New publications from Penn’s various presses—the University of Pennsylvania Press, Wharton School Publishing, University Museum Publications and the Institute of Contemporary Art—might be perfect for reading over the holidays. Here’s a few selections that piqued our interest, covering topics from business and botany to fashion and the arts.

Penn Press
“The Plants of Pennsylvania”
By Anne Fowler Rhoads and Timothy A. Block. Illustrations by Anna Anisko
Compiled by botanists from the Morris Arboretum, this illustrated guide celebrates and discusses Pennsylvania’s diverse flora. For amateurs and naturalists alike, “The Plants of Pennsylvania” is a rich look at the natural side of the state, complete with keys and Anisko’s simple, but beautifully detailed black-and-white illustrations. This Christmas, look up mistletoe and partridge-berry.

“Dramatic Impressions: Japanese Theatre Prints from the Gilbert Luber Collection”
By Frank L. Chance and Julie Nelson Davis. Edited by Dilys Winegrad
In the 1970’s, Gilbert Luber and his wife Shirley celebrated their 25th anniversary in Japan. There, they fell in love with kabuki theatre and brought home prints (known as Shin Hanga) of the show. Each time they went back to Japan, they brought home more prints, amassing enough of a collection to host a show at the Luber Gallery in Philly—the first space in the city to showcase the works of Japanese artists. In this book, Penn’s East Asian studies professors team up with Winegrad, the director-curator of the Arthur Ross Gallery, which recently hosted an exhibition of these prints, to highlight some standouts from Luber’s collection.

“Producing Fashion: Commerce, Culture, and Consumers”
Edited by Regina Lee Blaszczyk
You may not have the opportunity to visit “The Golden Age of Couture” exhibit at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, or the grades to enroll in Wharton, but there’s nothing stopping you from reading “Producing Fashion.” The book, compiled under the commerce-conscious eye of visiting history and sociology Penn prof Blaszczyk, is a collection of fourteen essays explaining the influence of economic institutions in Europe and North America on the global fashion system. The book could easily be re-titled “Fashionomics 101.”

Wharton School Publishing
“Power of Impossible Thinking, The: Transform the Business of Your Life and the Life of Your Business”
By Yoram (Jerry) Wind and Colin Crook
Impossible is nothing. At least that’s what Whartonites Wind—who also oversaw the recent publication of the social-networking tome, “We Are Smarter Than Me”—and Crook argue in this book, which tackles the idea power through psychology. With mental models and everyday exercises to flex those brain muscles, the authors outline how entrepreneurs can view the world in a more realistic way.

“The Soul of the Corporation”
By Hamid Bouchikhi, John R. Kimberly
This provocative book shows how the identity of a company shapes results. In a world of globalization, identity is increasingly important and, according to Bouchikhi and Wharton prof Kimberly, identity about how the organization is viewed internally as well as externally. They offer insights and know-how on managing tensions and minimizing dysfunction. The authors also tackle symbolic leadership, organizational culture and branding.

University Museum Publications
“Studies on Istanbul and Beyond: The Freely Papers, Volume 1”
Edited by Robert G. Ousterhout
This first volume focuses on the history of Istanbul in the times of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic period. The book features contributions from young scholars from around the country.

ICA
“Eileen Neff: Between Us”
by Ingrid Schaffner and Patrick Murphy
In conjunction with Neff’s photography exhibit at the ICA (now through Dec. 16), this catalog consists of an introduction by Schaffner (the exhibit’s curator), as well as a transcribed conversation between Neff and Irish director Murphy, and an essay by poet Jeremy Sigler. It’s a hardcover, full-color, 64-page artistic blowout.

Originally published Nov. 15, 2007.