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Telling stories about books by campus scholars

An illustration of two fishes with the skin unwrapped to reveal the internal anatomy: skeleton on the left and organs on the right.
Photo Credit
Jessica Eggers
With its fantastical illustrations and offbeat humor, "Gonzo Ichthyology" leads readers through topics in fish biology and other flights of fancy.

Ichthyology meets ‘Through the Looking Glass,’ in pen and ink

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book cover in wood block stile image of fields and a comb
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Courtesy

From Amazon pastures to suburban lawns and groomed bodies: Anthropologist’s new book explores the meanings of plants and hair
A book titled The Correspondence of Henry D. Thoreau: Volume 3: 1857–1862 is propped on a stone wall with a building marked Library blurred in the background.
Photo Credit
Courtesy UCSB Library
A copy of "Correspondence Volume 3" photographed in front of UCSB Library's Paseo West entrance.

UCSB’s Thoreau Edition publishes final volume of Henry David Thoreau’s correspondence
book cover inside abstracted image of book cover as blurry background

New collection examines the lasting effects of purity culture
two men in a black and white photo in the desert with one pointing out to the horizon and the other behind a 1950s motion film camera
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Courtesy
Archival photograph on the back cover of “Pipeline Cinema: The Cultural Infrastructure of Oil Extraction in Iran and Iraq” (UC Press, 2025) by Mona Damluji

How oil companies shaped early cinema in Iran and Iraq
color photograph of mario garcia with the cover of his new book

UCSB historian publishes testimonio of consequential Chicano artist Rupert García
fighters raising their arms and waving a flag
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Courtesy
Book cover detail for "When Rebels Win" by Kai Thaler (Cornell University Press, 2025).

Why some rebel victories build states — and others break them
Two students look at the UCSB Reads book exhibition
Photo Credit
Courtesy UCSB Library
The university’s award-winning common book program is the focus of "Creating Community Through Books: 20 Years of UCSB Reads," on display until Dec. 11.

New library exhibition celebrates 20th anniversary of UCSB Reads
color photographic portrait of writer julissa arce

Mexican-American Dreamer Julissa Arce wins Luis Leal literary award
book shelves in library
Photo Credit
Jeff Liang

How books helped make computers mainstream
Older woman with grey hair and blue coat sits outside rustic building
Photo Credit
Elana Resnick
Baka, a waste collector, at home.

How Europe’s green transition is reinforcing racial inequality
color photograph of professor Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky, December 2024

A feat of multilingual research, Hamed-Troyansky’s “Empire of Refugees” wins eight book prizes
black and white image of an older person's face
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image

Michael Gurven reframes aging as evolutionary success
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