Washington Books

A Death in Washington is a genuine page turner: Gary Kern manages to not only give the relevent facts of Krivitsky`s perilous and dangerous journey from believer in the great experiment to defector (where he gave early warning to the west of Stalin`s agenda), but best of all, it is written with great stylistic aplomb. This is a rare book which in its critical detail can satisfy the professional but is also completely accessible to the general reader; you will recognize many of the players, and the connections between them are clearly sustained. It is the general reader who will be most astonished by the sheer criminality of Stalin and the terrible code of the spy`s world. One of the great pleasures in this book is the psychological and methodological analysis inherent in the character of Krivitsky which enabled his survival until the very end. I think the book a very important addition to the literature which is becoming more available on the Stalin period, and I think that a thoughtful consideration of Kern`s invaluable and dramatic presentation will help us better understand the Russia which is emerging today on the world stage. I highly recommend the book. I had read it as slowly as I could so as to prolong the pleasure and thrill it gave to me.

Kern has done a remarkable job with this very difficult subject. I have read many books about Soviet spies, but this is by far the best one, in terms of the depth of understanding of the political system in the Soviet Union at the time. The portrait of American leftists and bureaucrats is priceless. This author has brought rigorous logic and impeccable scholarship to this field. All this, and it reads like a mystery.

This a fine book. You won't be sorry you bought it -- or sent it to a friend, as I did.

I really enjoyed this Fiona mystery. Adler's fearless Irish girl detective may not be PC -- let's face it, she's a borderline alcoholic who lets her job get in her way of her love life -- but she's pretty real. The whodunit is a good one, with a lot of action that tosses the suspicions back and forth. Another good thing: this book has a cast of other strong female characters. You can pretty well guess who the "violet-eyed moviestar wife of Virginia politician" is modeled after; this is the author's signature light touch of humor that leavens a pretty horrible murder that has racist repercussions later on.

What a delightful book! The characters are real and you can almost feel the air. It made me laugh and cry and wish for more. The story moves from Chicago to Out West. The Civil War is just coming to an end and the book moves swiftly into the Westward Movement. This author writes about gamblers, dance hall girls, preachers, bankers, cowboys and everything else you'd want to see, but with plot twists you won't expect. A good love story to boot. All told with humor and warmth. I just wish I could sit down with the characters over a cup of coffee. And I know just the place in River Bend! Read and enjoy!

Great book! The characters are wonderful, the setting is spectacular and the story just makes you feel good all over. Can't wait for her next book!

Great book, it takes the reader to a time and place in history where one feels part of the experience. Very well reasearched and depicted. I particularly enjoyed the highly-moving Japanese internment camp stories described in the book.

A lovingly crafted book, with a comprehensive grasp of the issues surrounding the internment of the Japanese from the Seattle area.

Over the past seven years we have watch the most corruptadministration in American history and yet the approvals ratings are threw the roof. As a society have we just taken this for granted or are we fed up with the politics of Washington?

Robert Shogan's book, Double Edged Sword, enlightens this reviewer with a new and insightful reading about how this is not the first case of living and talking the double standard. Shogan has presented a clear case that politics and civilians are sometimes intertwined.

I enjoyed this book, and although there are some things I may disagree with, overall the author has a convincing set of arguments. Shogan has facts and data to back up what he talks about. Shogan makes reading enjoyable and fun with this book.

Whether Democrat or Republican, Conservative or Liberal and everyone in between, The Double Edged Sword, should be on the must read list. A perfect book for the times and an impressive look into what makes the Presidency the most difficult job in the world today.

Over the past seven years we have watch the most corrupt administration in American history and yet the approvals ratings are threw the roof. As a society have we just taken this for granted or are we fed up with the politics of Washington?

Robert Shogan's book, Double Edged Sword, enlightens this reviewer with a new and insightful reading about how this is not the first case of living and talking the double standard. Shogan has presented a clear case that politics and civilians are sometimes intertwined.

I enjoyed this book, and although there are some things I may disagree with, overall the author has a convincing set of arguments. Shogan has facts and data to back up what he talks about. Shogan makes reading enjoyable and fun with this book.

Whether Democrat or Republican, Conservative or Liberal and everyone in between, The Double Edged Sword, should be on the must read list. A perfect book for the times and an impressive look into what makes the Presidency the most difficult job in the world today.

This is a fun and interesting book! It's stuffed with pictures and tells the story of Everett from the first canon fire to the riots to the mills... An informative read, easy to get into and very entertaining. Perfect for someone looking back on the history of Everett, or for schools and homeschoolers, or even just to get to know a place you didn't know before.

Not large, but chock full of great historic photos of Everett Washington. The writer has a witty, occasionally snarky, and always entertaining way of telling the story of town's rise from muddy lumber town to thriving port with all the oddities, foibles and horrors that came along the way. Remarkably fun and informative. Keep your eyes peeled for the "Delicate Underlovlies!" A terrific volume for the photos alone.

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.