Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Andrew Denning

Andrew Denning is a postdoctoral fellow in history at the University of British Columbia.

His new book is Skiing into Modernity: A Cultural and Environmental History.

Recently I asked Denning about what he was reading. His reply:
I’m currently plowing through Guy Delisle’s fantastic Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City — an absolute joy to read! Delisle, a graphic novelist, accompanied his partner to Israel for a year while she worked for Doctors Without Borders in the West Bank. The author cared for the couple’s two children as his partner went to work each day, and his observations of daily life are rendered in an engaging visual style and with a wry sense of humor. He offers occasional descriptions of the political situation and ethnic conflicts in this city celebrated by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, but his work is most revelatory in its study of the routines, frustrations, and surprises of everyday life in this ancient city. Traffic jams, border waits, and security checks are commonplace, and Delisle’s fish-out-of-water record — equal parts travelogue, diary, and journalistic reportage — offers fresh new insight into the joys and struggles of daily life in this city wracked by conflict.
Learn more about Skiing into Modernity at the University of California Press website and Andrew Denning's website.

--Marshal Zeringue