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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
HistoryWriter has commented on (19) products
Hazelet's Journal: A Riveting Alaska Gold Rush Saga
by
George Cheever Hazelet
HistoryWriter
, November 06, 2013
George Cheever Hazelet was a former school principle and business owner living with his wife and two sons in Nebraska in 1897. His business collapsed that year due to the financial panic and economic downturn that swept the country in the mid-1890s. Hazelet felt his opportunity to get his family back to their previous economic status was to try his hand at prospecting as part of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush. He left his family behind and struck out with his partner, Andrew Jackson Meals, for Alaska. An educated man, Hazelet kept a detailed journal of his experiences. Hazelet and Meals outfitted in Seattle. Most of the thousands of prospectors who were headed for the Klondike landed in Skagway or Dyea (in southeast Alaska) to take either the White Pass or Chilikoot trails to the Yukon River, then raft down to Dawson (in the Yukon Territory, Canada). The Hazelet party was one of the fewer numbers who landed in Valdez, Alaska to climb the Valdez Glacier and cross over the mountains to the headwaters of the Copper River. In Hazelet's Journal, you'll read about the struggle to overcome the terrain, the climate, and the loneliness of prospecting the Alaska wilderness. Mortal danger exists on a daily basis from river crossings, freezing temperatures, and claim jumpers. Hazelet is straightforward in his entries, his journals are engaging yet hyperbole is refreshingly absent. His descriptions ring true. This is a primary source document at its entertaining best. George Hazelet did not "strike it rich" in Alaska in that he was not able to set up a commercial mining operation. He and his partner did, however, homestead 720 acres in what is today the city of Valdez, Alaska. Hazelet and Meals returned to Alaska with their families and left behind a legacy that is part of the collective history of the 49th state. Editor J.H. Clark is George Hazelet's great grandson. He is also president of the Port Valdez Company, which traces its history back to those original 720 acres of land and the various other business ventures started by George Hazelet. Clark has done a wonderful job of editing and publishing "Hazelet's Journal," keeping the original voice of the author. I must also comment that the book is beautifully formatted, with dozens of historic photos, and maps that can only be described as works of art. My only criticism of the work is that I would have liked to see a more in-depth introductory chapter on the various gold strikes in Alaska and the Yukon. For those that are not familiar with this segment of American History, I would recommend also reading "Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush" by Pierre Berton. But even still, this does not detract from "Hazelet's Journal," as few are familiar with the exploration of the Copper River Country.
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Giap The General Who Defeated America in Vietnam
by
James A a Warren, James A Warren
HistoryWriter
, October 21, 2013
Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap recently passed away on October 4, 2013 at the age of 102. From the time he was born in 1911 until the communist victory over South Vietnam in 1975, his country was either occupied by a foreign power, or at war. Next to Ho Chi Minh, Giap is probably the most revered Vietnamese "founding father." Certainly the most well known in the United States. He is the mastermind behind the French defeat at Dien Bin Phu, the Tet Offensive, the Easter Offensive, and the 1975 Spring Offensive (which finally defeated South Vietnam and united the country under the communist government). The publication of Warren's book is timely, but that's not the reason to read a biography of this man. Vo Nguyen Giap's life is a history of Vietnam in the Twentieth Century and the United States was one of the key players. His leadership and military decisions were instrumental in ending the American involvement in Southeast Asia. James Warren conveys this without pounding the reader over the head with it. The book is not lengthy (at just over 200 pages) but it thorough enough so that the reader gets a clear picture of not only the life of a self-taught military genius (too much?) but also a summary history of the French and American involvement in Vietnam. Giap was in fact a self-taught military strategist. While studying in Hue before WWII, he was a voracious reader of military history and politics (p. 7). He also spent time as a history teacher (p. 10). However, his greatest insight (with a little help from his political mentor Ho Chi Minh) and implementation of the concept, was that "the army and the people are one."(p. 25) This set the stage for building a guerrilla army whose key to victory was outlasting their opponent. Although it took thirty years, Giap served as commander-in-chief of an army that defeated both France and the United States. Warren's writing style is straightforward and readable. His conclusions are also clear and in my view inarguable. When I was an army officer, I read quite a few biographies of military figures. It was part of how you learned your trade. I would have added this book to my reading list. If you would read a book about Rommel or Robert E. Lee, then you might want to read a book about Vo Nguyen Giap. James Warren's book in a great choice.
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True German The Diary of a World War II Military Judge
by
Werner Otto Mueller Hill, Robert Gellately
HistoryWriter
, October 14, 2013
Werner Otto Muller-Hill was an upper-middle class German from Frieburg. He served as a military judge in the First World War before he went home to pursue a legal career. He was recalled to active duty in the German Wehrmacht, again to serve as a military judge in 1940. He was very pro-German, and very anti-Nazi. He started keeping a journal in March 1944 as a record for his young son, in the event he did not survive the war. Defeatism and criticizing the Fuhrer were crimes in Hitler's Germany, so if the things Muller-Hill wrote in his diary were ever found out, it could mean his death. But he survived the war, closing his journal two weeks after the German surrender to the Allies. He was sixty years old at the end of the war. Muller-Hill died in 1977. German military justice was draconian during WWII. For example, the introduction provides the statistic that during WWI, German military courts sentenced 48 soldiers to death. However, under Nazi rule from 1933 to 1945 at least 20,000 and maybe as many as 33,000 or more soldiers, civilians, and POWs subject to military justice were put to death. (p. xvi) As Benjamin Carter Hett says, "Nazi military law...specified both harsh penalties and a speedy procedure, with few rights for defendants." (p. xix) Werner Otto Muller-Hill was one of the "good" judges though, who obviously thought a soldier would perform better back in his unit rather than hanging on the end of a rope. What makes Muller-Hill's diary so interesting, and so valuable as a historical tool, is the amount of information he had, or moreover, what he knew. On April 5, 1944 Muller-Hill wrote that "We are rushing head-long into the worst kind of defeat...In a year we'll know more!!!" He almost predicted the outcome of the war and the date of Germany's defeat. Filtered through propaganda, briefings through his chain of command, newspaper and radio, this rear echelon officer knew quite a bit about things that previously we thought the average German did not. Along with his insight, he was often sarcastic and sometimes humorous. He talks of missiles being fired at London as "retribution" for the landings in Normandy (pp. 49-52) and also predicts the futility of the Battle of the Bulge (p. 131). He praises the attempt on Hitler's life (p. 59) and is upset about the use of 14-year old boys being put into defensive positions toward the end of the war (p. 92). Most startling is Muller-Hill's rant about a speech given by Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, where he writes "What nerve this man has! How dare he talk about gruesome maltreatment of women and children, when we've summarily murdered hundreds of thousands of Jewish women and children in Poland and Russia!" (p. 155). For me this helps to dispel the myth that the general populace of Germany, particularly the Wehrmacht, had no knowledge of the Holocaust before the end of the war. "The True German" is a quick read, and in the real voice of an astute observer of what was going on around him. Reading this book provides the opportunity to hear what a very knowledgeable German officer was thinking at the time the events unfolded around him. His words are not filtered by a historian or other writer. The book is, in fact, a primary source document, both enlightening and entertaining. A nice addition to your WWII library.
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Death in the Baltic The World War II Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff
by
Cathryn Prince
HistoryWriter
, April 09, 2013
If you ask any given person what the worst maritime disaster was in history, (of those who could bring one to mind) you would probably hear about the Titanic, or even the Lusitania. However, I'd say it's a safe bet that the odds are astronomical that you'll find someone who knows about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. In the last year of WWII, in a last minute attempt to evacuate one million military and two million refugees from East Prussia, the Nazis experienced their own version of Dunkirk. On the night of January 30, 1945 the Wilhelm Gustloff, a luxury cruise ship pressed into military service, departed Gotenhafen for Kiel. It was estimated, since no records survived if any were available, that the ship carried over 9,000 souls, when it was designed to carry only 2,000. The majority were civilian refugees, women and children, and a number of wounded military personnel. A short time later, the Wilhelm Gustloff was struck by three torpedoes fired by a Soviet submarine S-13. The ocean liner sunk within an hour. Since there were lifeboats for only a fraction of those on board, many drowned in the freezing Baltic. There were approximately 1200 survivors. Some estimate the death toll as high as 9,000. To put the tragedy in perspective, approximately 1200 lives were lost on the Lusitania, and just over 1500 on the Titanic. The sinking was not deliberately kept secret over the years, but it wasn't exactly publicized either. In post WWII America, not many people cared about what had happened to our former enemies. The ensuing Cold War with the Soviets further obscured the tragedy in the world's collective memory. Author Cathryn Prince heard about it one day and was driven to find out more. She found a survivor who had since immigrated to Canada. Prince went there to interview him. That's all it took to compel Prince to find more survivors to interview, and finally tell their story. Prince articulates an observation that Americans have a tendency to not acknowledge the suffering of the German people during the war, not wanting to view them as having the right to be "victims" of the Nazis like other nationalities in Europe (p. 181). But if we are able to put those prejudices aside, there is a lot to learn in the details of the closing days of WWII in the European Theater. Moreover, as a reader and writer of military history, I think it's a good thing that we periodically put strategy and tactics aside and examine the experiences of the civilian during war. The book is well written and reads at a good pace. There is no fluff, coming in at 236 pages including back matter, but it is a thorough history. The reader will learn about what happened on the Eastern Front in the closing days of WWII, and be caught up in several of the survivor stories. Photographs of the survivors as children help us see them as real people who went through extraordinary events. I highly recommend Death in the Baltic. It is an interesting, well told story that brings a little known event from WWII to light.
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We Were Soldiers Once & Young Ia Drang the Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
by
Harold G Moore
HistoryWriter
, February 25, 2013
This is an amazing book, fascinating and disturbing at the same time. There is probably nothing I can add to the hundreds of reviews of this book. However, I'd just like to say what lessons I took from it. First of all, at the risk of hyperbole, I must say that I wish every American would read this book. In it you will learn about the bravery of the American service person, and the real cost of war. It is a story that transcends the conflict in Vietnam and is very applicable to our modern military adventures, where the burden of war is carried by only a small percentage of our citizens. The first half of the book describes the formation what would become the 1/7 Cavalry, part of the first air mobile division (1st Cavalry Division) and its deployment to Vietnam. The 1/7th is commanded by the co-author, Hal Moore. Moore's battalion is sent into LZ X-ray and survives a battle against what would have been overwhelming odds if it were not for massive American artillery and close air support despite the expert leadership of the officers and NCOs in the battalion from Moore down and the undisputed bravery of each individual soldier. This is significant as the first major engagement between American air mobile forces and the North Vietnamese Army. The second half of the book, however, did not get portrayed artistically in the Mel Gibson movie. It tells the story of Moore's sister battalion, the 2/7th Cavalry, that was marching toward LZ Albany to be extracted after reinforcing the 1/7th at X-ray. While approaching the LZ, unprepared for meeting the enemy again, the battalion was attacked by three battalions of NVA soldiers. The chain of command was not able to bring artillery and air support their rescue in this engagement for several hours. The results were devastating. Both fights constitute the Battle of the Ia Drang, not just the part stylized in the movie. The most moving part of the book is revealed in the closing chapters. The story of two widows and two daughters bring to light how the sacrifices of soldiers not only take the lives of amazingly talented soldiers, but also dramatically affects the lives of their loved ones at home, who continue to pay the price. Reading about the aftermath and the effect on the veterans and their family members is a very emotional experience. However, even more amazing and anger inducing is the way the battle was treated by the leadership of the country. The upper management of the Army and the government refuses any lessons to be learned from this battle, and the country continued on a path that was already decided upon before the 1st Cavalry Division even arrived in Vietnam. I wish I could give this book more than five stars. If you enjoyed the movie, then please read this book and get the whole story.
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Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher The Epic Life & Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis
by
Timothy Egan
HistoryWriter
, February 04, 2013
There are several stories woven into one great book. First is the young celebrity photographer, Edward Curtis, who becomes obsessed with a project to document all of the western tribes of native Americans before they are gone. After spending over two decades spending months at a time living in the field in pursuit of knowing his subjects and getting thousands of photographs, he finally completes his masterpiece. However the twenty volume set is so expensive that they are produced in limited quantities and only acquired by a few libraries and universities, and the occasional wealthy patron. Curtis was not paid for his work. He was actually ruined by the project. The price to Curtis for his obsession was the loss of his family, his business, and his reputation in his social class that was so important to upper class people in that era. The other stories brought to light in the book concern America's treatment of the native Americans (more palatable than "Bury My Heart), and a good review of the social customs and attitudes of the rich during the early part of the twentieth century. I enjoy Egan's writing style. The book moves along at a pace that will keep your interest. I had not known a great deal about Edward Curtis, but I appreciated learning about his work that I now recognize in many books about native Americans and early works on outdoor subjects. I do look at the story of Edward Curtis' life as a cautionary tale, well told by Timothy Egan. Excellent read.
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Normandy: A Graphic History of D-Day: The Allied Invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe
by
Wayne Vansant
HistoryWriter
, February 04, 2013
This was the first nonfiction "graphic novel" I've read and I enjoyed it a great deal. I think the history is good and well written. The graphics are also excellent and entertaining. There are a small number of criticisms, like on page 75 the author states that we "had our tank aces too" and mentions Sgt Lafayette Pool of the 3rd Armored Division, but doesn't say what made him a "tank ace." At the same time, however, the book actually mentioned some things I did not know about the Normandy Campaign, like on page 59 where Vansant tells us that Sgt Curtis Culin of the 79th Infantry Division invented the "Hedgerow Cutter" that mounted on armored vehicles to help them bust through hedgerows. I enjoyed the book, no doubt, but I still like to get my history from a traditional book or documentary. However, I wonder, and hope, that this kind of history book would engage anyone, not just the young. And anything that gets more people tuned in to history is more than okay with me.
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Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
by
Seth Grahame Smith
HistoryWriter
, August 20, 2012
This book was awesome! Very well researched biography of Abraham Lincoln's life, interspersed with his career as a vampire slayer. I read this book in two nights. A page turner that really holds the reader's interest, including the historical details of Lincoln's early life. It's history, AND a vampire story. It's a fun read, well done.
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Blackhorse Riders A Desperate Last Stand an Extraordinary Rescue Mission & the Vietnam Battle America Forgot
by
Philip Keith
HistoryWriter
, August 08, 2012
I am a Blackhorse veteran of the Cold War and I think that the author, who is not a cavalry veteran, got it right. I was happy to find an author who took the time to get the details right. It is also refreshing to read a book about regular soldiers doing the extraordinary things that are required of them in combat (rather than the hyperbolic tales of special operations troops that are so prevalent). I hope the author will work on other projects with Vietnam veterans. We haven't had someone who can relate the history and the experience of Vietnam this well since Keith Nolan passed away.
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Roadside History Of California
by
Ruth Pittman
HistoryWriter
, August 08, 2012
I found this book to be well written and unbiased. It was just what I was looking for, a book that gave a quick run down on the history of the state, divided up by region. Although the author tells the history of the towns you will come to as you travel the major highways (for example: along Route 49 through the Gold Rush Country from south to north), but it is all history, not travelogue, which makes this book timeless. If you are in to heritage travel, this book is an excellent addition to your vacation guidebooks and maps.
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New Land North of the Columbia Historical Documents that Tell the Story of Washington State from Territory to Today
by
Lorraine Mcconaghy
HistoryWriter
, August 08, 2012
This is a really enjoyable coffee table type book. An awesome idea: take significant documents and images from Washington State's history, found in archives around the state, put the images of those things in a book and tell the reader what they are. Simple and beautiful. Give this book as a gift to anyone you know who has an interest in history. The book really brings the past to life.
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Blind Descent
by
Nevada Barr
HistoryWriter
, August 07, 2012
I'm a big fan, working my way through the Anna Pigeon novels in order. This one took a dark turn (pardon the pun) but I don't want to spoil the outcome. If you like Nevada Barr, you'll like this book, although I do think too much time was spent underground, in the dark, or talking about the technical details of exploring caves.
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Oranges
by
John McPhee
HistoryWriter
, August 07, 2012
This is a great book. Unfortunately, it was researched and written in 1965 so some of the information is dated. But then again, a lot of it is not. This book is exactly as the title implies, it's about oranges and the history of the industry of growing oranges and making orange juice. Really interesting and written in a conversational style that you will enjoy.
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Man of War My Adventures in the World of Historical Reenactment
by
Charlie Schroeder
HistoryWriter
, July 17, 2012
I did chuckle a few times but overall I think that the author thinks he is funnier than he is. Picking up on Tony Horowitz' "Confederates in the Attic" he travels around the country visiting and participating in historical reenactments from different time periods, including Roman, Colonial, Civil War, WWII, and Vietnam. Charlie doesn't "get it," therefore he decided to just mock it. He seems to have cherry picked the oddest and strangest among this group of history fanatics, in his attempt to prove the myth that they are all a bunch of crack pots. Very disappointed that he never got down to some serious Q & A with his victims to tell me why they do what they do and what it means to them.
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Floor of Heaven A True Tale of the Last Frontier & the Yukon Gold Rush
by
Howard Blum
HistoryWriter
, July 13, 2012
Why would you read more than one (or two, or three) books on the same subject? Because various authors of nonfiction bring another perspective or find a different facet of the story to bring to life. This book is more than another volume about the Yukon Gold Rush. It's a tale of the old west, telling the reader the life stories of three men: prospector George Carmack, ex-cowboy and Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo, and conman and gang leader Jefferson "Soapy" Smith. Howard Blum tells the wild west tales of their lives and how the three intersect during the gold rush. It's history AND it's an action adventure story; a real "page turner."
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Greywalker Greywalker 1
by
Kat Richardson
HistoryWriter
, July 13, 2012
I love the premise of this series. The writing is good and tight and I was hooked after the first few pages. The only place it slows on place where there is some complicated explanations of "the Grey," that area where monsters, ghosts, vampires, and other paranormal creatures dwell. But the action quickly picked the pace again. I'll be reading the next book in the series, and can you get a better recommendation than that?
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Blaze of Glory A Novel of the Battle of Shiloh
by
Jeff Shaara
HistoryWriter
, June 28, 2012
I have read every book by Jeff Shaara, and anxiously await the publication of each one. His books are meticulously researched, the characters are real historical figures. We have to call them novels only because of the supposed dialog. This is Shaara's return to the Civil War with a treatment of one of the major battles in the western theater, where the fighting and the number of casualties are just as horrific as those more famous battles in the east. Shaara gives you a unbiased perspective of generals and privates from both sides of the conflict. A great way to experience history.
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Dog Company Six
by
Edwin Howard Simmons
HistoryWriter
, March 29, 2012
If you like to read historical fiction and war novels, then give this one a try. We all know that good, realistic, historically accurate war novels are hard to find. This is one of them. I let it sit on my shelf too long, kind of turned off by a dull cover design and title. However, Dog Company Six is a good book, well done for a nonfiction writer's first novel. The downside is that it is predictable, and flows at a steady pace throughout without many drastic highs and lows. But Dog Company Six is refreshing because it has a ring of realism to it with no outrageous and unbelievable acts of heroism by any of its cast of characters. It is hard to believe that this story is not the author's autobiography. You will gain an appreciation for the career soldiers/marines and the reservists called to active duty to fight this war by a country still weary from WWII. The story of unequal sacrifice is applicable to today's military as well.
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Fur Fortune & Empire The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America
by
Eric Jay Dolin
HistoryWriter
, December 22, 2011
This is one of those "page turners" that will make you ask why we didn't learn history this way in school. It's history AND an adventure story. You be amazed at the many things in American History that were influenced by the fur trade. Pilgrims traded for furs. The Lewis and Clark expedition was to ensure we would control the west for the fur trade. Astoria, Oregon, settled as a fur trading post in 1811 making it the oldest American city west of the Rockies. Those are just a few. I'm a real history fan, and it's interesting to view the effect of pursuing a commodity on historic events. If you enjoyed reading Cod, or Leviathan, then you will really enjoy Fur, Fortune, and Empire. It is a well researched, and well written book.
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