The Political Economy of Rwanda’s Rise
The new Cambridge University Press book "The Political Economy of Rwanda’s Rise" argues that Rwanda’s rapid growth over the past two decades stems from a services‑first strategy rather than traditional manufacturing‑led industrialisation. Fieldwork since 2011 and 580 interviews reveal the Rwandan Patriotic Front’s reliance on foreign investors and government‑linked firms, marginalising domestic entrepreneurs. The analysis shows that this model has produced impressive macro‑level gains but also deepened external dependencies and concentrated political power around the president. The authors warn that Rwanda’s experience challenges the notion that its development blueprint can be easily replicated elsewhere in Africa.
How the World Became a Book in Shakespeare’s England
Jonathan P. Lamb’s new book, *How the World Became a Book in Shakespeare’s England*, reveals how early‑modern England’s everyday language was saturated with book‑related metaphors—cover, page, volume, folio, and more. By tracing this lexicon across drama, pamphlets, sermons, and scientific...
Matters of State, and Why Does the State Matter?
Nida Alahmad’s new book *State Matters* argues that the modern state is not a static institution but a set of arrangements that must be continuously produced through a two‑stage process of domination and legitimation. Drawing on sociologists such as Bourdieu,...
Not a Robot Judge: What AI Is Really Doing to Civil Justice
The Cambridge Handbook of AI in Civil Dispute Resolution shows that artificial intelligence is already reshaping civil justice, not by replacing judges but by altering how disputes are managed across courts, online platforms, mediation and arbitration. It highlights AI’s potential...
The Era of Florence Price
The Cambridge Companion to Florence B. Price, edited by Samantha Ege and Alexandra Kori Hill, fills a long‑standing gap by offering the first dedicated volume on the pioneering Black composer. It assembles a chorus of expert voices, including a posthumous,...
Language, Justice and Conference Dinners
Cambridge University Press has released "Language and Justice", an edited volume that expands the study of language beyond traditional law‑linguistics to the procedural dimensions of justice. The book draws on real‑world case data to examine contexts such as advisor‑client consultations,...
Orbiting
Cambridge University Press has released *Elizabeth Bowen in Context*, an edited collection that assembles newly sourced essays, letters, and criticism on the Anglo‑Irish novelist. The volume, edited by Allan Hepburn, brings together contributions that probe Bowen’s engagement with technology, comedy,...
Lost Plots
Katherine G. Charles’s new Cambridge University Press volume *Lost Plots* examines the pervasive use of interpolated, or “tales‑within‑a‑tale,” in eighteenth‑century novels. The book defines this narrative form, compiles a wide range of examples—from Fielding’s *Joseph Andrews* to Smollek’s *Peregrine Pickle*...
The Cambridge Companion to Electronic Dance Music
The Cambridge University Press has released "The Cambridge Companion to Electronic Dance Music," edited by Hillegonda C. Rietveld and Toby Young. The volume assembles interdisciplinary essays that map EDM’s history, production, club design, and cultural politics across continents. It highlights...
Saints as Divine Evidence
Robert MacSwain’s new volume, *Saints as Divine Evidence*, bridges religious epistemology and comparative hagiography to argue that holy lives function as evidence for God. The first part surveys analytic and pragmatist debates, highlighting Austin Farrer's claim that saints serve as...
Beyond Tools and Bones: Why Archaeology Needs a Paradigm Shift to Understand Our Ancestors
The new edited volume *Traces of the Distant Human Past* argues that archaeology’s rapid technological gains have outstripped its ability to interpret early human behavior. While LiDAR, radiocarbon dating, and ancient DNA provide unprecedented data, the authors contend that theoretical...
Treading Gingerly
Alice Wickenden’s essay examines Thomas Johnson’s 1636 ginger woodcuts—one true, one feigned—to illustrate how seventeenth‑century knowledge was deliberately produced through contradiction. She links this paradox to Hans Sloane’s massive library‑museum collection, showing that the fluid mixing of books, specimens, and...