Milpah Press

Milpah Press is a small family-run publishing house founded in 2002. Our primary mission is to publish material that brings together different threads of the natural and social sciences in language that is accessible to non-specialists. We also plan to try to offer a low-cost alternative to the currently skyrocketing costs of scientific publication. The kinds of subjects that we cover range from physics and ecology to anthropology, history and gastronomy

Our Publishing Philosophy

We are more interested in disseminating information that contributes to an understanding of the world we live in than in coming up with best-sellers, and some of the material that we plan to publish is already available free of charge on the websites of our authors. While the material that we publish is protected by copyright, this is to protect the reputation of our authors and to discourage plagiarism, and not with the idea of limiting the distribution of the material for financial gain. We don't claim to be a non-profit organisation, but you wouldn't know that by looking at our balance sheet!

Current Publications

Our first two titles are a revised and updated edition of “On the Nature of Food” by Vicki Oppenheimer, which has become recognised as a classic in its field but went out of print, and her new book called “The Taste Makers” about the influence of New World foods on Europe - not only on European cuisine, but also on Europe's history and politics. Both books deal with the history and anthropology of food, accompanied by many of Vicki’s popular recipes. The first printing of “On the Nature of Food” (5000 copies) sold out and a second printing is now available - you can obtain further information by writing milpah@silvert.org. “The Taste Makers: How New World Foods came to Old World Kitchens” was published in December, 2003 - write milpah@silvert.org for information if you have trouble finding it as we also sell directly - due to declining sales we have reduced the price to less than half the original cost, $10 for US sales and similar figures for other countries.

As of October 2005 we have decided to make the complete version of “The Taste Makers: How New World Foods Came to Old World Kitchens” available for free on the web - although the book is a delight to all who read it and has received only favorable reviews, we do not have enough of a marketing budget to maintain a profitable level of sales. You can read the book on the web (the format is a bit messy, that happens when an elaborately laid-out book is translated to web format) or download the entire book in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. We are also selling the remaining printed versions at a deep discount, less than half the original price. Since the cost of printing the book on an inkjet printer is probably more than buying the book at the discount price, we hope that if you download the book and enjoy it, you will then order a bound copy from us!

Projected works for coming years include essays on the different kinds of scientific thinking found in different disciplines, the use of fuzzy logic in science, and an historical perspective on the relation between science and religion. Other possibilities include works on linguistics and on different approaches to coastal geography. The range of topics is very wide, but all are based on a rational and humanistic world view, and none are the kinds of mainstream topics that appear on the listings of the major publishing houses. We are also looking into the possibility of publishing scientific titles in limited runs at affordable prices – such books have become prohibitively expensive in recent years.

Our People

Milpah Press is one family – while many other small (and sometimes big) companies describe themselves as one happy family, we really are all related to each other. The mater-familias of the family and President of Milpah Press is Violet (Vicki) Oppenheimer, who is also our star author. She founded Milpah Press with her son, William Silvert, who serves as CEO and Editor-in-Chief. His wife, Emília Cunha, is the Regional Editor for Europe and Subject Editor for Oceanography and Biology, while his daughter, Rebecca Silvert, is Regional Editor for North America and Subject Editor for Literature and Linguistics.

Our Name

To quote from “The Taste Makers”, a forthcoming book by Vicki Oppenheimer, “Many farms in the Yucatan have scattered mounds called milpahs The milpahs are untidy, they make the farmland look like jungle, but they constitute a highly successful agricultural technique inherited from the ancient Maya. A tall cornstalk stands in the center of the mound and supports a climbing vine of beans. It is surrounded by spiny squash leaves that protect the soil and repel predators. The mounds also have built-in nutritive value. The beans climbing the cornstalk add nitrogen to the soil, and the combination of grain and legume provides the twenty amino acids needed for complete protein consumption. The milpahs are legendary and the corn, beans and squash are celebrated as ‘The Three Sisters of Life’. A meal celebrating the harvest is part of Maya tradition.” Like the original Mayan milpahs, Milpah Press seeks to bring together different themes to explore their synergies and produce material of value.

Where are we?

The main office of Milpah Press is in Naples, Florida, USA. That is where the financial and printing end of the operation is handled. The editorial work is handled by Ciência Silvert, a small consulting firm in Portugal that specialises in scientific editing. Even in a small firm like ours, globalisation raises its head!

How to Find Us

As our books come off the press we will post more detailed information about them on our website along with information on how to order them. We sell through the major wholesalers and on-line bookstores, so you should be able to buy them through your local bookseller or on the web.

To learn more about Milpah Press, you can reach us by sending e-mail to milpah@silvert.org.

Freedom to speak requires freedom to be heard.

Please address all questions and comments about this site to milpah@silvert.org. This page last updated 25 April 2004.