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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
Charlie Branch has commented on (21) products
Lost in Shangri La The Epic True Story of a Plane Crash Into the Stone Age
by
Mitchell Zuckoff
Charlie Branch
, June 17, 2012
Well written book, but about an exercise of stupidity in World War II, as a USAF veteran put it. There was no reason for this to have happened as the pilot who was familiar with the area this tour was to have flown through was not available, and any pilot that had attempted to fly above the mountains to cross New Guinea in less than perfect weather had been either lost to posterity or advised against it. Recreational flight in a combat zone? Not knowing your location or reporting your plan for a joyride? Diverting resources from those in combat? The author wrote this well, but this event should not have gotten off the ground to start with. I am a AF brat, former Alaska USFS/Fish & Game fisheries hand of the boonies, and one to avoid the unnecessary risk. Our crews got home.
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At Dawn We Slept The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor
by
Gordon W Prange
Charlie Branch
, June 16, 2012
The source material for the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora", Gordon Prange knew Japanese and had access to resource materials from both Japan and US sources to draft the best reference on the Pearl Harbor attack. The first aircraft to encounter the Japanese air fleet over Hawaii were Aeroncas and Cubs flown by students and recreational pilots.
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Call of the Mild Learning to Hunt My Own Dinner
by
Lily Raff McCaulou
Charlie Branch
, June 16, 2012
Always a pleasure to read about someone learning to make the direct connection with their food. The ethics of doing so are addressed in the Bible, and many other books. We started as hunters and gatherers, before domesticating animals and plants to become an agricultural society, further evolving as specialists, developing the disconnection between the many and the fewer farmers and ranchers supplying our foodstuffs. That disconnection further deepens with the development and power of the near-monopoly corporations (Tyson, ADM, Monsanto, Cargill, Pfizer, to name a few) taking over and industrializing agriculture, losing touch and concern for the land and its inhabitants.
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God Knows
by
Joseph Heller
Charlie Branch
, June 16, 2012
Read not once, but twice, and returned to excerpts after that! This would be the autobiography of David, reporting on his life and the people in it, later questioning the course of his life. "Maybe I shouldn't have slung a stone at Goliath, and just gone home after hauling supplies to my brothers..." It helps when reading the Bible to know this, that these were people, with the same foibles we have today. It wasn't just David; Moses, Jonah, and others also asked "Why me?" (I am reminded of Bill Cosby's "Noah... How long can you tread water?"
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Adventuring Through The Bible A Comprehe
by
Ray C Stedman
Charlie Branch
, June 16, 2012
This book is extremely helpful in conjunction with one's reading of the Bible, as it provides what amounts to an aerial or overhead view of the entire Bible, from the Old Testament providing the basis for the appearance of "God made flesh" as prophesied in the books of Moses and the New Testament that followed. Ray Stedman helped me through what might appear to be repetitive and long-winded writings in the Bible with observations (and links to other sections that affirm the importance of those verses)of the relationship to the whole message. Adventuring Through the Bible is organized to progress through the Bible by sections, essentially with a chapter for each book of the Bible outlining the subjects covered. Years ago, I easily bogged down in the enumeration of names and lifespans of the various families. This conjunctive reading gave me the understanding to proceed through it, to finding the rewarding stories inside. The author's biography is interesting, too. "Body Life" is another good book, as I begin membership in a downtown church that is beginning to grow again!
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In the Kingdom of Men
by
Kim Barnes
Charlie Branch
, June 16, 2012
This book draws you in! Exploring the social world of Saudi Arabia, as a newcomer and outsider, Virginia Mae McPhee finds, as both a foreigner and a woman, the strictures of society quite chafing as she discovers the viewpoints of the varied foreign cultures and sexes coping with the social and religious norms that relegate them to enclaves. Do not stop reading after the epilogue, as the acknowledgments credit the author's deep research. My own readings over the years of US military operations in SW Asia and talks with an electrical engineer and his wife who'd lived and worked in that oil industry while we volunteered together in public radio in Alaska, dovetailed nicely with this book. The impacts of "Big Oil" (and the illusory "Big Money") are disturbing on a social, cultural, and individual level...
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Music Through the Eyes of Faith
by
Harold Best
Charlie Branch
, May 16, 2012
Dr. Harold Best is the Emeritus Dean/Professor of Music of the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and is the author of many articles and several books on music and worship. Speaking at the Resonance Music Ministry Conference on May 12, 2012, Dr. Best noted that "Music is amoral, and may serve as servant or master." As music is a creation of Man, he cautions us to be aware, as music is a creation of man, not to elevate music and musician,as to do so flips the hierarchy of worship from God - Creation - Man - Man's Creations. Substitute "graven images" for "Man's Creations", art, music, if that makes things clearer. Psalm 95:2 provides us guidance to "let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!"
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When the Game Was Ours
by
Larry Bird, Earvin Magic Johnson, Jackie Macmullan
Charlie Branch
, April 07, 2012
From the University of Montana, we were overjoyed when our basketball team gave John Wooden's undefeated UCLA Bruins a run for their money in the postseason of winter 1975 (Griz lost 67-64). UM coach Jud Heathcote left on the heels of that great showing to coach at Michigan State, and we paid attention to his work with that great team of Greg Kelser and Earvin "Magic" Johnson in their famous NCAA match up with Larry Bird and ISU. All that is covered, and more! Some years later, my brother pointed out Larry Bird's house as we drove by on our way to spend a day fishing at Patoka Reservoir, and I spent an evening at the French Lick Resort in the audience for a US Army Corps of Engineers public meeting. Small world, and we're all connected...
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Getting Steamed to Overcome Corporatism Build It Together to Win
by
Ralph Nader
Charlie Branch
, April 07, 2012
Getting steamed is the reason laborers organized and collective bargaining laws and principles were implemented. As an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers shop steward and member, I can attest to the fact that the organization was established to provide for the safety and training of those in the industry as the early fatality rate was horrendous. Every bargaining unit I have been involved with has had the safety, and social and economic stability of its membership (and their local communities) as the prime objective. Corporate America/Global gets us steamed,too, so many of us (and children) refuse to set foot on WalMart parking lots (your Medicaid/Medicare dollars pay for their employee healthcare, for one example), and try to support locally-owned businesses as we can, rather than encourage large corporations that live on our government's contributions to their welfare. I am proud to say that Ralph has encouraged me to vote my conscience, rather than voting for the "least-worst" candidate offered by one of the two corporate-funded and corporate media promoted (major) political parties.
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Imperial Cruise A Secret History of Empire & War
by
James Bradley
Charlie Branch
, April 07, 2012
"Manifest Destiny" of westward expansion did not end with the Pacific shores of California... Subtitled "A Secret History of Empire and War", it bears reading in context with this century's efforts at "nation building" overseas by the United States. I feel fortunate to have been able to engage in "what if" discussions in my high school history classes, but we did not have the benefit of this information, which would have really opened up our scrutiny of 20th century history (to the early 1970s of my HS experience). Family histories, education, philosophy and relationships are revealed among the cruise passengers, with U.S. government motives for this voyage of 1905 that affects our world today.
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Imperial Cruise A Secret History of Empire & War
by
James Bradley
Charlie Branch
, April 07, 2012
"Manifest Destiny" of westward expansion did not end with the Pacific shores of California... Subtitled "A Secret History of Empire and War", it bears reading in context with this century's efforts at "nation building" overseas by the United States. I feel fortunate to have been able to engage in "what if" discussions in my high school history classes, but we did not have the benefit of this information, which would have really opened up our scrutiny of 20th century history (to the early 1970s of my HS experience). Family histories, education, philosophy and relationships are revealed among the cruise passengers, with U.S. government motives for this voyage of 1905 that affects our world today.
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In the Company of Heroes
by
Michael J Durant
Charlie Branch
, April 07, 2012
A first person account of survival in "enemy" territory, making friends and maintaining hope and faith in being part of "something larger than oneself" as a number of Vietnam POWs put it after returning home. An amazing story of physical, mental and spiritual hardship and recovery...
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On the Fly Guide to the Northern Rockies A Travelers Guide to the Greatest Flyfishing Destinations in Idaho Montana & Northern Wyoming
by
Chuck Robbins
Charlie Branch
, March 06, 2012
As a returnee to my natal state after thirty years in Alaska, this is a great guide to help me catch up with the waters I've known so long ago. From NW Wyoming through Montana and Idaho, Gale and Chuck Robbins provide useful information on where to go for advice, materials and sustenance. When I worked on FMC22 for the Wyoming Game & Fish Dept., Newton Lakes were closed to fishing as a broodstock pond for hatchery rainbow trout, so the "trash fish" brook trout were huge! NW Montana lakes were a subject of study for classes at the Yellow Bay Biological Station (U.M.)and some of my classmates fished them on weekends. I remember a pleasant evening on a stream in the Flathead watching grayling stacked side by side under a log, impossible to reach, but a pleasure to see. As for Idaho, I ranged nearly statewide with IDFG, and USFS, so I can appreciate the difficulty faced by any author in attempting to write a guidebook covering such a large area. The most important thing about fishing anywhere is just what Dad told me: "You won't catch any fish without your lure in the water!" Ask of the ample sources provided in the book, and take inspiration from what you see, hear, and experience on the waters. Just the simple act of fishing deserves five stars, and I didn't mention anything about catching. So get to the water and wet a line!
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Bury Us Upside Down: The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho CHI Minh Trail
by
Rick Newman and Don Shepperd
Charlie Branch
, March 05, 2012
What a ride! More than a few Misty FACs did great things in the future: Dick Rutan flew around the world in Voyager, several became Air Force Chief of Staff, and all stood up (and took political heat) for their compatriots. Admirable men battling the orthodox to fight the battles in the best way they could. Not all the enemies were in SE Asia... Shooting missiles around trees, photographing SAMs from below treetop level, having several thousand NVA vanish on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in a landslide... Truth is often stranger than fiction. These were the first of the 'Fast FACs' and arguably, the best. --An AF brat of the 1960s, but I will always be a 'military brat' as our upbringing gives us that understanding and ability to develop roots wherever we find ourselves. Dad flew in KC-135s back then, plus a SEA stint in TAC C-130E...
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Stick & Rudder An Explanation of the Art of Flying
by
Wolfgang Langewiesche
Charlie Branch
, March 05, 2012
This is one book that should equip every aviator's library. His observation that very little time is spent during training in flight at slow speed (minimum controllable airspeed), while the most critical phases of flight occur in that regime, is so true! My best training experiences are of pattern work, bumping around the circuit just above stall speed in order to accommodate other traffic, while minding the rpm to stay out of prop limitation ranges, which meant intervals of slow descents and slow climbs. Operating limitations...another topic for understanding by novitiates. I agree with the author that more time should be spent training at slower speeds, despite instructors' inclinations to the contrary. My other favorite is Emergency Maneuver Training (trademarked by Rich Stowell), which also reinforces the notion that airplanes fly with airflow over the wings, without regard for the location of the ground. Flight is truly liberating, as long as you remember to leave enough room for (relative)"wind beneath the wings." Until you wish to stall the airplane at a short distance above the ground in order to complete the transition to land, that is.
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Apache Inside the Cockpit of the Worlds Most Deadly Fighting Machine
by
Ed Macy
Charlie Branch
, March 02, 2012
Andy McNab's comment, "Puts you right in the cockpit... Awesome." is on the money. This is Ed Macy's first book, and is worth reading first as he describes experiences of his second tour in Afghanistan as his squadron's weapons officer, flying the Westland Apache AH Mk I, modified from the US Army's AH-64D, for starters with 30% more power. Sounds like the P-51 Mustang, eh? Without the Rolls Royce engines, the Mustang would be merely a footnote in history. The author describes the aircraft systems including the targeting system that uses the aviator's right eye for aiming while the left eye performs other multitasking chores independently. Yeah, it puts you in the heat, sand, smoke, and fog of battle.
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Throw Them All Out How Politicians & Their Friends Get Rich Off Insider Stock Tips Land Deals & Cronyism That Would Send the Rest of Us to Prison
by
Peter Schweizer
Charlie Branch
, March 02, 2012
Peter Schweizer "followed the money" and found that while those employed in other branches of our federal government must divest themselves of their investments (or at least place them in "blind" trusts) during their tenure, the legislative branch is exempt from prosecution under insider trading laws, and defines "earmark" legislation as not being a conflict of interest for its sponsor members, as long as at least one other individual outside of the sponsor receives its benefits. Regarding the previous comment: I would note that it is reported in the book that Bain Capital contributed more than $172 thousand to the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator John Kerry, with no mention of Mitt Romney's connection to the same business. This does explain why the Glass-Steagall Act was repealed, and will never be reinstated, despite the fact that it kept the finance industry regulated well since the 1930s. The Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act is tens of thousands of pages, while Glass-Steagall numbered but 34 pages. Likewise, the income tax code is more than 67,000 pages, which could be replaced by the Fair Tax bill of 134 pages (sponsored by Rep. John Linder, R-GA, among others). Unfortunately, Congress is busy gaming the income tax, as are the lobbyists and corporations dependent upon us for their welfare. (See "Greedy Bastards" by Dylan Ratigan)
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Greedy Bastards How We Can Stop Corporate Communists Banksters & Other Vampires from Sucking America Dry
by
Dylan Ratigan
Charlie Branch
, March 02, 2012
Dylan Ratigan provides not only understandable explanations of the problems (CDOs are but one), but also the solutions. After reading "Throw Them All Out" you will have an understanding of the difficulties in getting (our?) elected representatives to implement these solutions.
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Red Star Rogue The Untold Story of a Soviet Submarines Nuclear Strike Attempt on the US
by
Kenneth Sewell
Charlie Branch
, July 03, 2010
An intriguing read, best accompanied by "Scorpion Down" and "Blind Man's Bluff" for a trilogy on Cold War submarine operations. The story of US deception and Howard Hughes' Glomar Explorer/Challenger ships being involved was fascinating since I lived on Oahu during that time, and recall the newspaper stories on the presence of such a hard-to-ignore large ship in the area.
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See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIAs War on Terrorism
by
Robert Baer
Charlie Branch
, July 03, 2010
As James Bamford, author of "Spy Factory" and "Puzzle Palace" observes, the difficulties have been of Washington's own making: intelligence information being held within each organization's empire, thus NSA being known as "Never Say Anything" despite tracking calls through the (Al Qaeda)network that developed from a satphone bought in the US that provide the initial phone number. NSA knew where the AQ operatives were before 9/11, FBI field agents knew AQ operatives were training in the US, but roadblocks were put in their way to avoid crossing jurisdictional boundaries. As in US operations SE Asia of the 1960s and '70s, "We're great at policing ourselves, and avoid hurting the other guy." Doesn't matter whether the "other guy" is NVA, AQ, UBL, Xe, BP... Don't get me started on corporate "personhood"...
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Anatomy of an Epidemic Magic Bullets Psychiatric Drugs & the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America
by
Robert Whitaker
Charlie Branch
, June 20, 2010
Watched this boook talk on C-Span's BookTV and was struck by the similarities between the actions of pharmaceutical corporations with those of BP's and Exxon's actions following catastrophic oil spills. Since the US Supreme Court has affirmed that individual citizens and corporations have equivalent legal standing as "persons", it should no longer come as a surprise that those persons with vastly larger pocketbooks have the ability to control the public agenda, mass media, governments (including the regulatory systems) and legal systems. As we in Alaska watch the discussions with regard to application of OPA-90 (Oil Pollution Act of 1990, passed in response to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill)to establish citizen oversight and input on industry operations, we have also observed that bad news travels neither upward nor outward in any bureaucracy. Like Exxon's retreat from Prince William Sound after a year, we expect BP to exit as soon as they can push the message that "everything will be fine..." (Remember Pres. Bush 43's message that he had "...confidence in the US financial system because it was supported by every US citizen."?) Just as Eli Lilly owns so much of Indianapolis that they could close streets, the industry hold on media and markets is a tough wall to crack. As Robert Whitaker states, "We need to have this conversation to improve outcomes, which will also reduce costs, but reduce the markets of the psychopharmaceutical industry by 80%." Industry does not go willing into that good night...
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