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Written by Jenny Erpenbeck, one of Germany’s most lauded and influential contemporary authors, and translated by Professor of English MICHAEL HOFMANN, “Kairos” tells the story of a turbulent love affair between a young woman and an older, married man. Set against the backdrop of the fall of the Soviet Union, the novel juxtaposes this intense personal relationship with the politics of the time, when two very different sides of Germany were just on the verge of reunification and the challenges that brought. It was lauded by judges for the Booker Prize, and went on to become the first translated German novel to win the prestigious award.

In 2019, UF Professor Emeritus of Biology HARVEY B. LILLYWHITE and Marcio Martins, a professor of ecology at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, published “Islands and Snakes” with the goal of creating the ultimate field guide on island-dwelling snakes. This 2024 follow-up continues that goal, bringing together many of the world’s foremost herpetologists and snake experts to explore how isolated and remote ecosystems affect the behaviors of the snakes that live there. This volume contains information on a few locations not covered in the first book, like Borneo and New Guinea, while also shining light on topics like invasive species, taxonomy, reproduction, and how differing diets affect growth patterns.

Co-edited by Harry Rich Professor of Holocaust Studies NATALIA ALEKSIUN, “Entanglements of War” explores how the Holocaust affected Jewish communities and social networks in World War II. Even as families and communities were ripped apart, isolated, and imprisoned, Aleksiun explains, Jewish victims did their best to maintain their social networks, relying on familiar neighbors, peers, and colleagues for support and assistance despite the atrocities they faced. This book further examines those relationships under a multidisciplinary lens to evaluate their impacts on Jewish lives during the war and in the aftermath.

David Novak is widely considered by Jewish scholars to be one of the most influential contemporary Jewish thinkers. His explorations of Jewish and Christian theology, natural law, and the Western philosophical canon have helped shape modern Jewish thought and have influenced contemporary Christian and Muslim thought as well. Co-edited by Assistant Professor of Religion YANIV FELLER, “Covenantal Thinking” is a collection of essays written by prominent Jewish scholars that delves into his thinking, covering topics like election, natural law, Jewish political thought, and Zionism.

Written by renowned pioneers in the field of Black humanities, including Assistant Professor of Critical Media and AI Studies KEVIN C. WINSTEAD, this book is a complete guide to Black Digital Humanities. It covers topics including how to center Black feminist praxes of care, ethics, and Black studies in the digital humanities, how to acquire funding for research, developing curricula, establishing connections in the field, and establishing an ethical future for Black digital humanities. For those interested in creating change in academia, this is essential reading.

Assistant Professor of Japanese MATTHIEU FELT provides an exploration of the origins of two of the oldest Japanese myths and how those meanings have changed over time. Kojiki and Nihon Shoki are Japan’s creation myths, explaining how and where Japan fits in the world. They have evolved over time, once depicting Japan as the center of an empire, then the edge of a Buddhist world, and finally as a small archipelago on a globe. Through this book, Felt explains how these myths changed so drastically, tackling the liquidity and adaptability of mythology and how our relationship with it changes with the culture.

As tech companies race to perfect AI, many questions are left behind in the scramble. Professor of Philosophy and Donald F. Cronin Chair in the Humanities CAMERON J. BUCKNER encourages readers to slow down and ponder the philosophy behind AI. How can computer scientists learn from the works of thinkers like Aristotle, Locke, Hume, and de Grouchy? How are debates over deep learning similar to debates between empiricism and rationalism, and how can we use these methods to assess the technology’s contributions and pitfalls?

In his latest book, Assistant Professor of Philosophy MAX ROBITZSCH explores the thinking of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus, the founder of the school of thought known as Epicureanism. This book is the first English-language monograph on Epicurus’ theory of justice, which held that it is neither fully natural nor fully conventional, and that it is always better to be just than unjust. Pulling from a range of sources and examining multiple contrasting positions, Robitzsch applies this way of thinking to modern concepts of justice, discussing its influence on positions such as contractarianism and legal positivism.

In American pop culture, anachronisms are often seen as a negative, with many complaining that seeing a cellphone in a Western can take you out of the moment. In his recent book, however, Assistant Professor of Japanese CHRISTOPHER SMITH makes an argument for their merit, using examples of anachronisms in Japanese literary and cultural work to explain how they can enhance media. According to Smith, anachronisms let creators “open up” history, rewriting it and playing with it to create moments of introspection, reflection, or even comedy.

The past few years have been a whirlwind of development and discovery in the field of astronomy. As humanity increasingly sets its sights on the stars, it is more important than ever to understand governmental oversight. This book, written by UF alumna WENDY N. WHITMAN COBB (Ph.D. Political Science, ’12), aims to answer every question a reader could have about space policy in the U.S., covering topics like the history of space exploration, the major players in both the public and private sectors, and how policymakers and business leaders are adapting to technologies reliant on outer space.

In the mid-19th century, one of the most prominent families in New Orleans was the Wade family. In his latest book, CLAS alum ROBERT W. LLOYD (Political Science ’87, JD ’90) shares their story, a tale of wealth, power, and demise during the Civil War and Reconstruction. By combing through primary sources like letters and legal documents, Lloyd tells the most complete version of their story to date, exploring the tragedy that befell four generations of the Wade family and the ruin left in their wake. It is deeply personal, occasionally brutal, and doesn’t shy away from the politics of the time, but it is also a story of tenacity in the face of adversity.