College of Communication

“Reads like a thriller . . . Zuckoff does a remarkable job not only of describing the chaos and confusion at Kabul airport, but also of framing the fraught choices faced by Afghans and Americans alike.  The Secret Gate describes, in compelling detail, the excruciating decisions faced by members of the diplomatic corps and military as they decided who to evacuate and who to leave behind; however, the book doesn’t fall into the trap of allowing the American narrative to subsume the Afghan one. [It] is a fast-paced escape narrative, but it is also a morally complex interrogation of Homeira’s wrenching choice.” —The Washington Post

"Today we are in an ethics deficit. It’s not pretty and it makes the job of the communicator even more challenging. We all have to be experts. Mark McClennan’s Ethical Voices will help you become that expert. Through 100 real-world ethics incidents with advice from global industry leaders, you will be on the path to being the ethics steward for your organization." – Gini Dietrich, founder and CEO, Spin Sucks

“White Hot Hate is both a fascinating primer on radicalization and a page-turning, cinematic legal thriller. Encouraged by a white supremacist presidential candidate fomenting fear of immigrant ‘infestation,’ a small group of extremists plots an attack that would have caused more death and destruction than the horrific 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. A single witness to their plot manages to stop it, saving hundreds of lives and serving as a model of moral courage. The story teaches us about the potential power of a single, valiant voice.” —Jessica Stern, author of Terror in the Name of God and member of the Homeland Security Experts Group

"Dead Reckoning is the riveting story of how the U.S. sought to kill Japanese naval admiral Isoroku Yamamato for his diabolical masterminding of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Major John Mitchell and his avenger flyboys emerges in these pages as true-blue military heroes of the Greatest Generation ilk. The amount of new research Lehr has undertaken about Operation Vengeance is breathtaking. Highly recommended!" – Douglas Brinkley

"Divine Programming takes the innovative approach of combining industry studies methods with textual analysis of a wide range of TV shows to create an insightful step forward in the relatively understudied area of religion on dramatic TV. Charlotte Howell's carefully analyzed interviews with producers and industry execs offer critical new insight into how Hollywood imagines religion, especially Christianity, on mainstream TV during a period of intense and rapid change for the industry." – Jorie Lagerwey, Head of Film Studies, University College - Dublin

"An exhilarating romp, entertaining and enlightening… Readers roaring with laughter at outrageous puns one moment find themselves carefully assessing psychological studies the next… Geary’s own puckish style - mischievous and unpredictable - itself sparkles with wit."  – Booklist, starred review

"Vigil's book is one of the more balanced on this topic, examining the work of both Obama and Trump with a non-sensational, nonpartisan voice that remains honest and doesn't hide anything, and a willingness to retrieve lessons from past administrations as examples. In detail, Vigil also shows why a thick skin is necessary for the spouse in the White House; and then she flips the script, showing how, if a FLOTUS ever decides to opt out and stay home, she'd have history behind her. No doubt, Melania and Michelle is perfect for anyone interested in politics but it will also appeal to the reader who wants a behind-the-scenes look at a job that only a select few will ever hold." ― The Washington Informer

"Katz and Mays assembled a stellar group of experts on journalism from across the social and behavior sciences, the humanities, and technology fields to inquire about the construction, circulation, and reception of truth. This volume illuminates critical challenges and opportunities that contemporary media face, which will be of great interest to scholars, students, practitioners, and the general public" - Pablo J. Boczkowski, Northwestern University

“Filmmakers Gerald Peary and Amy Geller do a great job of remaining neutral so you can come to your own conclusions. They open your eyes, showing you all the different sides, and then, in the spirit of Jews when they’ve had enough, wish you a Zei Gezunt so you can finish the discussion on your own.” – Lois Alter Mark, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

"A minute-to-minute, suspenseful, heart-wrenching and inspirational narrative, Fall and Rise should endure as a prose poem memorial to a day like no other." – Minneapolis StarTribune

“The story may be set in the past, but it couldn’t be a more timely reminder that true courage comes not from fitting in, but from purposefully standing out . . . and that to find out who you really are, you have to first figure out what you’re not.” — Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things

"Patrice A. Oppliger’s Tweencom Girls: Gender and Adolescence in Disney and Nickelodeon Sitcoms offers an insightful and vivid exploration of characters and themes found in popular tween comedies. Such an in-depth look at the tweencom genre is long overdue. The arguments are rich, and the examples are abundant and deep. Oppliger’s read of female stereotypes and girl power stretches beyond princess culture and provides fresh constructions of key tropes and themes." – Nancy Jennings, University of Cincinnati

“Moms in Chief: The Rhetoric of Republican Motherhood and the Spouses of Presidential Nominees, 1992–2016, is an insightful examination of the politics and rhetoric of presidential spouses and aspiring presidential spouses. It breaks new ground in exploring the role these unique political actors play in the American political process. Tammy Vigil has written the authoritative study on this subject that scholars in the field will be citing for decades.” — Brian Frederick, associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at Bridgewater State University and coauthor of American Presidential Candidate Spouses: The Public’s Perspective

Winner: Best LGBQ Narrative Short, Big Bear Film Summit

“It’s rare to find such raw emotion in a documentary, and rarer still to see it in a full, satisfying story. The Silent Soldier shows that moral redemption is something that really can happen in the lives of all of us.  Ultimately, it’s a film about the incalculable value of a single human life.”  — Murray Horwitz, NPR commentator, Tony Award-winning playwright

"Shell has gathered the kindling of true systemic change—social trust, collective ownership, experiments with universal basic income, the concern over alienation—and writes with compassion, heart, and verve.” – Harper's Magazine

Distributor: In process

“Covering America is extremely well written and comprehensive, and I love its focus on the personalities who shaped American journalism, particularly its attention to women and African Americans.” — Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down

“The autopsy reports of bullet wound trajectories suggest nothing less than extrajudicial executions, sinister echoes of apartheid-era death squad activities. But no summary of what happened at Marikana can do justice to Marinovich’s narrative, nor to the miners, police and security guards who lost their lives while authorities created ‘plausible deniability’ for themselves.” — Anthony Egan, Daily Maverick

“Everybody Had an Ocean is a fascinating, hypnotic look at the underside of the California dream. With smooth prose and keen reporting, William McKeen peels back the facade of peace and love and thoroughly examines the dark heart behind a generation of music. This is binge reading at its best.” — Michael Connelly, New York Times bestselling author of The Wrong Side of Goodbye and The Crossing

“This book is a monumental, fearless, and insightful contribution of critique that looks both with and at Gardner s works as a whole.” — Catherine Summerhayes, author of Google Earth: Outreach and Activism

“One can’t read this book without concluding that age is only a mind-set. If you’re over fifty, you may find yourself cheering out loud. If you’re under fifty, you’ll certainly find your stereotypes about aging challenged. No matter how old you are, you will gain renewed respect for the abilities that come with age.” — Ellen J. Langer, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University; author of Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Psychology of Possibility, Mindfulness, and The Power of Mindful Learning

“Ureneck’s narrative is intense and vivid.” — Philadelphia Inquirer

“Author Stephen Kurkjian, who won three Pulitzer Prizes as a Globe investigative reporter, has pulled together a cast of characters that would make Martin Scorsese swoon in admiration. There are so many crime-world figures with their fingers in this story that the book is like a ‘GoodFellas’/’The Departed’ double feature.” — William McKeen, Boston University

Distributor: Passion River Films ASIN:  B0788YKWNT

Distributor: In process

"[T]his book is an excellent introduction to the philosophical issues concerning the emergent media. The breadth of philosophical scope and the variety of philosophical positions applied to the issues make it particularly valuable. It opens numerous paths to further development of genuinely philosophical approaches to the media from a varied menu of approaches that utilize most contemporary philosophical schools...the work is excellent in offering ideas for further development and application." - Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"[T]his book is an excellent introduction to the philosophical issues concerning the emergent media. The breadth of philosophical scope and the variety of philosophical positions applied to the issues make it particularly valuable. It opens numerous paths to further development of genuinely philosophical approaches to the media from a varied menu of approaches that utilize most contemporary philosophical schools...the work is excellent in offering ideas for further development and application." – Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

“This innovative book is a valuable and original addition to the voluminous literature on agenda setting. It includes chapters on the theoretical and methodological foundations of this third level of agenda-setting research by two former students of Maxwell McCombs, as well as case studies using this new approach in political communication and public relations by a wide range of scholars from the U.S. and other countries. It is essential and thought-provoking reading for those interested in agenda-setting research.” — David H. Weaver, Indiana University

“Vigil’s book underscores the importance of identifying with voters via the nominating convention. It is a comprehensive analysis of the many genres of convention rhetoric and the role that each speech plays in creating a bond between the nominee and the electorate. This fascinating work is sure to benefit the student of politics, rhetoric, and public address.” — John M. Jones, Pepperdine University

“The stories about the storytellers in Women Screenwriters: An International Guide are sometimes as absorbing and fascinating as what the storytellers themselves had created as screenplays. The editors and writers of this book have conducted impressive research and new synthesis that often results in discoveries about film writers who happen to be of female gender, and thus contributing greatly to cinema scholarship.” — Milch Manchevski, Macedonian screenwriter/director of Academy Award nominated Before the Rain (1994), Dust (2001), and Mothers (2010)

“A revelation twice-over. The interviews collected in this book give us fascinating and perceptive self-portraits, by some of our foremost radical communications scholars: both the prevailing patterns of power, and the individual political commitments needed to challenge them, stand clearly before us. Along the way, the book provides rich insights into the structure of contemporary communications, confirming that critical scholarship has built up a unique capacity to comprehend this crucial domain.” — Dan Schiller, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

ASIN: B00PFXLEU2

Surprisingly fresh, haunting, and potent, Ureneck offers a new perspective on the unforgiveable tragedy at Smyrna and the modern religio-ethnic conflicts that continue to trouble the region.” — Publisher’s Weekly

ASIN: B00X18WVHI

“This is an important addition to the agenda-setting and voting literature in several respects. It brings various theories of information processing to bear on agenda-setting research, and it emphasizes the role of visual content in agenda-setting effects. It also analyzes the relative strength of first- and second-level agenda-setting effects on voting behavior in one Taiwanese and four U.S. presidential elections. As such, this program of work represents probably the only longitudinal effort so far to examine visuals for their second-level agenda setting effects.” — David H. Weaver, Indiana University

Distributor: Rimer Blue Films

“No red-blooded American of today would favor censoring works of art. But while reading Dick Lehr’s fascinating new book, The Birth of a Nation, you may find yourself rooting for just that.” — Washington Post

“13 HOURS provide(s) a moving reminder of the sacrifice made by these men who had voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way, and who ‘believed in their work and their country.’” — The Boston Globe

Distributor: First Run Features

ASIN: B00BS9AX7W

"A fine survey of anti--bullying school programs...a powerful analysis" – Midwest Book Review

“[T]he events Mr. Zuckoff relates are terrifying, horrible, remarkable and, sometimes, thrilling. … He is a skilled writer, reporter and researcher, but what gives his latest book its power is his poignant, persuasive depiction of men under arms.” — The Wall Street Journal

“Fast Minds delivers!  A concise, practical, easy-to-read, yet sophisticated guide to what will help you most if you have ADHD.  This book has the virtues of brevity and simplicity without losing the authority and power its roots in evidence and research provide.  A superb book.” — Edward Hallowell, M.D., coauthor of Driven to Distraction

“Prima is a moving portrait of Larisssa Ponomarenko, prima ballerina of the Boston Ballet, who has recently hung up her pointe shoes to pursue new avenues of self-expression.” — Film Society of Lincoln Center

“Infectious outpourings of harmony in this beautifully synched wedding of music and history.” — Ronnie Scheib, Variety

“This book offers hope and practical guidance to heal your child’s whole body system. It will be an important reference for everyone who knows someone with autism or has an interest in the field to read, study, and use.” — Robert L. Hendren, DO, professor and vice chair, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco

“Mile Marker Zero is a wonderful zinger of a book. Never before have the literary traditions of the Conch Republic been mined for such gold nugget anecdotes. McKeen has once again proven why he is perhaps the most lucid and imaginative professor of journalism history in modern-day America. Every page sings a story worth a Jimmy Buffett song.” — Douglas Brinkley

“Graceful . . . an inspiring literary construction that lovingly illuminates the depth of family bonds and the character and culture of the New England countryside.” — National Geographic Traveler

“I just spent a very full Saturday with Robert Altman: An Oral Biography, eavesdropping on a group of the most interesting people sharing in one of my absolute favorite topics of conversation–and I just now put it down feeling heartbroken but happily and deeply inspired by him (the topic) once again. I congratulate Mr. Zuckoff on this book which is destined to become an essential part of the permanent record–and is wonderful. Also, he doesn’t mind including some of the real dirt here and there. I liked that choice, and I speculate that Robert Altman would have, too.” — Wes Anderson

“This gives some idea of the breadth, creativity, and intelligence that distinguish this fine collection of essays on a filmmaker I still stand by as one of the most artfully audacious of our day.”  — Film Quarterly, 1 April 2012

“More stuff for less! -the American recipe for material well-being. Now Ellen Ruppel Shell takes a hard look at this apparently simple notion and finds it isn’t so simple after all. Cheap pulls apart the old economic verities and subjects the glib new promises of Wall Street and globalization to scrutiny. How did we find ourselves in our current mess? Shell finds part of the answer in our confused ideas about what, exactly, is a bargain price.”

— Charles C. Mann, author of 1491.

“A compelling argument for using techniques from animal trainers to help change bad habits and improve relationships.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“An absolute gem… Sutherland has found a cast of unforgettable characters, a madcap bunch of dreamers, entrepreneurs, and kitchen wizards.” — Michael Paterniti, author of Driving Mr. Albert