Iowa and the Midwest Experience series—Call for Proposals

Any history buffs out there? Our Iowa and the Midwest Experience series aims to publish innovative books on the social, cultural, economic, political, and geographical issues that have shaped the history of Iowa and other midwestern states. In addition to presenting current research and suggesting future directions for scholars, the series aims to make midwestern history more accessible to the general public.

From Necessary Courage: Iowa’s Underground Railroad in the Struggle against Slavery, by Lowell J. Soike (winner of the 2014 Shambaugh Prize in Iowa History) to the forthcoming Archaeological Guide to Iowa, to books on the Fairfield-based Transcendental Meditation movement and photos of the Iowa State Fair in 2013, we’ve got something for everyone who cares about Iowa’s past, present, and future.

And we’re always looking for more! If you’re writing about Iowa history and culture, please consider the University of Iowa Press as a publisher. You can find more information about what kind of projects we are interested in and proposal guidelines on our website.

Thanks!

Hot off the Press: TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION IN AMERICA

The University of Iowa Press is proud to announce the release of our newest Iowa and the Midwest Experience title, Transcendental Meditation in America: How a New Age Movement Remade a Small Town in Iowa, by Joseph Weber!

Praise
"Fairfield, Iowa, is both a unique cultural phenomenon and a microcosm of the Baby Boomers' attempt to integrate Indian spirituality into mainstream life. Joseph Weber reports this fascinating and historically significant story with the objectivity, balance, and illuminating prose of a skilled journalist."—Philip Goldberg, author, American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West

"Weber brings a journalist's eye for character and story to this engrossing account of Transcendental Meditation and the town—and lives—in transformed. Along the way he probes religious and cultural questions about tradition and change, healing, community, place, and much more. This book is a lively and eye-opening delight."—Matthew S. Hedstrom, University of Virginia