Shelf Life

Deep dives into the freedom songs of the Civil Rights Movement, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine and Canada’s role in the strategic rivalry between the United States and China highlight academic efforts by Furman graduates.

Never Too Late: Growing Up Before You Grow Old by Megan Ness ’01.

Never Too Late: Growing Up Before You Grow Old

By Megan Ness ’01

(Megan Hart Ness)

What if the obstacles holding you back aren’t external circumstances, but internal patterns you haven’t yet learned to recognize? Therapist and coach Megan Hart Ness ’01 reveals the transformative truth: It’s never too late to develop the emotional maturity that changes everything.

Growing up isn’t just about age, it’s about developing the emotional intelligence and self-awareness that unlock your full potential. This guide attempts to reveal why so many adults struggle with relationships, self-doubt and unfulfilled dreams and provides a practical road map for change.

Sandhill Cities: Metropolitan Ambitions in August, Columbus, and Macon, Georgia by MarkSouther ’94.

Sandhill Cities: Metropolitan Ambitions in Augusta, Columbus, and Macon, Georgia

BY J. Mark Souther ’94

(Louisiana State University Press)

“Sandhill Cities” is a comparative history of Augusta, Columbus and Macon, Georgia, in the 20th century. Weaving together Southern, urban and environmental history, J. Mark Souther ’94 narrates urban boosters’ hopes and actions in their pursuit of metropolitan stature in three midsized cities situated along the fall line running through the middle of the state.

An Introduction to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by Akan Malici

An Introduction to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

BY Akan Malici

(Routledge)

As one of the most enduring and bitter struggles seen in more than 100 years, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a powder keg, always on the verge of exploding and drawing in the wider region, the international community at large and particularly the United States. This book fills in the gaps of understanding while puncturing false dichotomies and tearing down walls of ideology or indifference.

It addresses perennial questions including: When and why did the conflict start? What exactly are the claims of the contending sides? Why does peace seem unattainable? What is a likely long-term outcome and how can it be brought about in a peaceful way, doing justice to both sides?

For students, scholars and citizens of the world, this book provides a concise and level-headed way to understand one of the most complex and vexing conflicts of our time.

Akan Malici is a professor of politics and international affairs at Furman.

Canada and Competing Indo-Pacific Visions of China and the US by Kenneth Holland ’70.

Canada and Competing Indo-Pacific Visions of China and the US

BY Kenneth Holland ’70

(Palgrave-Macmillan)

This book analyzes the choices that Canada, as a middle power, has regarding the strategic rivalry between the United States and China. The administrations of Donald Trump and Joe Biden have taken a hard-line stance toward Beijing, which in turn has adopted an increasingly belligerent tone toward Washington. The posture of the United States toward China has put traditional American allies in a difficult position. They must choose whether to join the effort to counter China’s ambitions, support those ambitions or take some intermediate stance.

As one of America’s closest and longest-standing allies, Canada must make decisions that will affect its position in the world for the rest of the 21st century. This book argues that Canada’s national interests are best served by alignment with the confrontational posture of the United States while joining the efforts of U.S. allies Japan, India and South Korea to moderate the thrust of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy in a direction more consistent with multi-lateralism and the preservation of the rules-based international order. 

The Resounding Revolution: Freedom Song After 1968 by Stephen Stacks ’10.

The Resounding Revolution: Freedom Song after 1968

By Stephen Stacks ’10
(University of Illinois Press)

Far from being bound by the timeframe of the 1960s, freedom song continues to evolve as a tool both of historical memory and of present activism. Stephen Stacks ’10 looks at how post-1968 freedom song helps us negotiate our present relationship to the era while sustaining the contemporary struggle inspired by it.

Stacks’s analysis shifts the focus of attention from genre (freedom song) to process and practice (freedom singing). As he shows, freedom singing after 1968 generates multi-layered meanings. It can reinforce, or resist, consensus memories or dominant narratives. Stacks illuminates freedom singing’s diversity by examining it in three contexts: performance, protest, and within documentary sound recording/film.

“The Resounding Revolution” examines 60 years of Black music to challenge and reshape the entrenched story of the Civil Rights Movement.