New Books for Spring

It may be the social and political climate we are in, but I am seeing more and more books coming out lately dealing with race, gender and politics then ever before. Ideas about how business is conducted on personal and corporate levels are now commonplace areas open for debate and change. How we view business, politics and life are vastly different from even five years ago, let alone 80-plus years past when women weren't allowed a voice in our government. These new books are not just for CEOs or business-minded people, but for anyone that wants to broaden their perceptions of where we've been, where we are now and where we're going. Take a look at these from the University of Illinois Press:

Working Girl Blues: The Life and Music of Hazel Dickens by Bill C. Malone and Hazel Dickens - Tells the life of one of the most influential leaders of folk feminism whose roots reach far into Appalachia and the working poor of America.
Voting the Gender Gap by Lois Duke Whitaker - How gender affects people's voting habits, taking examples as far back as the 1980s.
The Making of "Mammy Pleasant": A Black Entrepreneur in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco by Lynn M. Hudson - Examination America's folklore and the complete lack of historical records of black women's lives through Mary Ellen Pleasant.
The Workers' Union by Flora Tristan (translated by Beverly Livingston) - The story Flora Tristan and her integral part in women's rights and the working-class reformation of the early nineteenth century.
Designing for Diversity: Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Architectural Profession by Kathryn H Anthony - Once considered a predominately 'good ol'boy' institution, architectural firms all over are experiencing a surge in not only women architects, but co-workers from different cultures as well. This examination of the architectural business and the need for change will strike a cord with many people experiencing this in their own jobs and lives as well.