Pacific University Books

The sequel to Washington State University Press regional history series that began with "Washington Territory", "Washington State: The Inaugural Decade, 1889-1899" by respected historian Robert E. Ficken covers the first decade after the state of Washington had formally entered the Union. This was a decade that saw the development of a new railroad system, a population explosion, systematic development of the vast natural resources, the expansion of agriculture made possible by irrigation, and significant financial investment by outside capitalists. It was also a decade marred by political corruption and incompetence, labor disputes, the rise of criminal activity, municipal budget crises, and a bitter controversy over the tidelands. This was also the decade in which Washington State was severely effected by the 1893 economic collapse resulting in the second worse depression in the history of America that took four years to reverse beginning with the railroads and the Klondike gold rush. A model of regional history, "Washington State: The Inaugural Decade, 1889-1899" is an informed and informative work of super scholarship and painstaking research which is of significant value for academia and recommended to the non-specialist general reader with an interest in Washington state history.

I am an engineer who designs screens to keep fish out of irrigation ditches and in the river. Many of these screens are small, and in isolated locations miles from the electrical grid. This leaves two options to operate the screen; use the energy in the water, or use solar panels. The program I work for has been building and maintaining screens for fifty years and the guys who build the screens have developed a good paddlewheel system for diversions of 3-cfs and larger. For smaller diversions they have been relying on solar panels.

I looked all over, and called all kinds of people trying to find real engineering design criteria for paddlewheels. There isn't much out there. There are a few books, that give rules of thumb, for design and contruction of waterwheels, but this is the only one that is an engineering text, complete with the physics and math of why and how they work.

During the beginning of the industrial revolution, water was the prime power source, and the United States, and the European nations were doing a lot of research on paddlewheels, and how to make them more efficient. When Tesla figured out how to build an efficient electric motor, generator and distribution system, nearly all of the research in paddle wheels ended. There was still quite a bit on turbines and Pelton wheels, because they can turn generators.

This book, was written when the paddle wheel was still the king, and captured the state of the art, when that art was at it's pinacle.

This isn't a coffee table book for those with out an engineering, or physics background. It is an engineering manual on how to design efficient paddle wheels, and covers the topic better than any other I found in a year of looking.

This memoir is the best kind of history--the kind that makes you feel like you are having dinner with John Stuart Mill and Garibaldi. Millicent Garrett Fawcett did have dinner with these men,and others among the most interesting people of her time. One of the most prominent suffragists, she was also a political economist and writer. She and her husband Henry (who was a Liberal MP and a Cambridge professor--as well as a tireless activist for people who were blind, as he was from early manhood) were both passionate for politics and reform, and spent their seventeen years of marriage (before Henry's death at age 51) between Cambridge and London. Their daughter Philippa was an exceptional mathematician and the first woman to place above the "senior wrangler" at Cambridge, in 1890. Interesting family, interesting life, and Millicent is fun to read.

More than a century after his death in 1897, Henry George remains one of the most original and influential economic thinkers in American history. His revolutionary theory on land taxation gained a tremendous following, reshaped the nation's political and economic debate, and continues to be widely discussed throughout the world. His writings shaped a generation of statesmen and intellectuals, including Winston Churchill, Robert La Follette, Clarence Darrow, George Bernard Shaw, and Milton Freedman.

Jean-Francois de La Perouse was an important successor to Cook in the exploration of the Pacific. Regretably, La Perouse's 1785-88 expedition ended in disaster, with both ship destroyed in a tropical cyclone in the Solomon Islands. La Perouse was a French Naval officer who saw action in the Seven Years War against Britain, who emerged from that period with a reputation as a skilled navigator and surveyor and with the respect of many in both France and England for his humanity toward opponents. Born 13 years after Cook, he was still a young officer when the great explorer began his exploration of the Pacific. By the time La Perouse was appointed to lead a French voyage of exploration in 1785, most of the big geographical questions - excepting, of course, the possibilty of a Northwest Passage - had been answered. Nonetheless, there were many details still to be resolved and a great deal of science to be done. In preparation for the voyage, La Perouse not only received help from those is France best able to give it but, also, from influential people in England and elsewhere who understood what needed to be done. Among these was Joseph Banks, who sailed as botantist with Cook on the first voyage and became President of the Royal Society in 1778. "Where Fate Beckons" is well written and a good read. Highly recommended to those interested in the exploration of the Pacific and in the French and British Navies of the late 18th century.

Rowse traces the history of Aboriginal contact with white settlers by examining the economic rewards offered to the indigenous people by pastoralists and missionaries, from the first distribution of foodstuffs through the integration of Aboriginal people into a cash economy in the last 50 years. This is a book that wil suprise you with insights and connections, make even statistics live, and demonstrate how comlicated the skein of relationships between black and white in Australia hav ebeen and continue to be. Each transaction seems to offer good and bad, and although Rowse never attempts to speak for the Aboriginal people, but only examines the voices of whitefellas through their leavings in the historical record, he manages to pressent a balanced and nuanced understanding of both sides of the frontier.

As the US moves into the 21st century a sound space strategy will be vital to protecting our national interests. In this book John Shaw lays a foundation which will enable even the uninformed reader to appreciate the challenges and opportunities facing the US in the next decade and beyond. Could not put it down!

Informatively written by historian, archivist and educator Charles Mutschler, Wired For Success: The Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway, 1892-1985 is the exciting and enthusiastically recommended story of the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway, how it became a pioneer electric railway system, and the impact it had on America from the late 1800's to the modern day. Black-and-white photographs combine with narrative description so real it transports the reader into a bygone era of railroading history.

For those interested in one of the earliest successful movements for women's suffrage, this book is a must. It is the best of the books on the Australian movement for its thoroughness. While there are more "fun" versions of the movements with oral history excerpts, etc., this is the book to turn to as the authoritative work on the subject.

Marshal Ivan Konev was not only a master tactician and a great commander of large formations, but also a gifted writer with a clear view of everything that was going on around him. In this book he recounts the last battles of World War II in the Eastern Front which took place in 1945, namely the Vistula - Oder operation, the Berlin operation and the Prague operation in very analytical and readable style. As commander of the powerful 1st Ukrainian Front, Konev was at the thick of action and his presentation of operational problems and the tips of moving large armoured and mechanized formations is evenly balanced with the description of the personalities of various commanders who served under him. Although he was a devout communist, Konev does not deny praise to the German Army and its tenacity in fighting a losing battle.