Washington Books

As one who grew up in Spokane in the 40's I thought the book was fantastic! I'd like to thank Ms. Nunemaker and everyone who collaborated on the book. It was obviously a lot of work, but it is so much appreciated. As I read through the book and looked at the pictures I was transported in memory to what we all will agree was a better, simpler time. Although most of us have family albums with pictures of the people in our lives, we tend to take our surroundings for granted and don't document them so they usually remain only in our memories. While it's true that the old Spokane only remains in our memories, it's wonderful to have these pictures and texts in print to help jog our memories and sharpen the focus of the fuzzy pictures in our minds that will always remain with us.

This nostalgic look at Spokane, Washington takes the reader back in time to this historic town during the 1930's and 40's. I enjoyed the book very much. It is so well written, the pages turn themselves. Although I did not live through this era, I feel that I know much about Spokane during this time and I have gained a true feeling and understanding for this period. It is an excellent book, and a must-have for anyone who enjoys history, or anyone looking for a peek back in time, brought to you by an author who was really there.

This was a GREAT book. It tells us why Esther Short Park was named so (got some interesting stuff about Esther!), as well as the naming of some of our better known streets (Fourth Plain and Mill Plain... I always wondered about those). Also contains a lot of history on Officers' Row and the fort, and its inhabitants. I knew nothing about Mother Joseph before reading this book, and now I know how she influenced the building of Vancouver. Of particular interest to me, the book gives a lot of the little reasons why Portland ended up growing so much bigger than Vancouver, even though Vancouver is older.

This book has a few tidbits about people in Vancouver that remind me how very much that they weren't just names in a history book. When the law declared that the St. James Church belonged to the Army and not to the Catholic Church (the book didn't give the year, but with searching online, found out this was in the 1890s), a young Army officer went to the church to help the priest move out, and I laughed out loud when I read how the angry priest reacted to the officer's offer of help. I also liked the bit about the practical joke a pilot made at the dedication festival for Pearson Field in 1925.

My husband and I only noticed one thing that could have been a glaring typo. It was in reference to a photo (on page 25) telling us where Pearson Field would later be.... however, the book said the photo was taken in the 1970s. We're guessing it had been actually taken in the 1870s, as Pearson Field was dedicated in 1925 and it has never changed locations. If it had been taken in the 1970s, we would have seen Pearson Field in the photo.

Like the other reviewer said, I wish there were more in this book. However, what is there is nicely laid out. Each section begins with a page of history in text, followed by pages of photos with descriptive captions.

The Fort Vancouver library system has this book, by the way. ^_^

As almost a life long resident of Vancouver, having moved here in 1965 this is "Home". I remember when this town was so much smaller and still see a lot of the remnants of its history. Only complaint is I wish it were twice as large in volume/content and just double the price. I've ordered the volumes on Camas and Washougal, and wait eagerly as I'm currently living in Camas in a home built in 1908 by owners of the paper mill of that period. I only hope the rest of the series is half the quality of this book.

It's one thing to read about Congressional legislation designed to right the wrongs of the past. It's quite another to see it illuminated in the living, breathing culture of those who are impacted most. Dr. Tweedie's approach superbly contextualizes the intricacies of evaluating NAGPRA's successes and limitations by using insights into the Makah's past to inform their current, complex realities. Her field research provides readers with unique access to a culture seeking to understand itself and the role its most sacred artifacts play in its identity.

Dr. Tweedie crafts an excellent study of how NAGPRA is affecting one tribe and it's attempts to bring its objects of cultural patrimony back to their lands. However, she details more than the physical reclaiming of objects - this book really gives an insight into the deeper meaning of repatriation for the Makah.
It is obvious that Dr. Tweedie's time in Neah Bay researching this book has brought her a unique understanding of the topic and the foreword by Janine Bowchamp of the Makah Cultural Research Center emphasizes the importance of this work to the tribe.

This is an amazing read. I thought I was lost by the end of the first chapter, but soon realized I was actually bobbing right next to the unseen narrator and main character: we were all swept into the strong waters of recent (1960s-present) Indonesian history.

This is the story of an ordinary woman drawn by fate to witness and participate in a string of delirious events that unfold after Indonesia's independence from the Dutch colonial powers. This woman, Auntie Wi, Madame Nussy, Sis Tiwi, (whatever she decides to call herself) spirals around the world of partisan politics, financial corruption, and unsatisfied love with a charmed and resiliant spirit, but in the end finds herself yearning for some imagined dream of a simpler life. The surprising end to her unfinished tale haunted me for days. Did she finally find some happiness in accepting her place in history? Did she discover how to clutch the worst of her desires while yet hanging on to a shred of sweet memory? Would her friend the historical microphone ever come back to hear her thoughts?

The work is written in a style that reminds me some oral epic overheard on a long bus ride, where details and names are spun out with dizzying relentlessness. Other authors have used this consciousness streaming mode to tell their tales, but there is something intoxicating here about the cadences and rhythms of the words. Here is a refreshing take on a topic that many of us know little about, written in a form that left me buzzing with thoughts each time I reluctantly put the book down. The translator assists at all turns here, giving the reader an ample introduction to the story and the recent history of Indondesia, but not overwhelming the tale; footnotes are provided where clarification is needed.

All in all, a stunning work.

Y.B. Mangunwijaya's novel "Durga/Umayi" tells the engaging story of a woman's ongoing personal transformation while the country she lives in moves past colonialism into independence. The book works well on two levels. First, as a literary novel filled with vividly drawn characters--especially Iin (aka Punyo Iin Sulinda Pertiwi Nusamusbida), the not-very-sympathetic protangonist--that contains colorful descriptions of the sometimes surreal situations they find themselves in; it is told in a most unorthodox way. Suggestions made by translator Ward Keeler in his introduction helped greatly in knowing how to approach the text.

Second, "Durga/Umayi" is an excellent introduction to the modern history and culture of Indonesia, particularly for someone who knows little about Southeast Asia. Again, Dr. Keeler's introduction and footnotes are an invaluable aid.

Mangunwijaya's narrative style and the surreal nature of his novel were a bit challenging at first, but after a few pages it became an engaging read. "Durga/Umayi" is a fascinating story told with great wit and empathy, and well worth reading.

I got the book quick and it was in great condition, and for about 1/8 the price of a new one.

I needed this book for a summer course I'm taking. I saved $94 off the bookstore price.

Like NilesO, I too have seen the show at the National Gallery. Some of the items on display, I have also seen at the Tokyo Museum of Art back in '96 as part of an exhibition called "Flowers in Japanese Art, Craft and Literature". I've gone through half my annual book budget for '99 (and here it's only February!)! I think I'll pass for now, borrow the library's copy and wait for the paperback edition.

The show is spectacular (check the review in the 12/1/98 Wall Street Journal), and the book (actually an expanded catalogue of the show that approaches being an art history text) is hefty and scholarly. It would seem a "must have" for serious students/afficionados of Japanese arts and culture of the Edo period. I have not read the tome, which is quite hefty and not yet available via Amazon.com, but did flip through it during my tour of the show at the National Gallery yesterday (11/30/98). My 5-star rating is, thus, based on the show, and not truly on the book. But the show is so brilliantly conceived by the author of the book (who curated the show) that I can't imagine the book would disappoint. It's pricey, but I think it's important enough that I have it on order. NilesO@AOL.com

If you are interested in both history and the environment, and a new, rigorous and thoughtful way of examining the interplay between the two, then The Emerald City will undoubtedly interest you. Mr. Klingle tackles the history of Seattle - literally from the ground (or is that the Sound?) up - with an eye on showing how the building of a major metropolitan city can lead to both inevitable and surprising consequences, even when said city-building is done with a cognizance of the need to take into account surrounding pristine environs, and, indeed, even when trying to develop the city with the best interests of the environment in mind. Which, I think, is the point; one cannot separate development and the environment, and as such they must be approached with a new paradigm.

Klingle comes at this tale from multiple angles - the greed and power of the early railway companies, the socio-economic impact not only on the native Sound tribes but on the early western settlers as well, the planning of Seattle's verdant parks by Olmstead, an extremely eye-opening take of the interplay between ecology and urban poverty - and brings them together in a way that, in the end, to my mind echoed perfectly the multiple waterways that all feed into, and sustain, Seattle.

That Mr. Klingle is a top-notch writer, with the ability to turn a beautiful phrase or metaphor with seeming ease, is just icing on the cake. I am neither an academic nor a scholar, but The Emerald City is a book of surpassing intelligence and thoughtfulness, and, like the "emerald" associated with Seattle, a gem worth looking into. Highly recommended.

Matthew Klingle has written a brilliant study of how the city--in this case Seattle but it could be any city--creates both beauty and ugliness in the same instance. Tracing stories about the physical, social, and cultural reorganization of Seattle and its hinterlands, Klingle shows exactly why the effort to build a more livable city also made Seattle increasingly unlivable for some of it residents. Readers will be left with a deeper appreciation for both the strength and weakness of urban environmental reform over the last century, how issues related to urban ecology have been intrinsically related social inequity, and why historical perspective of these dynamics is absolutely crucial when cities tackle environmental problems. The epilogue is simply brilliant, providing readers with a brave and smart discussion of why acknowledging the shortcomings of past policies is essential for developing what Klingle calls a historically-informed "ethic of place" as residents move forward into the future. This is an exceptional work of history.

In her writing,Stella Tillyard manages to span the difficult gap that separates fiction from non-fiction. Her style is lyrical - almost like a historical fiction - but without the emotive judgement. I find that it makes her books highly evocative and very easy reading.

However that should not lead people to think she has a flare for dubious tabloid presentation. She is quite ruthless in ensuring that her facts are correct, and in 'Citizen Lord' she has stripped away many of the romantic layers that have concealed the true story of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. These were myths that had been spread by Lord Edward's family following his death, and have coloured his story since. The stripping away of these layers makes this book no less interesting, indeed the true story still very much romantic and tragic.

A younger son of the first Duke of Leinster and his wife Emily, a daughter of the Duke of Richmond, Lord Edward was born into privelege and influence. Tillyard traces his gradual move from this life, to one of revolutionary in Ireland of 1798 without descending into either pathos or into judgement.

I was first introduced to Tillyard's writing with her first book, 'Aristocrats' which is also available at Amazon. I would recommend this book as also worth reading, and gives marvellous background to 'Citizen Lord' - it is about his mother, Lady Emily Lennox, and her three sisters.

I think Tillyard is a "Must Read!"

You'll have to look elsewhere for a full picture of the catastrophic Irish rebellion of 1798, but Ms, Tillyard paints a lovely picture of its most romantic leader. I first heard of Lord Edward as a teenager, dipping into Yeats and reading Lord Edward's name linked to Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmet..."that wild delirium of the brave...". I have read numerous accounts of '98 since, but found little about Lord Edward in them, save for the melodrama of his arrest and death-an extra-judicial murder, if ever there was one.

So I am grateful for Ms. Tillyard's rendering of the man himself. She gives ample proof of the sweetness of his character, showing how his inborn beauty was nurtured and how it blossomed under the doting care of his formidable and unconventional mother. Their tenderness for each other lights what otherwise is a stark and tragic story. More significantly it gives the lie to the masculinist theory that maternal love weakens and "feminizes" male children. True, young Lord Edward had a "strong male role model"-his tutor, who was also his mother's adulterous lover!-but every step of Mr. Ogilvie's tutelege was directed by the attentive and indulgent Duchess of Leinster. The letters between Lord Edward and the Duchess make lovely reading for any mother concerned with the making of boys into men.

Of course, Ms. Tillyard includes the apparently obligatory expressions of horror about "political violence" a phrase used only in reference to Lord Edward's revolutionary enterprise, not to the ongoing repression and dispossession of the native Irish. Taken against the whole of the book, however, this is only a minor stupidity, one so ubiquitous in books about Ireland published since 1969 that Republican readers can pass over it without undue offense.

The main thing is that Lord Edward Fitzgerald lives on these pages as a beloved and loving human being, worthy of all the praise heaped upon him over the centuries. How often does a shining name in history still shine under close inspection?

Anna Bradley

Manchesters biography of WSC is one of the greatest examples of historical biography I have ever read. This first volume effectively captures the age of WSCs upbringing in a way that cannot fail to illuminate and entertain.

...as is the second volume "Alone". How can anyone allow these books to be out of print? Manchester captures the sense and spirit of a bygone era better than any other historian I've ever read, with the possible exception of Barbara Tuchmann - and even then I'd say he's her equal. This volume speaks volumes about Winston Churchill and how he came to be what he was.

I would recommend this book to all serious seekers of the truth regarding the UFO/orb phenomena. This book is very well researched and is quite grounded in its presentation. The sources are reliable and the investigations very scientifically oriented. -- Michael Estes

I have been studying the UFO phenomena for over 30 years.

I have personally witnessed the sphere- shaped UFOs that are discussed in Greg Long's book, EXAMINING THE EARTHLIGHT THEORY: The Yakima UFO Microcosm.

I found this book to be an excellent source of information on the subject.