Forthcoming Appearances:
Bodies of Subversion 3 slideshow/lecture, Lehman College Library, May 7, 4:00.
Ford Hall Forum, Boston, May 9, 6:30-8. Panel discussion, “Hell in a Handbasket: The Decline of Taboos,” with Melissa Mohr, author of Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing, and Bill Downing, President of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition.
Bodies of Subversion 3 in the news:
“The Colorful, Subversive History of Women With Tattoos” by Steven Heller, The Atlantic, April 4, 2013.
“Women and Tattoos Throughought History” by Monica Bielanko, Babble.com, April 1, 2013.
(review) “Tattoo Book Draws on Women,” North Adams Transcript, March 8, 2013.
Interview on “NightHawk” with Geoff Currier, CJOB, Winnipeg. Feb 15, 10:00.
“Tattoos–A Secret History of Female Body Art,” article/slideshow: Channel 4 (UK); video, Feb. 1, 2013.
“Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo,” Needles and Sins, Feb 1., 2013.
“It’s Not a Man’s World,” Inked (book review), February 2013. “Tells the complete story of feminism and tattooing.”
“The Girl With the First Tattoo,” Grazia Magazine, Feb. 2013.
“Tattoos’ Impressions in Print and Film,” New York Times, Jan. 31 2013.
“A Fascinating History of Women with Tattoos,” The Daily Mail UK, Jan. 31, 2013.
“From Kat Von D to Lena Dunham: An Amazing History of Women and Tattoos, Flavorpill, Jan 29, 2013.
Late Night Live with Phillip Adams (ABC Australia), Jan. 29, 2013.
“The Girl With the First Tattoo,” Yahoo Daily Life (UK and Ireland), Jan 20, 2013.
“A Secret History of Women and Tattoo,” The New Yorker’s Photo Booth, January 16, 2013.
“Not Oprah’s Book Club: Bodies of Subversion,” Feministing, January 18, 2013.
“The History of Tattooed Ladies Gets Expanded,” Bust Magazine, Jan 8 2013.
“Preview Margot Mifflin’s Updated History Of Tattooed Women and
Tattoo,” Papermag, October 17, 2012
“First Look: Bodies of Subversion:A Secret History of Women and Tattoo,” New York Magazine’s The Cut blog, Jan. 7, 2013.
Other blogs: Fashion Installation, Clutter, Urban Outfitters, Street Thing, Staf, Lovelyish.
Awards–The Blue Tattoo:
2010 Finalist: The Caroline Bancroft Prize (best 2009 book on the history of the trans-Mississippi west).
The Best of the Best from the University Presses (2010 American Library Association Annual Conference).
Selected as a 2009 Book of the Year by The Kansas City Star, The Anchorage Daily News, The Idaho Statesman, The Sacramento Bee, The (Tacoma WA) News Tribune, The State (SC), The Olympian (WA), The Victoria Advocate (TX), The (PA) Centre Daily Times, The Enquirer Herald (SC), The Modesto Bee (CA), The Tri-City Herald (WA) The Lake Wylie (SC) Pilot, The News and Observer (NC), and Pop Matters.
A 2009 Must Have Holiday Book, Needles and Sins.
A 2009 Southwest Book of the Year .
Reviews of The Blue Tattoo
Bitch Magazine, December 2011.
Hercircle Ezine, October 1, 2011.
The Journal of Arizona History, Autumn 2010. “The Blue Tattoo is an excellent teaching tool, general enough for assigned reading in an American History survey course, yet with enough depth and details for seminars in frontier history, gender studies, or American Indian Studies. An excellent read for anyone with a healthy imagination and a yen for an engaging story.”
Big Muddy: A Journal of the Misissippi River Valley, September, 2010. “Through her impeccable investigation and accessible exposition, Mifflin scours the grime from this great forgotten American tale, bringing it to a true shine worthy of recognition.”
Western Historical Quarterly, Autumn 2010, Vol. 31, issue 3, pp. 377-378.
American History, in “We Also Like,” August 2010.
Lake Oswego Review, July 8, 2010.
Overland Journal, Spring 2010. “We recommend The Blue Tattoo to students, specialists and general readers of the history of the Southwest.”
Journal of American History, Vol. 96, No. 4, March 2010.
Pacific Historical Review, May 2010 (review by June Namias). “Margot Mifflin is a great storyteller…The Blue Tattoo is well written and well researched; it re-opens the story of white women and men going West and Native people trying to survive these travels.” Pacific Historical Review
Ralph Magazine, mid-spring 2010. “It seems the author–and now your reviewer–are in love with the Mohaves.”
Women’s Review of Books, Jan-Feb. 2010.
Lansing State Journal, January 12, 2010.
Western American Literature, Dec. 3, 2009. “Mifflin’s treatment of Olive’s sojourns [provides] an excellent teaching opportunity about America’s ongoing captivation with ethnic/gender crossings…” Western American Lit pdf
Doubleday Book Club, November, 2009. “Mifflin catches the poignancy of this story that manages to combine the conquest of the West, life among its victims and the national myths that justified it.”
Feminist Review, November 7, 2009. “Although Oatman’s story on its own is full of intrigue, Mifflin adeptly uses her tale as a springboard for larger issues of the time.”
Powell’s Books Review a Day, Oct. 19 2009.
Rain Taxi, Fall 2009, [An] admirable and enjoyable book [that] offers analysis of both the reality and the mythology of Oatman’s life…”
Internet Review of Books, October 15, 2009. “The Blue Tattoo is a wonderful peek at an era and a literary genre by a first-class researcher. ”
Tucson Weekly, September 13, 2009. “…a riveting, well-researched portrait of a girl kidnapped by Native Americans.”
Irish Times.com, August 13, 2009. “One can read this work of non-fiction as if it were a sensational novel – with progressive feminist implications.”
New West, August 10, 2009. “As Margot Mifflin demonstrates in her absorbing book, The Blue Tattoo, the truth about Olive Oatman is more complicated than the many fictions about her.”
Tattoo History, August 10, 2009. “The book’s already received rave reviews, and for good reason….a fascinating dose of both tattoo and American history.”
The Kansas City Star, August 9, 2009.
The Times Literary Supplement, July 10, 2009. “An important and engrossing book, which reveals as much about the appetites and formulas of emerging mass culture as it does about tribal cultures in nineteenth-century America.” Times Literary Supplement
The Stereopticon, July 2009.
Bismarck Tribune, June 16, 2009. “…a thoughtful presentation of a legendary woman in western history.”
Foreword, May/June 2009. “…Mifflin skillfully demythologizes the case of Olive Oatman.”
Ehistory at Ohio State University, June 2009. “Mifflin’s dynamic pacing and energetic writing are a brilliant match for a story filled with dynamic personalities and their transitions.”
Bust June/July 2009. “….well researched history that reads like unbelievable fiction.”
Library Journal, April 1, 2009. “…Mifflin engagingly describes Oatman’s ordeal and theorizes about its impact on Oatman herself as well as on popular imagination… her book adds nuance to Oatman’s story and also humanizes the Mohave who adopted her. Recommended for general readers as well as students and scholars.”
MonstersandCritics.com, May 12, 2009. “This is a revealing read as it delves into the social mores and prejudice of the time.”
Press:
“Pima County Public Library Panel Selects the Top Reads of 2009″ Arizona Daily Star, December 20, 2009.
“Tattoed Girl Stepped Into Yuma History” The Yuma Sun, September 9, 2009.
The Leonard Lopate Show, WNYC, August 20, 2009. Listen here.
“The Blue Tattoo: The Story of Olive Oatman,” I Tunes U, podcast posted June 26, 2009.
“Professor Margot Mifflin Writes Biography of 19th Century Pioneer Olive Oatman,” CUNY Newswire, April 1, 2009.
Bookshelf, Lehman Today, spring 2009.
“South Nyack Author Tells Tale of Unconventional Heroine in New Book,” The Rockland Journal News, March 29, 2009.
On Blogs
BookTeaCatDog, May 31, 2010.
Woooo, April 16, 2010. “Mifflin engagingly describes Oatman’s ordeal and theorizes about its impact on Oatman herself as well as on popular imagination.”
Schuyler Books and Music: Recommended Read, March 30 2010.
Red Slipper Diary, March 10, 2010.
Under the Covers and Reading, Feb. 20, 2010. “…a fabulously written book with more discussion topics than you can cover in a single book club meeting…a page turner and one that our group unanimously LOVED.”
My Aunt’s Bookshelf, Feb. 5, 2010. “So well written that you will find it hard to put the book down.”
Julie’s Bookshelf, Feb. 12, 2010.
Magic Lantern Show, Feb 4, 2010. “…one of the most fascinating and thought-provoking books I’ve read in a long time.”
Westervin, Jan. 8, 2010. “…one of my favorite reads of ‘09.”
Bibliolotry (Sacramento News and Review), Dec. 21, 2009.
Journey to the Past, Dec. 4, 2009.
Powell’s Books Blog, Oct. 20, 2009.
Detroit to Brooklyn, Sep. 28, 2009.
Rosemary MacCabe, July 27, 2009.
Reading in Appalachia: Library Loot,July 15, 2009.
Master the Art of Reading, July 12, 2009.
Otherspoon, June 21, 2009.
Needles and Sins, June 15, 2009.
Grumpy Dan, June 9, 2009.