August 2022 open access books

Our August titles may be few- but they are perfectly formed. 

The latest in our growing Literature and Translation series, Paradise from behind the Iron Curtain: Reading, translating and staging Milton in Communist Hungary provides a detailed survey of the key responses to Milton’s work in Hungarian state socialism. The four decades between 1948 and 1989 saw a radical revision of previous critical and artistic positions and resulted in the emergence of some characteristically Eastern European responses to Milton’s works. Critical and artistic appraisals of Milton’s works in the communist era proved more controversial than receptions of other major Western authors: on the one hand, Milton’s participation in the Civil War earned him the title of a ‘revolutionary hero,’ on the other hand, religious aspects of his works were often disregarded and sometimes proactively suppressed.

Obstacles to Environmental Progress:  A U.S. perspective is an altogether different beast. Peter Schulze identifies 18 practical obstacles that routinely and predictably hinder U.S. progress on existing environmental problems. he obstacles apply to problems small and large and, in most cases, regardless of whether an issue is controversial. 

Comments by Al Wurth of Lehigh University sum it up in a nutshell: ‘I have never come across another book that gives students such an accessible and helpful guide to the broad scope of the challenges facing an environmentally sound and sustainable future.’ 

 As always: stay safe, and we'll be back to update you next month!