Professors John O’Connor, Janelle Nanos, and Carlo Rotella all have new or forthcoming books.
Professor O'Connor's new book, A Short, Strange Trip: An Untold Story of Magic Mushrooms, Madness, and a Search for the Meaning of Life in the Amazon, about the late mystic and "psychonaut," Terence McKenna, was released in April. An excerpt of the book was also featured in a recent issue of New York magazine.
Professor Carlo Rotella’s latest book, What Can I Get Out of This, takes readers into the classroom for an in-depth look at learning and the state of higher education in 2026. Here’s how the publisher, the University of California Press, describes the book:
"In What Can I Get Out of This? [Rotella] follows thirty-three students through his class to provide an intimate look at teaching and learning from their perspectives as well as his own. The students' reluctance—"How does this get me a job?"—transforms into insight as they wrestle with challenging books, share ideas, discover how to think critically, and form a community. In all these ways, they learn how to extract meaning from the world around them, an essential life skill. Confronting skeptics of higher education, this compassionate and inspiring book reveals the truth of what students actually experience in college."
Professor Nanos's forthcoming book, An Unthinkable Crime: The Hidden History of Sexual Abuse and a New Age of Reckoning, is now available for pre-order, and will be released in January 2027. Nanos has also recently published several stories in The Boston Globe that expand on her reporting from the book. Read more here and here for details on how to keep kids safe from abuse.
