A rave for UA prof
The liberal arts are out of fashion at the University of Arkanas-Walton Branch, but some notable professors still slog on, doing good work though it doesn't necessarily translate to jobs, charter schools or cheaper ways for Wal-Mart to control inventory.
One is Randall Woods, the distinguished history professor at the University, who has a new biography out on LBJ. It gets a rave in this Sunday's NY Times book section from Alan Brinkley, a professor of history at Columbia.
Some might question whether there is any need for another substantial biography, and Randall B. Woods, a historian at the University of Arkansas, must have asked himself the same question at times as he worked on his own book while so many others were being published around him.
But in writing “LBJ: Architect of American Ambition,” Woods has produced an excellent biography that fully deserves a place alongside the best of the Johnson studies yet to appear. He is more sympathetic and nuanced than Caro, more fluid and (despite the significant length of his book) more concise than Dallek — and equally scrupulous in his use of archives and existing scholarship. Even readers familiar with the many other fine books on Johnson will learn a great deal from Woods.
Unlike all but a few Johnson biographers, Woods is himself a Southerner, and has a particularly good understanding of the nexus of race, class, family and religion that shaped Johnson’s life.
Warwick Sabin reviewed the book in our book section Aug. 3.
Comments
Yes, Randall Woods should make some money on book royalties, because his salary increase was less than 2% last year. Administrators, of course, made much more.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 19, 2006 12:57 PM
Years ago I had a graduate class under Dr. Wood (American Foreign Policy Since 1920) and enjoyed it immensely. Tis good to see his name appear publically once in a while.
The UofA history dept. likes to tell the story about a new Ph.D. graduate from Princeton applying for a job at the UofA a long time ago. The applicant's sister lived at Pine Bluff and told her brother about the vacancy at the UofA. The UofA turned the applicant down. The applicant's name was Woodrow Wilson. The UofA history staff has often wondered how history would have been different if Wilson had been hired and stayed at the UofA and never became the president of Princeton, the governor of New Jersey nor the president of the USA.
Posted by: Cato | August 19, 2006 01:20 PM
Dr. Wood is a great guy. Glad to hear of his success. I enjoyed the 3 classes I took of his in my time at the U of A.
Glad to hear the Arts/Sciences are doing well. Tired of Business Depart. grabbing headlines and slowly taking over the U of A.
Doesn't U of A have one of the top creative writing programs? I know they used to.
Posted by: Mark | August 19, 2006 01:52 PM
The LBJ Book is very good.
Randall Woods will be at the Clinton School for a lecture and book signing on August 29.
Posted by: Librarian | August 19, 2006 04:18 PM
How do you get invited to the Woods book signing at the Clinton School?
Posted by: TBJ | August 19, 2006 05:08 PM
TBJ: you need to get on the
Clnton School email list and they send out program reservation notices. The contact is Nikolai Dipippa: ndipippa@clintonschool.uasys.edu
Posted by: The Book Collector | August 19, 2006 05:14 PM
We hope you will be able to join us, and help spread the word, about our Virtual Back-to-School Day on Sept. 6 from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EDST. The day will be modeled after a regular school day and will feature a series of live online chats with charter experts, advocates, parents, teachers and students who will answer your questions about the pressing charter issues of the day. Featured presenters include Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Mary Landrieu, Morgan Brown, U.S. Dept. of Ed Office of Innovation and Improvement and John Doerr of New Schools Venture Fund.
Visit www.virtualbacktoschoolday.org for the agenda and more information. Be the first in line, and pre-submit your question today!
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Posted by: colleen sutton | August 19, 2006 09:41 PM
This whole thing is a hugh waste of taxpayer money.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 19, 2006 10:41 PM
Cato, maybe Woodrow Wilson would have become governor of Arkansas, then president of the United State, and we could have skipped 80 years of Arkie jokes waiting on the Man from Hope ...
Posted by: somewhere else | August 19, 2006 10:55 PM
I have emailed Nikolai Dipippa at the Clinton School about the Woods book signing.
His email is ndipippa@clintonschool.uasys.edu
I appreciate the Clinton School
hosting this community program.
Posted by: LBJ collector | August 20, 2006 12:13 AM