Bookmarks Fall and Holiday Editions of the BOOKLOFT NEWSLETTER
Here are the books that Mary reviewed for our autumn and holiday newsletters. As always, call or e-mail us if you'd like more information or to order a copy. Happy reading!
New Books of Local Interest
Soldier to Advocate: C.E.S. Wood's 1877 Legacy by George Venn
George Venn has been researching, writing and lecturing about C.E.S. Wood's life and writings since 1995. This new book is the culmination of his work. Wood, who took part in the Nez Perce War under General O.O. Howard, kept a diary and made pen and ink sketches of Nez Perce, soldiers, and battles. These works along with other of Wood's letters, prose and poetry reveal the legacy of the one officer who became an advocate for Chief Joseph, his former enemy. $20.00 Wordcraft of Oregon
Chief Joseph as a Commander by Lt. Albert Gallatin Forse
Lieutenant Albert Gallatin Forse of the First U.S. Cavalry lived his life as a warrior and mistakenly believed that Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce did, too. But Forse was not alone in his belief.
Lieutenant Forse's descriptions of the war's major battles as well as its most enduring figure give us a rare glimpse into an extraordinary historic event¡and into a time when the general public believed that the Nez Perce success in its tragic flight was the result of the genius of Joseph as a commander. $8.00 Bear Creek Press
Nez Perce Exile: The Struggle for Freedom, 1877-1885 by Larry D. O'Neal
Although the Nez Perce War of 1877 ended with Chief Joseph's surrender at Montana's Bear Paw battlefield, the desperate struggle of Joseph's people was just beginning. For the next eight years they would experience hunger, sickness, and death during their exile in Indian Territory, a time in which Joseph continued to fight for his people's return to their Northwest home.
Until Larry D. O'Neal's Nez Perce Exile, however, those years have often been an overlooked chapter in the history of the war and the people it affected the most. In this small volume, Larry O'Neal shines a bright light into a dark and little-known corner of one of the most significant episodes in the history of the American West. $9.00 Bear Creek Press
Great Books for Fall and Winter Reading
As usual, publishers come out with lots of good titles by favorite authors in the fall.
Ivan Doig's Whistling Season, set in Montana in 1909, is a tribute to a vanished way of life and the eccentric individuals who nourished it. $25.00 Harcourt
Something new for Patrick McManus. The Blight Way features sheriff Bo Tully in a page turning mystery filled with mirth and misadventure. $24.00 Simon & Schuster
Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain, has at last written a second novel. Thirteen Moons is an epic story set in the 19th century about a young boy sent into the Indian Nation to make his way. His destiny intertwines the fate of the Cherokee Indians and his lifelong passion for a mysterious girl.$26.95 Random House
In Tony Hillerman's Shape Shifter, Joe Leaphorn solves a crime on his own as Jim Chee is off on his honeymoon with Bernie Manualito. $26.95 Harper Collins
Baxter Black's latest collection of cowboy poetry and tall tales is Blazin' Bloats & Cows On Fire or, It's Hard to Blow Out a Holstein. $19.95 Coyote Cowboy Co.
Our favorite children's book illustrator, Jan Brett, returns with Hedgie Blasts Off. Yes, Hedgie the hedgehog is to space in this delightful adventure. $16.99 Penguin
A few more good reads . . .
SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN by Lisa See ~ An interesting novel about women's lives in nineteenth century China. $13.95 Random House
ON BEAUTY by Zadie Smith ~ A complex look at families, race, academia and the many aspects of art in a novel of contemporary life. $15.00 Penguin
THE GOLDEN SPRUCE by John Vaillant ~ Very good non-fiction about the cultural and natural history of the Queen Charlotte islands, the Haida Indians, trees, loggers and one insane environmentalist. $14.95 Norton
THE WILLOW FIELD by William Kittredge ~ Another epic, but this one is set in the West in the 20th century. Very Western and very male, this is the story of Rossie Benasco who finds his way through life more by pursuing the woman he loves than by setting a career path. $25.95 Knopf
TYRANNOSAUR CANYON by Douglas Preston ~ A good thriller about a huge dinosaur find, alien molecules and ex-CIA men in monasteries. $7.99 Forge
JULI AND JULIA by Julie Powell ~ Non-fiction account of a year spent cooking every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a tiny apartment kitchen in the Bronx. $13.99 Back Bay Books
For young readers (ages 8-14):
There seem to be a lot of writers of adult books who have tried their hand at children's books. I enjoyed all of these:
PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson ~ An exciting prequel to the Peter Pan story. $7.99 Hyperion
LEAPING BEAUTY AND OTHER ANIMAL STORIES by Gregory Maguire ~ Hilarious retellings of favorite fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel (Hamster and Gerbil) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (So What and the Seven Giraffes) $5.99 Harper Collins
GAME OF SILENCE by Louise Erdrich ~ Novel about the life of a young Ojibway girl in the early 1800s. Great descriptions of their daily life and customs as well as how their lives were changed by the arrival of white settlers in their territory. $5.99 Harper Collins
THE CONCH BEARER by Chitra Divakaruni ~ Good adventure story involving
travel in the Himalayas and the choices a young boy must make as he endeavors
to return a magical conch shell to a group of mystical healers. $5.99 Aladdin
Books
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