes, everyone uses it so that should
Birding Lessons, and That Ugly Word “Taxonomy”
Yesterday I joined a nice "Birding for Beginners" group at our community center, led by wonderful local naturalist Christine Ward and others, and it was lots of fun - and
Coming Soon: Short ‘n Sweet “This is America”
I'm looking forward to digging into our next project - This Is America: A short history of the United States. The subtitle is tentative, and we welcome suggestions from people
Seven Things I’ve Learned Recently
1. The northeastern Australian state of Queensland is four times the size of California but has only 3.5 million people - about the size of Connecticut, or one-fifth the size
Martha’s Vineyard to Great Barrington, and the virtues of duct tape
I’m back in Great Barrington after a wonderful week on Martha’s Vineyard, an island off the southern coast of Massachusetts. It was a bilingual week: my daughter and I were
We have a government again! Time to publish some books
Hooray! We have a government again. That means it's time to get our applications sent off to the Library of Congress for all our upcoming books: This Is America (oh,
Karen’s Letter: Three Days in Taipei
A three-day trip to the other side of the world is not something I had in mind, but I know enough to seize the day—or days—when offered. An invitation to
Recipes for an American Thanksgiving
This week is the busiest travel time of the year in the United States, as we Americans travel far and wide to be with family and our closest friends.
The end is in sight!
Weird-pics-from-Asia5.jpg The email message below, to a reviewer, was copied to me by managing editor Bill Siever, who has been working almost round the clock to finish the
Let the Games Begin!
A young ski jumper at the annual Salisbury, Connecticut Ski Jumps, February 2013. The record jump for the day was 71 meters. Photo by Ryan Siever. The Winter
Preview Berkshire’s 2014 Catalog
Download the PDF (9.6 MB).
Backwoods or not? (2005)
The Berkshires is no longer backwoods, and getting attention in all kinds of publications these days. The coverage is no more accurate, and the challenges that face the Berkshires remain
Weary of Winter #diewinterdie
I was determined to change my tune this year and learn to love ice and snow. My plan was to write a paean to the pleasures of winter in the
Fun with “parallel constructions”!
Hey boys and girls! Today's topic is "parallel constructions." Why, in God's name, do I want to discuss something with such a horrible sounding name? Parallel construction is the art
How Big is the Crimea?
In all the news about the Crimea lately, one thing I couldn't quite figure out was how big a place the Crimea is. I then remembered a website I discovered
The Peeps Potential
Guest post from Marjolijn Kaiser: Detailed contents of package: 6 packs Peeps 2 bags Coconut M&Ms 3 bottles vanilla extract 1 bottle maple syrup The shipping information on the box
Happy Bags in Japan
I'll be writing soon about my amazing two day trip to Japan this past weekend, but for now thought I would post a picture I took in Tokyo.
Publishers and muggers
I came across this and couldn't resist the headline, "How to cope when you’re in a dying industry," because I'm always being told (and thinking fretfully) that I am in
How Amazon.com is hurting readers, authors, and publishers
Amazon doesn’t just take orders. They are used to barking orders at publishers and getting us to salute. But bullying only goes so far, and I’m thankful that a single
Now available: Religion & Society series and Encyclopedia of World Environmental History
Berkshire Publishing is pleased to announce that the acclaimed Religion & Society series produced with Routledge (a division of Taylor & Francis) is now available from Berkshire, along with the Encyclopedia
Latest news about Amazon.com’s battles with publishers
We distributed the story I’d dashed off about Berkshire Publishing’s experience with Amazon and were surprised by how much response it got. It was redistributed by Publishers Weekly and
Does copyright protect Elvis sightings?
As we celebrate the founding of the United States this Friday, it's salutary to remember that the US's record is mixed, and mixed-up. These Frequently Asked Questions about copyrighting Elvis sightings
Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake
Shortcake is not shortbread, the crisp buttery squares that go so well with tea. I described shortbread as a kind of scone, served as scones are, in Cornwall, with clotted cream and jam. I preached the
This Is America: Unity From Diversity
Final chapters are always difficult, and I put a lot of time into "Unity from Diversity," the last chapter of This Is America, which we're thrilled to announce on the
America’s Dream for Independence Day
My garden is full of fireflies on these hot summer nights. They sweep through the damp grass, like tiny falling stars. When I was a child in Iowa, we called
Resolutions
I make lists and I make resolutions. And I make them all the time, not just on December 31st.This summer I resolved to become a hiker
Train Campaign success!
I’ve written before about the Train Campaign, an effort that began in 2011 after author David Christian and I took the existing train line from New York to visit Berkshire
@BerkshirePubGroup @BIBF
The Beijing International Book Fair takes place at the end of August, and Berkshire Publishing will be represented by Tom Christensen, speaking at the International Digital Publishing Forum Conference on
Amazon update: when will the Justice Department step in?
A lot has happened since I wrote about how Amazon has pressured Berkshire Publishing (“How Amazon.com is hurting readers, authors, and publishers” – 4 June 2014). There have been accusations,
Author David Christian featured in New York Times Magazine with Bill Gates
The cover story in today's New York Times Magazine is "So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ..." but it wasn't really Bill Gates who
Starting work on the Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines
Berkshire Publishing relishes the chance to work, at long last, on a major food publication, the Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines.
Karen’s Letter: A 97th Birthday Party
We celebrated Bill (William H.) McNeill's 97th birthday a couple of weeks ago, in the Connecticut house where he has lived full-time since retiring from the University of Chicago. This year's
Berkshire Author Talks Climate Change and China
The National Committee on US-China Relations (NCUSCR) often offers its members a chance to hear directly from experts after major world events. Last week’s members-only teleconference about the historic US-China
“Amazon is the Reader’s Friend” debate tonight
Is book publishing an oligopoly, a dinosaur in need of disruption? Is Amazon, which accounts for 41% of all new book and 67% of all e-book sales, a monopoly? Who
Golden harbinger of spring
The winter aconite is always the first sign of spring in my garden in Great Barrington, even before the snowdrops, and definitely before the robins. The
An April Fool’s Day Retrospective
The poet T. S. Eliot was a practical joker, and his second wife, the much younger Valerie, liked to loosen the tops of salt shakers and even bottles of Worcestershire
Climate Change: Moral Challenge
2015 is a crucial year for progress on global cooperation and Pope Francis knows it, making climate change the focus of his first “encyclical,” a kind of proclamation. He will
Our global team at work
I woke up in Massachusetts and responded to an email from Mar Kaiser, our Germany-based editor, who said she'd just heard from Kara Lozier, who is currently working from Uzbekistan.
Au revoir to a global point of reference
Berkshire Publishing’s tagline is about to change, but before we make the switch I’d like to explain why we have been, for ten years, “A global point of reference.” This was partly
Guanxi is the key to doing business in China
That's what all the books said, and I was intrigued by the idea that guanxi - relationships - is the absolutely fundamental thing, the starting point, for anyone who planned
Berkshire in Beijing
Internet restrictions in China make it hard to do ordinary, innocuous things - check the New York Times headlines, post a garden photo to Facebook - but I'm hoping to
Today in Guangdong
I’ll be spending the day with our partners in Guangzhou, the Guangdong People’s Publishing Group, and found this article from the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China an excellent overview of the
The 1st of July: Rain. Rain. Rain and thunder.
There's nothing like getting to a safe haven before the storm begins. It's even better when thunder is echoing through the hills, lightning is flashing, and there's a fresh pot
China Travels, New York to Yantai
A month ago I landed in China for a trip that took me to a food and wine conference in Shandong Province, to Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Shanghai for meeting
What Did Greece Ever Do for Us?
When I look at the New York Times and half the headlines are about Greece, I wonder if the world has gone nuts. Then I get a lecture on the European
Antitrust investigation of Amazon called for
Amazon just celebrated its 20th birthday with something called Prime Day. The Authors Guild simultaneously announced a call for a Department of Justice investigation of the company. You may remember
Free CHINA GOLD ebook!
CHINA GOLD provides background and context for news that China will host the 2022 Winter Games. Get your free ebook at http://ow.ly/QlAZO.
The World Looks at America
In the days after the 2001 terrorist attacks, people across the United States asked, “Why do they hate us?” President George W. Bush responded with characteristic certainty, “They hate our
CHINA Town Hall comes to the Berkshires, Karen Christensen to speak
The National Committee on US-China Relations (NCUSCR) is mentioned in the opening to today’s New York Times feature on Chinese president XI Jinping's first state visit to the United States. The
No Adverbs, Please, Mr. Xi
Tonight, the president of the People’s Republic of China, XI Jinping, will give the only policy speech of his first state visit to the United States. Below you’ll find a
CHINA Town Hall comes to Great Barrington on Monday, October 5th
Please join us at Bard College at Simon's Rock on Alford Road in Great Barrington for a local, national, and global conversation on Monday, October 5th, starting at 5.30pm. This
Salman Rushdie speech on free speech opens Frankfurt Book Fair
My first experience with "big publishing" involved Salman Rushdie, so I was sorry not to get to the Frankfurt Book Fair in time to hear his opening speech today. Iran
Listen to the story “Salt in World History” by W. H. McNeill
My daughter Rachel, who works at Berkshire Publishing, is a great fan of audio books and has been pushing me for ages to develop some audio content. I'm thinking first
Berkshire 宝库山 at the Frankfurt Book Fair
It is the golden season, when the Berkshire Hills light up with flaming reds and golds and tawny oranges, but I am in Frankfurt, Germany, for the famous book fair
Free issue covering the China’s One-child Policy
More important than the Republican Party presidential debate last night was the news that China is ending its famed “One-child Policy.” Berkshire has covered population issues in many publications, including
Paris Climate Talks and the Encyclopedia of Sustainability
The global press is chasing many stories, from the tragedies of terrorism and displaced people to the display of hubris, xenophobia, and general nuttiness that we call a US presidential
Berkshire Titles on Oxford Reference
Berkshire Publishing Group is delighted to announce that its major multi-volume reference titles will be available from Oxford University Press. These titles are being added to the Oxford Reference platform: Berkshire Encyclopedia of World
Eurospan Group to represent Berkshire Publishing Group and authors
Berkshire Publishing is pleased to announce that Eurospan Group is our new partner for marketing and distribution in the UK and continental Europe. Eurospan has built up a prestigious list
A global perspective (first published as “Seeing the World” in the Berkshire Savant, 2005)
The story below, written by Karen Christensen in 2005, explains what happened when an American family traveled to China, Kazakhstan, and Japan in April 2001. At that time, Berkshire Publishing was developing the Encyclopedia of Modern Asia for the reference division of Charles Scribners, a major New York company that is now part of Cengage. “We have to go to Central Asia,” I said in December 2000. My then-husband's response was to buy me a book called The Most Dangerous Places in the World.
Super Tuesday: Read about the US political system as a model for the world
Two articles for Super Tuesday, Primary Day in 13 US states, from our 2008 Global Perspectives volume. We plan to bring this three-volume set up to date soon, and
Panda Cows and Panda Huggers
I would have loved the panda-faced cow anyway, but the fact that I’ve been called a “panda hugger” has made me pay special attention to it. Especially since it’s all
Berkshire’s Move to Seattle – NOT!
I’ve received dozens of congratulatory emails in response to my message headlined “Berkshire is moving west!” I also received dozens of emails asking how I could sell out to Amazon.
London Book Fair 2016
Book fairs are one of the dumber traditions of our hidebound industry. CEOs hate them. I don’t mean only CEOs of smaller independent presses, but people who run big publishing companies;
Berkshire’s Kara Lozier writes from Afghanistan
While we're busy finalizing a Berkshire Essential called Women and Leadership, I want to share something that Berkshire Publishing staffer Kara Lozier posted from Afghanistan, where she worked for two months this
Biography as the Way, a Window into Chinese History
Kerry Brown talks about the massive and overwhelmingly ambitious Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography – the first work of its kind in over a century. Brown explains his lifelong interest
Book (p)review: All Under Heaven by Carolyn Phillips
This is not a proper book review, since I haven't tried any of the recipes, but a preview of a book that I've been waiting for. The pub date kept
Berkshire Bookworld live from London, Beijing, and California
Berkshire Publishing is delighted to announce the launch of Berkshire Bookworld, a podcast series of interviews with authors around the world, hosted by Berkshire's CEO Karen Christensen. In the first
This Fleeting World continues to garner press attention in China
Our bestselling little big history, This Fleeting World, is going to Asia in new international editions, and, as ever, it's ready for summer reading in English!
How Many Chinese Cuisines?
https://www.berkshirepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BP2CarolynPhillips_podcast.mp3 Carolyn Phillips explains why she divides Chinese food into 35 different styles, instead of the supposedly classic four or eight. Her divisions correspond to dialects – “people eat
Geoengineering, Human Hubris, and a Sustainable Future
https://www.berkshirepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BP3JamesFleming1_podcast.mp3 Jim Fleming discusses speculative technological solutions to climate change, a subject he wrote about in the 10th and final volume of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability. Fleming is
Revolutionary Leadership and China’s Transformations
James MacGregor Burns looks at leadership in China in the time of Mao and more recently, and discusses the leader-follower relationship, a key aspect of transformational leadership, a
Women Making History
From left: Susan Schwab Carla Hills, Barbara Franklin, and Stephen Orlins On Tuesday, 6 June 2016, Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first woman to become the presidential candidate
Sophia Mumford talks about working at The Dial in the 1920s
https://www.berkshirepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BP7SophiaMumford1_podcast.mp3 In this podcast, you’ll hear the voice of a woman who was born in the nineteenth century. Her name is Sophia Wittenberg Mumford, and in the two
A typical morning in small-town America
Podcast interview with author David Christian in Sydney, Australia Two pots of black tea with Blue Hill Farm raw milk WeChat discussion with son in Beijing about Donald Trump’s fundraising
Skype and WeChat keep us connected – here’s why you might want to use both
Global connections are the heartbeat of our business. We use the web and social media, and most of our editorial work is done by email. But we couldn’t live without
Confucius: Philosophy and Human Purpose
Jeffrey L. Richey is the Francis Alexander McGaw Chair in Religion & Professor of Religion and Asian Studies at Berea College in Kentucky. In this Berkshire Bookworld podcast, “Confucius:
The View from the Mountain Top with Professor David Christian
David Christian explains what big history is and how it helps to make sense of the world we live in and to see all that we have in
Celebrating William H. McNeill (1917-2016)
I write today to share the sad news that William H. (Bill) McNeill died on Friday, 8 July 2016. He was 98 years old, and rooting for Roger Federer
Opera and Classical Music in China Today
Colin Mackerras discusses two Chinese artists whom he wrote about in the Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography. First, Mackerras focuses on Lang Lang, a Chinese pianist, providing a look at Western
Chinese Rice Wines and Spirits: An Introduction to Traditional Chinese Beverages
https://www.berkshirepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BP15CarolynPhillips3_podcast.mp3 Carolyn Phillips returns to discuss the merits of Chinese rice wines and spirits in this episode of Berkshire Bookworld’s “China Cooks!” Carolyn discusses wines and spirits as accompaniments
Kerry Brown reviews Mirror, Mirror: The Use and Abuse of Self-Love
Anyone who has managed to avoid being decapitated by one of those selfie sticks while wading through crowds of tourists around some of the main sites in London (or any
Kerry Brown reviews Second-Hand Time
Like most of the rest of the human race that took notice, the announcement last year that the Belorussian journalist Svetlana Alexievich had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature
Books on the shelf, books as a lifeline
When I moved back to America in 1992, I brought two small children, a desk that had belonged to T. S. Eliot, and a whole lot of books. The kids
A Mooncake Recipe from the Qing Dynasty
...continued from Recipes & Greetings for the Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋快乐 Another food book we’ll be publishing soon is the first English edition of a famous culinary manual, the Suiyuan Shidan.
Recipes & Greetings for the Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋快乐
The burly customs officer was talking to a Chinese couple when I approached the final barrier at Newark Airport last September. My long white US customs declaration form.was flapping and I was eager to
Kerry Brown reviews The Mint by T. E. Lawrence
When I was small my grandfather, who had been in the newly created Royal Air Force under Trenchard from about 1921, used to refer to the time when a stranger
Remember, Remember, the Eighth of November
Today, we have an election that enables us, the American people, to avert disaster and choose a better path, to follow what Abraham Lincoln called the better angels of our nature. The world is watching. (If you need a distraction, keep busy by writing your own “The Eighth of November” lyrics, based on the English folk song "The Fifth of November." Anyone who submits a 2016 version will get a free copy of your chosen book from the This World of Ours series.
Telling Our Stories, Writing Our Lives
I have a new sympathy for the historians I’ve worked with over the years, people who spend their time in archives and agonize over footnotes. They want to get the facts right, and I can now see that our easy acceptance of anecdotal information as historical fact is troubling. Was Valerie Eliot, as she claimed, on the school playing field when a German plane flew over in 1943?
An Introduction to Big History
https://www.berkshirepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BP4CynthiaBrown1_podcast.mp3 Cynthia Stokes Brown, a professor and popular author, explains how she came to write about Big History in this episode of Berkshire Bookworld. Big History is the study
Teaching Big History
https://www.berkshirepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BP5CynthiaBrown2_podcast.mp3 Cynthia Stokes Brown discusses how she teaches big history in this episode of Berkshire Bookworld. As she discussed last week, in "An Introduction to Big History," big history
Brexit, TPP, and the UK-China Relationship
Kerry Brown discusses Brexit, UK-China relations, and how the anti-globalization mood evident today is likely to affect Chinese politics, both domestically and internationally. He presents a realistic but
Translation Rights Available, December 2016
Hot topics include big history, women and leadership, major Chinese classics, and much more from the US's leading publishers on cutting-edge global issues. Click here to email Kara Lozier with your credentials
How Berkshire Publishing Went to China
When I got back from my first trip to China in 2001, I found a stepladder and stapled a set of Beijing Olympics bid posters to the wall outside our
Lunar New Year: Happy Year of the Rooster!
May you have good luck in the Year of the Rooster! 祝您鸡年快乐！恭祝大家新年快乐、鸡 （吉）祥如意.
While the US EPA is still rational about global warming
We've been downloading information about climate change from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website because it could soon be gone. On his first day in office, President Trump had
US-China partnership and launch of International Editorial Center
We are thrilled to announce the launch of one of the largest publishing initiatives to be undertaken by a US and Chinese partnership. While the relationship between the United States and
A 45th anniversary that matters today: the Shanghai Communiqué
Today is the 45th anniversary of the signing, in China, of the "Shanghai Communiqué," the first of three agreements that established the"one-China" policy and provided a foundation for US-China relations
Early, early springtime in Manhattan: a walk in Battery Park
I feel guilty when I take my phone out on a walk, and tell myself that "it's really just a camera." Taking photos like this one, taken yesterday along the
Pairing Wine with Chinese Food (2017)
I was eating dim sum with friends in New York the other day. One of them, a young Chinese American, asked if I could recommend a book on pairing wine with Chinese dishes. She'd been stumped when arranging a Chinese dinner for her and her boyfriend’s parents. “If we’d been eating Western food, we could have picked nice wines for each course, but we couldn't figure out what really worked with Chinese food and it was really annoying.” She’d been talking to a friend in investment banking, another sophisticated Chinese American and said he had the same problem, "He's used to ordering expensive bottles of wine when he’s the host, but for Chinese food, and Chinese guests, he can’t figure out what to choose."
Completing the circle begun under DENG Xiaoping in 1980
This article was published during the London Book Fair in the Chinese publishers' newspaper (download the PDF by clicking here): Berkshire Publishing Group has a Chinese name, 宝库山, carefully crafted
London Book Fair launch for Berkshire, ECPH, China Publishing Group
This post is about the partnership launch held on 15 March at the London Book Fair and also sets out my observations about developments in the realm of Chinese publishing,
Chinese app improves relationships
April fool! In spite of all the promise of artificial intelligence and the huge amount of data being collected and crunched, the ideas in our April Fool's Day email are
5 Things Western editors and publishers can do to become China-ready
Click cover for free ebook download to your favorite device. Learn some Chinese history and familiarize yourself with key concepts. To help, we’ve just made the ebook of
Leaving Western Civ Behind, William H. McNeill
William H. (Bill) McNeill (1917-2016) continued to write for decades after his retirement from the University of Chicago. He published several books, including The Human Web, with
What is science anyway?
David Christian, Macquarie University; WCU Professor, Ewha Womans University, Seoul This article is adapted from the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History. The English word science derives from the Latin scire, “to
Do we need more science education? How big history explains climate change
A major barrier to effective international action is skepticism about climate change in the United States, the richest and most powerful country in the world, and the country with the
Kerry Brown reviews The Path by Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh
One of the great pities about the resurrection of Confucius in contemporary China after his demise under the Maoist fire of the Cultural Revolution is that his philosophy has been
Kerry Brown reviews The Letters of Samuel Beckett 1966-1989 by Samuel Beckett
Filling the hours of torpor and inertia brought on by a mild but debilitating cold by reading the final volume of Samuel Beckett’s Letters 1966-1989 (Cambridge University Press 2016) was perhaps
Kerry Brown reviews Albert Angelo by B.S. Johnson
B.S. Johnson was an alumni of King’s College London. I wasn’t aware of this before I looked up something about his background after rereading Albert Angelo (Picador 2013, originally published
Kerry Brown reviews The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker
Almost exactly two decades ago when I began my somewhat short-lived (eight years) stint as a member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, I had an encounter with my first
Kerry Brown reviews Emotional Diplomacy by Todd Hall
Diplomacy and international relations are clearly a complex area. This is logical enough. Relations between two single people are enough to have inspired a large swathe of diverse literature. Magnify
The miracle of what we do: a note about global networking
I read a line in Remote: Office Not Required, a book about remote working by the founders of 37Signals, and laughed.
Final chapter for our book on Football just arrived: Women on the Gridiron!
Gertrud Pfister has just sent her chapter "Challenging the Gender Order: Women on the Gridiron," the final chapter in Football: An American Obsession Goes Global.
How to Finish Your Academic Writing Project
Joli Jensen introduces her tested methods for completing academic writing projects in spite of the distractions and pressures inherent in university life in this Berkshire Bookworld podcast.
On Going Home to England
In 2006 I wrote a blog post about how much I missed England and the homesickness I felt for my London neighborhood and friends I made when I was a young working mum.
Join Berkshire in Boston at the World History Association Conference
Berkshire Publishing will be at the World History Association (WHA) conference in Boston this week to talk about our books and our authors, especially our dear friend the late Bill
In Memoriam: Wm. Theodore de Bary (1919-2017)
It was just over a year ago that William H. McNeill, our dear friend Bill, died at 98, and now we have learned that the great Asian scholar Wm. Theodore
For Which I Stand: Karen’s Letter, June 2017
My twin brother has never really forgiven me for 9th grade. Other boys would tell him that his sister wasn’t wearing a bra (this was 1972). And every morning in homeroom
Kerry Brown reviews Centrifugal Empire: Central-Local Relations in China by Jae Ho Chung
Since the first unification of China in 220 BCE under the Qin dynasty, the issue of how such a diverse, disparate entity – something more akin at times to an
Kerry Brown reviews The Ghosts of Birds by Eliot Weinberger
Eliot Weinberger has produced essays and translations ranging across cultures and languages. In a hybrid age, he is truly representative of a hybrid intellectual posture and approach. This short series
Kerry Brown reviews Why Mahler? How One Man and Ten Symphonies Changed the World by Norman Lebrecht
The music critic Norman Lebrecht’s title to his study, Why Mahler? How One Man and Ten Symphonies Changed the World (Faber and Faber 2010) has the sort of in-your-face tone
Kerry Brown reviews I Ching: The Essential Translation of the Ancient Chinese Oracle and Book of Wisdom translated by John Minford
I started 2017 by ending a reading of John Minford's magnificent translation of the classical Chinese uber-text, The Book of Changes (I-Ching, or, in pinyin, Yijing): I Ching: The Essential
Gourmand Goes to China
Edouard Cointreau talks about the distinctive characteristics of Chinese gastronomy and the importance Chinese people put on perceived health-giving qualities of what they eat.
Kerry Brown reviews The Killing Wind: A Chinese County’s Descent into Madness during the Cultural Revolution by Tan Heçheng
It is a sultry early autumn day in the central province of Hunan in China, half a century ago in 1967. In a small cluster of villages, remote from the
Kerrry Brown reviews The Golden Lotus by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng, translated by Clementon Egerton
The one thing I knew about the great Ming novel The Golden Lotus (Jinpingmei – 金瓶梅) by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (Tuttle 2011) was that it is regarded as an infamously
After Charlottesville
Reflections on the Charlottesville events and the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois. Discover how the African American community in Great Barrington shaped a global leader.
Kerry Brown reviews More Sex, Lies and the Ballot Box: 50 Things You Need to Know about British Elections, edited by Philip Cowley and Robert Ford
More Sex, Lies and the Ballot Box: 50 Things You Need to Know about British Elections, edited by Philip Cowley and Robert Ford (Biteback Publishing 2016) has about 50 short
Wine Pairing with Christine Parkinson
Christine Parkinson shares what she’s learned about pairing wine with Chinese food and offers Bookworld listeners some new ideas about what to drink and how to learn about what wines work with different Chinese dishes.
Kerry Brown reviews Turgenev’s Letters by Ivan Turgenev, edited by A. V. Knowles
Aged about 19, I spent part of one summer reading the Penguin translations of the novels and short stories of Ivan Turgenev. That sits a bit stark in the memory
Kerry Brown reviews Story of the Stone, or Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin, translated by David Hawkes and John Minford
For me, 2017 will go down as the year I finally managed to make it through the David Hawkes and John Minford five volume translation of the Story of the
Kerry Brown reviews The Journals of Kierkegaard by Søren Kierkegaard, translated by Alexander Dru
Søren Kierkegaard has been a figure that I have felt, since first encountering his work during a year trying to study philosophy at Cambridge in the mid-1980s, I should have
Kerry Brown reviews Through by David Herd
I enjoyed reading David Herd’s Through (Carcanet Press 2016), a collection of poetry assembled from some events and other publications and put under one cover. That gives an opportunity to
Kerry Brown reviews The Tale of the Axe: How the Neolithic Revolution Transformed Britain by David Miles
In the wet spring of 1991, I spent a week travelling around ancient earthworks and Iron Age forts. It was a somewhat esoteric interest I had developed then with a
Kerry Brown reviews Enough Said: What’s Gone Wrong with the Language of Politics by Mark Thompson
Enough Said: What’s Gone Wrong with the Language of Politics (Bodley Head 2016) is about a very important subject, and Mark Thompson outlines that reasonably enough. Public discourse now is
Should I go on the US Trade Mission to China in November?
Update: We were not selected for the trade mission, but are grateful for all the encouragement, and for the many questions (including, "Are you out of your mind?"). It was
Kerry Brown reviews All Out War: The Story of How Brexit Sunk Britain’s Political Class by Tim Shipman
The Chinese Year of the Rooster is apparently – it being a fire rooster we are talking about – the year to bring things to fulfilment but not to instigate
Kerry Brown reviews Citizen Clem by John Bew
While wandering around China in late September last year, on the interminable bus and high speed train journeys, I managed to read through my colleague at King’s College, John Bew’s
Tenaciously Tackling Copyright and Licensing
The company I own, Berkshire Publishing Group, conducts a lot of business in China, so I’m always being asked about intellectual property rights (IPR). I’ve learned that many people equate
On Giving Up Publishing
On Friday evenings, we eat at home in New York, lamps low as the sun sets over the Hudson. We catch up on what’s happened during the week: the news
Kerry Brown reviews The Psalm Killer by Christopher Petit
For a literary accompaniment to Nordic noir, or for those that like novels full of hunts in darkened fields, . . . this is a pretty remarkable work. Just don’t read it too late at night when no one else is in the house!
Berkshire Publishing Goes to China
Originally published in Publishers Weekly Volume 255 Issue 27 07/07/2008 by Judith Rosen Founded a decade ago by Karen Christensen and her ex-husband, David Levinson, as a reference book packager, Berkshire
Seeing the Forest for the Trees: A Sustainable Information Industry
BILL SIEVER Editorial Coordinator Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability, Berkshire Publishing Group KAREN CHRISTENSEN Publisher and CEO Berkshire Publishing Group Seeing the forest: why publishers and
Why Travel Anyway?
The pear was beautiful, brassy gold flushed with crimson, and heavy. The skin began to give as my fingertips went round it. “They’re very ripe,” Julia said. It was so ripe
Kerry Brown, Reader and Reviewer
We have long wanted to publish book reviews, and suddenly find ourselves with a starter set of more than 20, thanks to Kerry Brown of King's College London, editor in
The Care and Repair of Public Myth
“The Care and Repair of Public Myth” appeared as the cover story of Foreign Affairs in Fall 1982, 61(1), 1–13, and was first republished here on the centenary of the
Kerry Brown reviews Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun: Sino-Japanese Relations Past and Present by June Teufel Dreyer
The late Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew once typified the China-Japan relationship as one where, on one side (China's) nothing is forgotten, and on the other (Japan's) nothing
Kerry Brown reviews Parish Church Treasures: The Nation’s Greatest Art Collection by John Goodall
Churches are difficult buildings to interpret. A lot of studies I’ve read tend to treat them as unique, almost sui generis structures that can’t be judged by the aesthetic criterion
Happy Thanksgiving, Expat Stories, and This Is America
Berkshire Publishing's team is thankful for your friendship and partnership. Together, we are responding to the challenges of our time in history, and working to create a sustainable future.
Marvin Mudrick, maverick literary critic
Berkshire Publishing is proud to reintroduce Marvin Mudrick, a prominent literary critic still much admired, with this collection of five books of lively, enjoyable, and often hilarious essays and
Shreddin’ the gnar in the Year of the Dog: 狗年旺旺! Gǒu nián wàng wàng!
Haiwang Yuan 袁海旺, author of our forthcoming Becoming a Dragon, tells us that the Chinese onomatopoetic word to describe the bark of dog - wang 汪 - became popular because it
Trains are our tomorrow
"Think of her as commander of the Western Massachusetts rail uprising...." Pop-up meetings aim to stir advocacy for high-speed passenger rail from Manhattan, Berkshire Eagle.
Women’s Paths to Power & Recognition in Life & Literature
The New York Times published a list today of 15 overlooked women, and I was glad to see that the first, Ida B. Wells, is someone we included in Women and Leadership: History,
Digital Immortality
Many people have been busy downloading all their Facebook content, before making the big decision about whether to pull the plug on that time and identity sink. Imagine if
Media Debates and Divides article for World Press Freedom Day
Today is World Press Freedom Day (#PressFreedom), which prompted me to look at Berkshire's coverage of mass media, a topic that gets covered in some detail in most of our
Our Heart’s Garden
Our Heart's Garden, A Story of Enlightenment "Your heart’s garden," said the caller breathlessly. “I was up there just now, sitting in the sun with the tulips falling over
New Policy & Some Notes on Privacy (the right to be left alone)
Privacy is the right to be left alone. Your privacy, as a customer or author or colleague, is vitally important here at Berkshire Publishing, and this page sets out Berkshire's
We Need All of Human History: Join the campaign #SaveAPWorld! ✂🔭
AP World History is one of the most popular courses offered by the US-based College Board. The AP World History exam was taken by 300,000 students last year. It is now a
Answers to What’s the most important thing to know about China?
These responses to Karen Christensen's question "What's the most important thing to know about China?" come from all over the world. Many are from Berkshire authors. We have arranged
Looking at Berkshire’s LoveUSHateUS.com in 2018
Thinking about how China is perceived always brings me back to the time when the Washington DC-based Congressional Quarterly Press asked us to develop three volumes called Global Perspectives on
Karen’s Letter: Pro-China or Anti-China? A Publisher’s Dilemma
What is the most important thing to understand about China? I decided to send that question to our network of China experts late one afternoon.
The search for real Chinese food: Stories from cafeterias and dorm rooms
Berkshire is going to publish an American version of a cookbook originally written for UK college dining halls. It has been highly praised by experts on authentic Chinese cuisine as
Thanksgiving Feast Yuan Mei
Marjolijn Kaiser, Berkshire's China projects editor, is a fan of the American Thanksgiving holiday in spite of being Dutch and a vegetarian. She is quite the expert on turkey alternatives,
Scientist, Blogger, Culinary Translator
Sean Chen explains how a biomedical engineer and blogger became the first person to translate the Qing dynasty gastronomic masterpiece, the Suiyuan Shidan, into English.
When you walk into the wrong bar
We have just received advance copies of The Joy of Tippling by Ray Oldenburg. Like the bestselling The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other
Who Says You Can’t Change the World?
You can’t change the world, Karen.” I’ve lost track of who said that to me, because it’s happened more than once. I might be on my soapbox about something or
The Georgian Feast with Darra Goldstein
Professor and cookery writer Darra Goldstein talks with Karen Christensen about the 25th-anniversary edition of her cookbook, The Georgian Feast, published by the University of California Press.
Letter from Oxford: The Women behind Famous Men
It’s International Women’s Day and I am at the History Faculty in Oxford, at the Thanks for Typing Conference organized by Wolfson College. I'll be speaking tomorrow about Sophia
Great Barrington, Here we come!
April Fool!We couldn’t resist this one, after Karen walked into a local shop just two weeks ago and was asked if she was “back.” At first she thought this meant
Chef Nick Liu’s inspired ancient recipes
“Are there recipes?” is the first thing many people ask about The Way of Eating, first published in Chinese in 1792. Indeed there are, and at the launch
Religion for the rest of us?
“Let us pray.” On Wednesday I heard a prayer - “grace” - said before dinner for the first time in years. “Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful evening and for
Should a CEO write code?
Back in 2014 I wrote an e-letter entitled “Amazon update: when will the Justice Department step in?” “Never,” most people, even lawyers, said. But things have changed, and maybe antitrust law will
Our logo was popular during the Warring States period
I was curious about mirrors in Chinese culture, having heard that they are valued and important, and discovered that they not only go back to ancient times, but that the
Women’s World Cup: Remembering a night at Foxborough in 1999
When I hear about the Women’s World Cup, I think of Mr. Kim, who was in charge of the North Korean team in 1999. Twenty years later, people are talking
Sequenced cooking that really works
I went to a talk by a cookbook author who said she’d figured out a system for efficient home cooking: big pots of beans and soup, dishes that could be
Marching In New York; The Climate Week
I'm not a fan of big crowds, and my activism generally starts with fingers on a keyboard, but there was no way I wasn't going to be in New York
Touchdown: Sports & Politics, Football In China
From the chapter on China in Touchdown: An American Obsession Goes Global, in which the author notes that American football has drawn Chinese fans away from the NBA : Playing football
What is a “third place,” and do you have one?
Explore Ray Oldenburg's concept of 'third places'—the cafes and hangouts essential to our well-being. Learn why these community spaces are more vital than ever.
The Spirit of Sustainability: print or digital, which is “greener”?
When we published the Encyclopedia of Sustainability in 2012, a librarian wrote, “That goes against the spirit of sustainability.” I got a similar response this week, so I want to explain why
Big History Ebooks Now Available For WH & BHP Classes
Cynthia Stokes Brown wrote BIG HISTORY, SMALL WORLD to help Big History Project students and their teachers, many of whom she knew and befriended in the earliest days of big history education.
First Look at the T S Eliot – Emily Hale Letters (podcast)
In what one scholar called “the literary event of the decade,” on 2 January 2020, Princeton University Library opened up more than 1,100 letters that the Nobel-Prize-winning poet
Tyrannical Leadership
"Show, don't tell." This is common advice for writers, and for marketers, too. I found myself thinking about "showing" this week as I made a mental list of the enlightening
The Way Of Eating Appears In South China Morning Post & The Beijinger
This Qing Dynasty Foodie Taught Farm-To-Table Two Centuries Before It Was Cool "Like many people, we like to read and collect cookbooks but until recently we had never used one
Winter 2020 Catalog From Berkshire
Click the catalog cover at left to open a flipbook showing Winter Spotlight titles. The pansy you see on the cover of this catalog was growing in a crack in the pavement outside a
Gastrodiplomacy in China; T S Eliot’s Love Letters
Chinese food, anyone? I'll be co-presenting a program about gastrodiplomacy at Schwarzman College in Beijing next month, and I am looking for stories to share, from history as well as
Letter from Beijing: Love in the Time of COVID-19
My son Tom works in healthcare finance, and has lived in China since graduating from college. He was quarantined in Lanzhou during the 2009 swine flu epidemic, and now he's
The Encyclopedia of Sustainability
Print publication of the 2nd edition has been delayed due to COVID-19 8.5x11 • 6,084 pages • Hardcover $1999 $999 NOW • 9781614728009 No library is complete without this core 21st-century resource. While you're waiting for
How & Where To Access Berkshire Titles: Digital Availability & Print Books
We got to talking this week about how challenging it must be to be a librarian today. Different formats, different subscription and purchases options, and less than streamlined systems. It
Free Articles: Landscape Art, Nature Writing & More From Encyclopedia Of World Environmental History
Environmental issues have been central here at Berkshire Publishing since we opened shop in 2004. Even before that, we had produced the three-volume Encyclopedia of World Environmental History for Routledge in New
Tom’s 2nd letter from Beijing
This Princess and Prince Party is sure to be canceled. I'm delighted to report that the Train Campaign projects were included in the governor's bond bill last week,
BH Free Reading Copy Request
We're all facing challenges today, and are happy that we've made an effort over the last few months to put our books online in ways more convenient for teaching and
COVID-19 is here (& where has all the toilet paper gone?)
We lived through the ‘80s. We lived through the ‘90s. We lived through the ‘00s. We lived through the ‘10s. And we’ve lived through March. Most of us, that is,
T.S. Eliot “Got Cheese” Campaign Announced
Great Barrington, MA - COVID-19 has delayed the launch of a record-setting marketing deal expected to boost international appreciation of English and European cheeses. The image and words of the Nobel
Berkshire Joins COVID-19 Support Efforts With JStor, EBSCO, ProQuest
We want to make sure you know about some of the ways in which publishers - including Berkshire - are making our books and reference publications available online at reduced
A Letter is Better: Love and Remembrance
Messenger of Sympathy and Love Servant of Parted Friends Consoler of the Lonely Bond of the Scattered Family Enlarger of the Common Life Carrier of News and Knowledge Instrument
The Origins of Berkshire Publishing’s Chinese Name, 宝库山
When I meet someone Chinese, in Beijing or New York or London, they often exclaim over our company's name - the Chinese version, that is. (The name Berkshire creates
Karen’s Letter: The Libraries We Love
Last month I wrote about third places ("What is a “third place,” and do you have one?"). Along with some great stories about your favorite third places, I received a
Karen’s Letter: Foraging & Future Thinking
While the coronavirus continues to change our lives, it does feel as if we’re lifting our heads from the crash position. It's still scary, but less out of control
A Lesson In Community From The Scottish Highlands
“Both hands!” cried John, the laird of the castle. I had missed again, and as I whirled on I breathlessly sympathized with him. How hard could it be, he must
Cooking Our Way Into The Future
I started the Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines both as an excuse to eat and as what I thought would be a pleasant escape from the political drama of publishing about China. That
Black Lives Matter
W E B Du Bois, a great US intellectual & civil rights activist, grew up right here in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. I can think of no more appropriate way
Karen’s Letter: Finding Resilience
I’ve felt low this week and I’m not sure why. Of course I know why. The world’s in a mess, and my own country is amongst the worst of it.
“This Is China” – a conversation with Professor Kerry Brown
Kerry Brown, a leading China scholar based in London, discusses the challenges of 2020 and the growing need to understand China and its history. Berkshire first published This
What’s the Point of Reference? A Berkshire Bookworld Roundtable Podcast
About this podcast In 2009, I wrote in Library Journal that the role of an encyclopedia creator together is to build circles
Impact Investing (Advance Article)
Abstract: The term “impact investing” describes the work of companies, organizations, and funds seeking to achieve measurable social and environmental gains while also generating financial returns. This sector has
Bitcoin and Blockchains (Advance Article)
Abstract: While many new technologies carry the promise of creating a better world, they often have unintended consequences. The promise of blockchains is trust-minimizing and immutable peer-to-peer interactions, but
Food in Chinese Poetry (Advance Article)
Abstract: From antiquity, Chinese poets wrote about all aspects of food: its cultivation, its preparation, its prominence in celebrations, its importance in ancestral rites, its pleasures, and the pain of
Beef in Chinese Cuisines (Advance Article)
Abstract: Nearly ubiquitous in China today, beef was not always so popular. Unlike pork, beef was traditionally a highly regional taste. While people in northern cities like Beijing consumed large
Chinese Food Rituals (Advance Article)
Abstract: Food and drink have played a central role in Chinese religious and ceremonial life from ancient times to the present. The role of food and drink is conspicuous not
Environmental Justice
Abstract: While the term environmental justice has different nuances of meaning for activists, academics, and politicians, most agree that it encompasses the need for a healthy environment for all
Railways and Sustainability
Abstract: Railways for passengers and freight offer strategic advantages in terms of energy efficiency and the ease of adaptation to electric mobility. The relatively small infrastructure footprint of modern rail
Dams (Advance Article)
Abstract: China is home to roughly half the world’s large dams and probably a similar fraction of smaller ones. These structures alter the flow of thousands of the country’s
Ecosystems and Nature Conservation (生态系统与自然保护)
Abstract: Despite two millennia of widespread ecological degradation and an unmatched human population, China is one of the world’s most biologically diverse countries. Its vast land area encompasses an
Industry in China
Abstract: China’s diverse industrial sector is the driving force of the nation’s post-1978 economic “miracle.” While conditions will change in the coming decades as nations in South and Southeast
Tibetan Cuisine
Abstract: Variations in cuisine among the Tibetan minority of China are due in part to environmental diversity. Different ecologies yielded varied adaptive strategies of resource use (economies), and resulted
Recipe Collecting Shípǔ 食谱
Abstract: In Chinese history, the practice of collecting recipes evolved along two parallel but interacting trends. The first placed food within a medical context in order to nourish the
Milk and Dairy Products
Abstract: China has a long history of dairy production and consumption. Milk was appreciated for its culinary and medicinal uses, with successive dynasties expanding production and acquisition of pastoral
Noodles, Lanzhou
Abstract: Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, is home to one of China’s best-known noodle dishes: Lanzhou lamian. Created over a century ago, these hand-pulled beef noodles are a
Cheese
Abstract: Non-rennet cheeses have existed in China for almost two millennia. Such cheeses reflect the influence of the foodways of pastoralists from the steppes, especially Persians and Turks. Premodern
Crayfish in Chinese Cooking
Abstract: First introduced into China by the Japanese in the 1930s, crayfish became popular in the Nanjing area in the early 1990s as part of a dish prepared with
Cuisine of Macau
Abstract: The cooking of the Macanese, an ethnic group originating in Macau, represents one of the earliest examples of creole cooking. What can be seen on the dining plates
Biosphere Reserves
Abstract: UNESCO Biosphere Reserves were first established under the Man and Biosphere Programme of UNESCO in the 1970s. Their mandate has expanded beyond conservation to include sustainable development and
How to Help a Tree in Distress
Karin Vaneker, a writer and activist in the Netherlands, has been helping me by tackling subjects that haven’t yet attracted much scholarly research for the second edition of the
Home Ecology Tips in English and Chinese
Our friend and colleague Catherine ZHOU kindly translated some introductory sections from Karen Christensen's in-progress book Home Ecology. Versions of these tips were included in some of her previous books,
How to run a neighborhood email group
I've been running a listserv called TheHillGB for some years now, and just received this question from a member: "I am considering creating a listserv for work-related purposes. As
Amazon No Smiles
This is going to be a chronological report of Amazon's latest, and so far most incompetent, assault on small publishers and self-published authors: Friday Saturday Sunday Hello from Amazon
More Lessons from World War II
World War II has been on my mind this year, so when I noticed a small red paperback on a bookshelf and realized it was a bit of propaganda written
Meeting Barry Wellman
It's more than 15 years since I wrote the posts below, retrieved today because Barry Wellman isn't well. I had a conversation with his beloved wife Bev, who is at
Educating policy makers as an EDWOSB
After writing today's letter about our EDWOSB certification, I realized that readers might wonder just what I was thinking of selling to the US government. History books? Well, that
Publishing: A guide for the unwary
A comprehensive guide to the publishing process, from copyediting and metadata to distribution. Essential advice for authors navigating traditional and custom paths.
Jesus or Hitler? Data analysis from the Encyclopedia of Leadership
In 2004, SAGE published the Berkshire-conceived Encyclopedia of Leadership. It was the first comprehensive survey of leadership studies and contains 1.2 million words divided among 375 referred articles, 3 appendices, 300
Berkshire titles now at JSTOR
JSTOR is a treasure trove of books and journals, used by people around the world. It's generally accessed through a library account, but you can also set up a
Photos from Shanghai conference launch
The photo comes from the report we just received from Sanlian, the Chinese press that has just published a translated edition of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History, edited
Remembering W E B (Willie) Du Bois on MLK Day
This photo, taken outside my house back when we had winter, makes me think of the little Black boy who used to sled down this street, on what
Our first book in Farsi
We're finally adding a language other than English or Chinese to our publication list, with this Farsi translation of This Fleeting World, which tells the story of the universe
A Reader’s Guide for The Great Good Place
Our first - at least for a long while - sheet of discussion questions for a Berkshire book. This was inspired by a book club purchase of The Great Good
The China Encyclopedia and Library
We're getting ready to launch the China Encyclopedia and Library with professionally edited English articles from China. A more direct window than previously available to students and general readers,
Sustainability Theory
Abstract: Theories of sustainability attempt to prioritize and integrate social responses to environmental and cultural problems. An economic model looks to sustain natural and financial capital; an ecological model
This Is Islam | Religion & War
Our latest email features This Is Islam and the Encyclopedia of Religion and War. I was pleased to reread the Teacher's Preface, which seems apt and timely now. I'm not surprised we've
Downloads page
We've talked about this for ages, and maybe because it's the dull period between winter and Mud Season we finally began gathering from the rich storehouse that is Berkshire
From Regional to International Flavor
"Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish - too much handling will spoil it." Known for their variety and
Lanzhou Noodles (Lánzhōu lāmiàn 兰州拉面)
Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, is home to one of China’s best-known noodle dishes: Lanzhou lamian. Created over a century ago, these hand-pulled noodles are emblematic of both the city itself and the Hui Muslim people of the arid northwest, and they are so important that they are subject to government price controls. Served in clear broth and often eaten for breakfast, Lanzhou lamian has steadily acquired popularity and fame and can now be found at restaurants around China.
Breakfast Philippine Style
Unlike in the West, breakfast in Asia often contains savory dishes, including rice, pickled vegetables, steamed buns, and even noodles. In the Philippines, a favorite breakfast item is sinangag, or
Yuan Mei´s Winged Tribe
Yuan Mei 袁枚 (1716–1798) was one of China´s most important literary figures of the Qing dynasty. Besides poetry and essays, he also wrote a gastronomical manual, Recipes from the
Summer Green Vegetables
When I was getting ready to talk about Chinese food and sustainability last week on the China-US Women's Foundation Women's Power Tool Kit series (postponed because of the hurricane, which
Keeping it casual: Chinese food on the run
I've never had trouble throwing together a quick meal or a snack, but once I started learning about Chinese food that changed. I couldn't easily imagine how to fit together
Chili Peppers
“Food is good to think with” “Tell me what you eat and I will show you who you are.” The visibility
Emperor’s Cabbage Salad 乾隆白菜
My friend apologized that the area of Beijing had only local restaurants, nothing grand, but I learned long ago that there is fabulous food in hole-in-the-wall places in China. I
Sichuan summer dishes
We're charmed by the writing and photographs by food blogger Elaine in Sichuan, China, after coming across her page about Chinese Dishes for Hot Summers when searching for some Sichuan
Chinese Thanksgiving Meal
If you’d like to try something new for Thanksgiving rather than the usual turkey (or tofurkey) and cranberry sauce, take a look at our “alternative” meal based on recipes from
Barbara Tropp and Pink Root Ends
One of my favorite cookbooks has been, for years and long before I thought of food publishing, Barbara Tropp’s 1982 The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking. It doesn’t have the glossy photographs of Fuchsia Dunlop’s books, and the recipes are long – which might suggest complexity. But what Tropp does is take the reader by the hand and, with words, helps us see and taste and feel – before we write a shopping list or pick up a knife.
Peking Duck Turkey
Peking Duck Turkey Author: Dimon Liu Eating turkey is a must on Thanksgiving Day in the US, but I find the way turkey is usually cooked here too tough and
Shanxi 山西 noodles in Beijing
I first tasted these honeycomb oat noodles near the Summer Palace on a cold December day a couple of years ago. I tried to find instructions for making them, and
My Favorite Breakfast (Tofu Nao)
My son Tom found my favorite cold cereal at a shop in his Beijing neighborhood, but after eating a Chinese breakfast with him around the corner, there’s not a chance of my eating
Getting Pickled, Chinese Style
I posted a photo on Facebook of the jar of "Dilly Beans" I'd put up in July, after visiting friends with a surfeit of dill. I use a recipe from a favorite book from the 1960s. It's obviously loved and remembered by other people and you can find the story here: http://ow.ly/T4MMu. My reward was getting a response from a publishing friend, Paul Evans, in Singapore with his Chinese wife's recipe for pickled vegetables. Fang Yan has kindly allowed me to share her recipe. Thanks to both Paul and Fang for both the recipe and the photographs!
35 Chinese cuisines
http://www.berkshirepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BP2CarolynPhillips_podcast.mp3 Carolyn Phillips explains why she divides Chinese food into 35 different styles, instead of the supposedly classic four or eight. Her divisions correspond to dialects – “people eat
Introducing Ken Hom, author of My Stir-Fried Life
A visit last year to Britain and an evening spent with great chefs was a welcome break from the turmoil of the US election. But everything is connected, and my
Beef Noodle Soup 牛肉面 (niúròumiàn)
Beef Noodle Soup 牛肉面 (niúròumiàn) Cuisine: Chinese Author: Karen Christensen This slow-simmering soup is a popular fast food in northern China. This recipe is one of our favorites because it’s
Uyghur Big-plate Fried Chicken
Uyghur Big-plate Fried Chicken Author: Laura Kelley Laura Kelley: This is a quintessential Uyghur dish of stir-fried chicken, potatoes, and bell peppers in a rich sauce redolent of star anise
Braised Eggplant 红烧茄子 (hóngshāo qiézi)
Braised Eggplant 红烧茄子 (hóngshāo qiézi) Cuisine: Chinese Author: Karen Christensen This is my favorite Chinese dish. It is vegetarian and extremely flavorful. You can adjust the spiciness by changing the
The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
Among our favorite books about China are the novels of Nicole Mones, who first went to China to start her own import business when she was 25. Not many business
Hot and Sour Potato Shreds
Hot and Sour Potato Shreds 酸辣土豆丝 (suān là tǔdòusī) Cuisine: Chinese Author: Karen Christensen Here’s how to make a really delicious home-style comfort dish that can be found in almost
Jiaozi 饺子 (dumplings)
Jiaozi are standard street food and snack food in many parts of China, and a jiaozi party is great fun on any cool evening. Making and eating jiaozi is an introduction to the big heart of China – the laughter, the conversation, and savoring of simple ingredients in perfect harmony - steam rising, the rich aromatic scents of ginger and sesame oil wafting, and the sizzle of chili pepper making our noses tingle. There’s no better way to spend an evening.
Sichuan Ma La (Spicy) Crawfish or Shrimp
On one of my first trips to Chinatown in New York I was entranced by a tub of crawfish, which I knew were a treat in France and Louisiana.
Cucumber with Garlic and Sesame Oil
Cucumber with Garlic and Sesame Oil Author: Karen Christensen This is a simple, versatile side dish that people unfamiliar with Chinese cuisine enjoy immediately. The amount of garlic can be
Uyghur Five-Spice Blend
Uyghur Five-Spice Blend Author: Laura Kelley Ingredients 1/4 cup cumin seeds 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns 3 tablespoons black peppercorns 10 dried red chilies (Japones will work but Sichuan is best)
Sichuan Mouthwatering Beef (Ma La Niu Rou)
Sichuan Mouthwatering Beef (Ma La Niu Rou) Author: Karen Christensen This beef is best served cold either as an appetizer or in combination with other cold dishes. Ingredients ¾ lb.
Spicy Buckwheat (Soba) Noodles
Spicy Buckwheat Noodles (Suan La Qiao Mian) Author: Karen Christensen I made these buckwheat noodles tossed in a little sesame oil to go with "Hot and Numbing Chicken." I didn't
Sichuan Mouthwatering Chicken
Sichuan Mouthwatering Chicken (Ma La Ji Pian) Author: Karen Christensen This excellent cold dish, served in China as an appetizer, can be treated as a super-charged chicken salad. There are
Chili or “Red” Oil (Hong You)
Chili or "Red" Oil (Hong You) 自製辣椒醬 Author: Karen Christensen Ingredients 2 c. peanut, corn, or other mild vegetable oil ½ c. chili flakes—these can be purchased in bulk at
Celery, Tofu, and Peanut Salad
Celery, Tofu, and Peanut Salad Author: Karen Christensen This is my variation of one of the first recipes I tried from Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop. Easy, delicious,
Simple Tofu Salad
Simple Tofu Salad Author: Karen Christensen If you keep toasted sesame seeds around, as I do, this takes just seconds to rustle up. (I toast the seeds in a glass
Yunnan Mint Salad
Yunnan Mint Salad Author: Karen Christensen I had this at a Yunnanese restaurant in Beijing and was blown away by the idea of a whole bowlful of beautiful mint leaves
Chinese Summer Dishes
2014 was a summer of blockbuster sunshine, breathtaking thunderstorms, and my first forays into Chinese cooking. This was much scarier than the storms because I'm in such unfamiliar territory and yet catering for
Flushing Food Trip
Today, the day after the Climate March in New York City, I am going to Flushing, in Queens, a to learn about Chinese food. The two things are not unconnected.
A Publishing Cook’s Dilemma
Now that I’m going to be a food writer and publisher, I have to decide whether to go with the casual and imprecise mode of recipe writing – “add a dollop of crème fraise,” “bake until done” – that is most congenial to me, an inveterate adaptor of any recipe. Or will readers demand the chemistry-lab precision of Cooks Illustrated?
There’s a good argument for precision in the fact that most people do not learn to cook while growing up, and may never have seen much home cooking being done. They don’t know what changes a cake goes through as it bakes, or that fresh green vegetable become much darker green as they cook (only later, if cooked too long, do they become sludge green and dank). Simple instructions like “fold in two egg whites whipped until stiff” will confound a novice who has never hung out in a kitchen with a skilled home cook.
On the other hand, precise recipes with detailed measurements, methods, and ingredients are daunting. A compromise that I really dislike is cookery books that offer recipe “templates” with dozens of substitutes and alternatives, so no dish is coherent. It’s like turning culinary arts into a frozen yoghurt shop where you can pile your cup of strawberry yoghurt with gummy bears and peanuts and toffee bars. Yuck.
Sustainability Values
Abstract: Conceptualizations of human values play a central role in the theory and practice of sustainability. How humans value the natural environment is central to how resources are distributed. A
New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale
Abstract: The New Ecological Paradigm scale is a measure of endorsement of a “pro-ecological” world view. It is used extensively in environmental education, outdoor recreation, and other realms where
Books about religion and science
Berkshire has long published books on world religions and included religion, philosophy, and spiritual traditions in other publications. It's important to us to reach across political divides, both internationally
Now at Apple: This Fleeting World in Farsi
We're launching a new program with non-English books distributed internationally from the US. The first titles are in Myanmar/Burmese and in Farsi. The Farsi translation of This Fleeting World
Exploring China through biography
I came across a note this morning of something someone said to me at an Association for Asian Studies conference: "It's remarkable how you publish books that are accessible
April Fool’s 2024
April Fool's! Our MIT West story is a fantasy, a dream of what could be. Some of the details are real. Most are not. Below is a photo of
Asian editions of Berkshire books
It's not been a cruel April here at Berkshire Publishing, with copies of translated books arriving one after the other. You'll see here a complex Chinese (that's the written
Making world history
With Earth Day as well as the impending vote on aid to Ukraine on my mind, I came across an essay by Donald Worster, the founder or instigator of
World Publishing (China) interview with Karen Christensen
“我感兴趣的是对非中文读者有意义的图书” (“I am interested in books that are meaningful to non-Chinese readers.”) 沈凯伦 Karen Christensen，美国宝库山出版社CEO）- the original English Q&A and notes appear below the Chinese text, and the PDF
Beaver lodge by Carl Kurtz
Our cover photograph by Carl Kurtz shows fireflies (Pyractomena borealis) on the Iowa prairie. We selected this image for the Encyclopedia of Sustainability because it so vividly presents the
Imagination in international relations
This is the short speech Karen Christensen gave at the literary panel in Dunhuang in May 2025, and two videos produced by the organizers - the China Writers
Afterword: The Waste Land
The Waste Land: Publisher’s Note Karen Christensen This was included in the 100th anniversary edition as an afterword. In 1986, I was hired by Valerie Eliot, T. S. Eliot’s
We love libraries
We've now gathered our library-related publications together on a single page, which you can find here. I enjoyed rereading something I'd written about the libraries I love:When I ran away
Related Berkshire Titles
In 2006, we first published a book about the Black community in Great Barrington. It contains a good deal of Du Bois’s teenage writing. David Levering Lewis, author of the Pulitzer-prize-winning, two-volume biography of Du Bois (in fact, each of the volumes won a Pulitzer), wrote this:
The AME Zion Church turns out not to have been “sometimes attended” but a place of continual and important social reference for him. He filed regular reports to the Globe and Freeman detailing the church’s busy doings – the AME Zion Sewing Society’s monthly supper at the home of Mr. Jason Cooley (April 10); the well-attended quarterly-meeting services, attracting worshipers from Lee and Stockbridge (May 29); . . . and, in the last report for 1883 (December 26), the startling news that that fifteen-year-old Willie [Du Bois] is secretary of the Zion Sewing Society.
And we discovered that the editor of another Berkshire volume, part of the Religion & Society series we created for Routledge, began his introduction by writing about Du Bois:
In what were perhaps his most conciliatory remarks concerning African-American religion, scholar and activist W. E. B. Du Bois (whose Autobiography is now published by Berkshire) wrote in The Gift of Black Folk (1924) that, “Above and beyond all that we have mentioned, perhaps least tangible, but just as true, is the peculiar spiritual quality which the Negro has injected into American life and civilization. It is hard to define and characterize it – a certain spiritual joyousness, a sensuous, tropical love of life, in vivid contrast to the cool and cautious New England reason; a slow and dreamful conception of the universe, a drawling and slurring of speech, an intense sensitiveness to spiritual values – all of these things and others like to them, tell of the imprint of Africa on Europe in America. There is no gainsaying or explaining away this tremendous influence of the contact of the north and south, of black and white, of Anglo-Saxon and Negro.”
As might be expected over such a long and varied career, Du Bois changed his mind about religion many times. He was especially ambivalent about the role of religion in promoting social change, and by the middle of the twentieth century saw religion as an overwhelmingly conservative force. But he was always willing to reconsider his position. His biographer David Levering Lewis (1995) notes that in 1955 Du Bois – at that time thoroughly agnostic and anticlerical – said of Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Bus Boycotts that he had “expected to live to see many things, but never a militant Baptist preacher.”
We also publish, in a new edition, Invisible Poets by Joan R. Sherman, “who pioneered in the rediscovery of nineteenth-century Afro-American literature,” writes Henry Louis Gates, Jr., director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute at Harvard, “Her work of literary resurrection is a signal achievement, combining deft historical detective work with a subtle critical sensibility.” Sherman sought “to strip myth and misinformation from their lives and to offer the most accurate biographies and bibliographies obtainable after a century of neglect.” Sherman studies twenty-six representative poets of the nineteenth century. Their work, which ranges from “militant, race-proud jeremiads to sentimental nature and love lyrics,” faithfully conforms to nineteenth-century poetic standards. At the same time, it reflects the changing American political and cultural scene and provides an invaluable record of over a hundred years of Black experience as articulated by sensitive and talented American writers.
