Frederick A. Praeger and Maurice B. Mitchell founded Westview Press in Boulder, Colorado, in February 1975. From its modest beginnings in the basement of publisher Fred Praeger's house on Westview Drive, Westview Press quickly became a leading academic publishing house.

In 1975, Westview published 9 books; by 1979, the number of books published had grown to 169. By 1981, all departments–including editorial offices, typesetting, manufacturing, and warehouse operations–were located at the present site at 5500 Central Avenue. Westview continued this path for many years, increasing the publishing program in size and scope and producing award-winning and best-selling titles across a spectrum of disciplines and subject areas, for students and general readers alike.

Through several changes in ownership from the late 1980s to early 1990s, the philosophy of providing "Books that Matter" continued. In 1997, Westview was acquired by The Perseus Books Group to stand out within the company as a unique trade house and primary academic imprint. The relationship with Perseus and the organizational tenets of the company have strengthened Westview’s ability to react quickly to changes in technology and market demand. A leader in college-level textbooks, Westview also shines as an important publisher of general interest trade titles, signing both notable scholars and cutting-edge journalists. From the early days of typesetting in the basement offices, Westview today employs state of the art composition and print-on-demand technology.

Pervasive within Westview Press is the commitment and dedication to providing service to the thoughtful reading community it serves. To quote Fred Praeger, "All of us at Westview Press will raise our teacups and coffee mugs in a salute to you, our authors and audience, our friends and customers, all of you who help us to make Westview the kind of funny, peculiar, original success story that it is."

Since The Perseus Books Group acquired Westview Press, the imprint is committed to "fewer books, published better." Focusing on approximately 100 new and revised titles a year for the trade and college markets, we continue to focus on core strengths in the social sciences, humanities, and the sciences.

Our textbook program includes such best-selling titles as Jay MacLeod’s Ain’t No Makin’ It; Arthur Goldschmidt’s classic text A Concise History of the Middle East, now in its 25^th anniversary edition; Social Theory by Charles Lemert; Rosemarie Putnam Tong’s Feminist Thought; and Philosophy of Mind by Jaegwon Kim. Our text program is anchored by several successful thematically oriented series including Dilemmas in American Politics edited by L. Sandy Maisel, Transforming American Politics edited by Lawrence C. Dodd, Dilemmas in World Politics edited by George A. Lopez, and Dimensions of Philosophy edited by Norman Daniels and Keith Lehrer.

In 1997, Westview took over publication of IconEditions, for many years a respected HarperCollins art criticism and art history list. These highly regarded, impeccably produced volumes will now be known as Westview Press/IconEditions, and Westview will continue to offer such classic Icon backlist titles as Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit and Studies in Iconology by Erwin Panofsky while taking the list forward to publish new works of equal quality and scholarship.

2001 marked the addition of physical sciences to Westview’s list with the assimilation of the long-standing and well-regarded Advanced Book Program. These titles include academic and professional texts in physics, the space sciences, and advanced mathematics. Respected authors include Richard P. Feynman, Steven H. Strogatz, Michael E. Peskin, and Daniel V. Schroeder. This program allows Westview to begin publishing general interest trade titles in earth, planetary, and space sciences.

From our 1994 publication of Sun Tzu: the Art of War to recent releases for the general reader that include Joel Dyer’s Harvest of Rage, Paul Grogan’s Comeback Cities, Extinct Humans by Ian Tattersall and Jeffrey Schwartz, Fatal Choice by Richard Butler, Mark Huband’s Warriors of the Prophet, and Jeffrey Richelson’s The Wizards of Langley, Westview has become a recognizable and respected force in trade and general nonfiction publishing.

At the dawn of the 21^st century, Westview Press is poised for continued success as it burnishes its tradition of quality nonfiction publishing.