Reviewed in The Oregonian: May 19
<a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2500.html?p_bkslv">January 16, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2507.html?p_bkslv">January 23, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2516.html?p_bkslv">January 30, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2532.html?p_bkslv">February 6, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2544.html?p_bkslv">February 13, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2551.html?p_bkslv">February 20, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2559.html?p_bkslv">February 27, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2569.html?p_bkslv">March 6, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2583.html?p_bkslv">March 13, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2589.html?p_bkslv">March 20, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2598.html?p_bkslv">March 27, 2011 reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2615.html?p_bkslv">April 3, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2654.html?p_bkslv">April 10, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2655.html?p_bkslv">April 17, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2656.html?p_bkslv">April 24, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2672.html?p_bkslv">May 1, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2673.html?p_bkslv">May 8, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2677.html?p_bkslv">May 15, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2688.html?p_bkslv">May 22, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2690.html?p_bkslv">May 29, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2707.html?p_bkslv">June 5, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2726.html?p_bkslv">June 12, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2731.html?p_bkslv">June 19, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2743.html?p_bkslv">June 26, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2773.html?p_bkslv">July 3, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2799.html?p_bkslv">July 10, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2810.html?p_bkslv">July 17, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2821.html?p_bkslv">July 24, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2834.html?p_bkslv">July 31, 2011, reviews</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=33887&html=ppbs/33887_2836.html?p_bkslv">August 7, 2011, reviews</a> |
Charming Gardeners by David Biespiel
Publisher Comments The formally nuanced and wise epistolary poems in David Biespiel's new collection are grounded in friendship, camaraderie, and the vulnerability and boldness that defines America. Roving from the old Confederacy of Biespiel's native South to Portland, Oregon, Charming Gardeners explores the wildness of the Northwest, the avenues of Washington, D.C., the coal fields of West Virginia, and an endless stretch of airplanes and hotel rooms from New York to Texas to California. These poems explore the "insistent murmurs" of memory and the emotional connections between individuals and history, as well as the bonds of brotherhood, the ghosts of America's wars, and the vibrancy of love, sex, and intimacy. We are offered poems addressed to family, friends, poets, and political rivals -- all in a masterful idiom Robert Pinsky has called Biespiel's "own original grand style." I should stop back there And stand on both feet in the grazing sunlight And hear this chorus of America singing. But I am so afraid of the testament of the delivered. from "TO __________ FROM THE JEWISH CEMETERY IN WILLIAMSON, WEST VIRGINIA Hardcover
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Temple Grove by Scott Elliott
Publisher Comments Deep in the heart of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula lies Temple Grove, one of the last stands of ancient Douglas firs not under federal protection from logging. Bill Newton, a gyppo logger desperate for work and a place to hide, has come to Temple Grove for the money to be made from the timber. There to stop him is Paul, a young Makah environmentalist who will break the law to save the trees. A dangerous chase into the wilds of Olympic National Park ensues, revealing a long-hidden secret that inextricably links the two men. Joining the pursuit are FBI agents who target Paul as an ecoterrorist, and his mother, Trace, who is determined to protect him. Temple Grove is a gripping tale of suspense and a multilayered novel of place that captures in taut, luminous prose the traditions that tie people to this powerful landscape and the conflicts that run deep among them. Scott Elliott is associate professor of creative writing and English at Whitman College and author of the novel Coiled in the Heart. He lives in Walla Walla, Washington. Your price $8.95 Used Hardcover
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Breaking Chains Slavery on Trial in the Oregon Territory by R Gregory Nokes
Publisher Comments When they were brought to Oregon in 1844, Missouri slaves Robin and Polly Holmes and their children were promised freedom in exchange for helping develop their owner’s Willamette Valley farm. However, Nathaniel Ford, an influential settler and legislator, kept them in bondage until 1850, even then refusing to free their children. Holmes took his former master to court and, in the face of enormous odds, won the case in 1853. In Breaking Chains, R. Gregory Nokes tells the story of the only slavery case adjudicated in Oregon’s pre-Civil War courts — Holmes v. Ford. Through the lens of this landmark case, Nokes explores the historical context of racism in Oregon and the West, reminding readers that there actually were slaves in Oregon, though relatively few in number. Drawing on the court record, Nokes offers an intimate account of the relationship between a slave and his master from the slave’s point of view. He also explores the experiences of other slaves in early Oregon, examining attitudes toward race and revealing contradictions in the state’s history. Oregon was the only free state admitted to the union with a voter-approved constitutional clause banning African Americans and, despite the prohibition of slavery in the state, many in Oregon tolerated it and supported politicians who advocated for slavery, including Oregon’s first territorial governor. Breaking Chains sheds light on a somber part of Oregon’s history, bringing the story of slavery in Oregon to a broader audience. The book will appeal to readers interested in Pacific Northwest history and in the history of slavery in the United States. Your price $14.95 Used Trade Paperback
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