Andy @ Kent Archive.

Of all the many incredible stories of courage and sacrifice during World War II, the one about Europe's pilfered artwork remains relatively unknown.  Only recently have researchers filled in the details surrounding the loss, and by a hair's breadth, the unlikely recapture of almost all of Western Civilization's significant historical artwork.  Robert Edsel tells the story in The Monuments Men:  Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History.

The initial dozen or so men drafted (a few women were later recruited) for this unit were museum curators, art directors and architects, tasked with securing historic buildings after combat forces retook Nazi-held terrain.  The job morphed quickly into a frenzied attempt to save structures and hidden art works from Allied bombardment over hundreds of square miles at the front.  Operating at the front, rather than behind it, resulted in the death of two of the men, but also hastened intelligence-gathering on hidden Nazi art caches.  As the front moved east, the race to find the caches intensified before artwork was either intentionally destroyed (Hitler's orders were ambiguous), or damaged beyond repair by the environment in which they were stored (damp mines, typically).

Approximately 5 million items were stolen by the Nazis - priceless paintings, sculptures and statues, national jewels, medieval manuscripts, religious relics, etc.  Tragically, some major landmarks and great treasures could not be saved, but the Monuments Men, aided by courageous locals and no small amount of luck, saved a vast portion of Europe's artistic heritage. 

Imagine the obliteration of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Mount St. Helens National Monument, and then some.

1910's worst wildfire in U.S. history was not just a tragic loss, but an event that galvanized citizen support for forest conservation.  Timothy Egan, National Book Award winner, chronicles the events leading to the fire, the heroic and tragic stories from those few horrific days, and the nation's response in The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America. 

Although Roosevelt is listed in the subtitle, Gifford Pinchot and, indirectly, John Muir, were the driving forces behind the development of the National Forest system, and Egan spends the first portion of the book summarizing this backdrop.  Pushed through by the force of Roosevelt's will, the expansion of the National Forests was vehemently opposed by some of the most powerful senators in Congress.  Backed by timber, mining, and grazing lobbies, Congress effectively gutted Forest Service funding.  Idealistic young rangers lived a meager existence in towns that made Deadwood look like a kindergarten, desperately trying to control illegal logging and mining in an ocean of graft and hostility.

When hurricane force winds hit thousands of small fires during a summer of no rain, a handful of these poorly equipped rangers (the legendary Ed Pulaski among them) walked into a maelstrom.  Egan, again, marvelously captures a landmark natural event that changed the West.

Timothy Egan will be appearing at the King County Library System Foundation's 2010 Literary Lions Gala.

Charles McCarry worked "under deep cover" as a CIA operative during the Cold War, and has since written dynamite spy novels, as well as a few political thrillers. The recent re-publication of his 1995 novel, Shelley's Heart, gave me a nudge to read one of his I'd missed. In this oddly prescient book, McCarry departs from the spy scene and instead weaves a twisty "Election 2000"-esque story.

Set at "the dawn of the new millenium", the nation is faced with a contested presidential election. In this story, though, it's the Democrat (Lockwood, the incumbent President) who initially wins the election. On the eve of the inaugural, the Republican presidential candidate (Mallory) receives incontrovertible evidence that the election was stolen via a sophisticated computer hack. Presented with the evidence, Lockwood has himself secretly sworn in before dawn and the ensuing media frenzy, creating a constitutional crisis and initiatiating impeachment proceedings.

But there is oh so much more: a philandering alcoholic Speaker of the House, an obsessive brilliant Supreme Court justice, shadowy operatives on both sides, a Middle East assassination, the inanity of partisan politics, and a mysterious highly connected woman with no past; for starters...

McCarry's forté is to combine a slolom of braided plot turns with really great writing. Shelley's Heart does not disappoint!

I'm a big fan of C.J. Box's Joe Pickett mystery series. Open Season - his first novel - was nominated for a host of "first novel" awards. Even though each book is its own story, a few plot lines continue throughout the series, so I recommend starting here.

Joe Pickett - rookie Wyoming game warden - is in the unenviable position of having scruples. His honesty comes ;in handy as a father and husband, but not so handy when high-powered money interests pursue an oil pipeline project through an area home to an endangered species. Reluctant to endanger his career, he nevertheless refuses to follow orders from supervisors who are complicit in the project. A trio of dead elk hunters complicates matters a bit.

C.J. Box (Wyoming native and resident) creates a really likeable character in Joe Pickett. He's a rookie, but no pushover. He's passionate about the environment, but no environmentalist. He's a bit of a bungler, but comes through when it really counts. And, best of all, he has an intrepid sidekick dog and the obligatory trashed pickup truck. What I really like about these books is that they are gritty and unpredictable, as good Wyoming tales should be.

Whodathunk?  I mean, my mom was a birder for years, and those folks aren't usually your cage match types.  But every year, a number of competitive birders strain just about everything - their budgets, eyes, sleep cycles, health, relationships - to come out on top in the number of bird species sighted in North America in a single year.

This is another one of those subjects I had no interest in until a good book smacked me across the noggin (hurray for good books, and good authors).

Every year there is a Big Year, but there has never been a Big Year like 1998's epic battle between three very (very) different birders.  Mark Obmascik channels Howard Cosell as he narrates The Big Year:  A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession.

In one corner, a New Jersey roofing contractor.  In another, a corporate executive; and in the third, a nuclear power plant software engineer (all men - is it always guys who are this crazy?).  Obmascik follows the three on their wacky, sometimes hilarious sometimes tragic galavants around North America.  Like any good competition, it's neck and neck (and neck) the whole way.  I think readers of Bill Bryson will really enjoy this book, and I need to credit a co-worker for lobbing this one my way.

Each year, Fall brings with it the "Oscars" in outdoor literature.  After a season of scrambling, whitewater, equine ramblings, or the like, outdoor enthusiasts can treat themselves to a comfy chair and a good book.  There may be others, but I am aware of two sets of awards given out in the Fall.  The National Outdoor Book Awards are to be released November 12.  Numerous award categories are represented, including books related to history, biography, design, guidebooks, and children.

Also released every Fall are the Banff Centre's Banff Mountain Book Festival (they have an awesome film festival too, by the way).  Categories are similar, but be aware that you might not find the more Canada-specific titles in the KCLS catalog.  You can always request the purchase of a title, though.

I always find at least a few titles that inspire me, and awe me.  Now, get out your snowshoes and crampons!

Some people are so outside the realm of normality that they almost seem to be a different type of human.  Their lives can make for fascinating biographies. Paul Erdös was just such a person.  Born in Hungary in 1913, he soon took to numbers.  At age 3 he would calculate how many seconds his parents' friends had lived.  Paul Hoffman's The Man Who Loved Only Numbers chronicles the bizarre life of Erdös.

Considered to be the most prolific mathematician in history, Erdös co-authored nearly 1500 scientific papers.  During most of his adult life, he traveled from university to university, or conference to conference, living out of two suitcases.  He never owned other possessions, did not have a home, and gave away money he didn't need.  Often, he would simply show up on a colleague's doorstep unannounced, spending a few days or weeks solving research problems before moving on to another city.  

Hoffman's interviews in the math world uncovered some great stories.  Later in his life, Erdös apparently needed an operation to correct his dimming vision, but delayed surgery because he was reluctant to lose precious work time.  He finally agreed to the procedure only when he mistakenly believed that he would be able to work during surgery.

In honor of his work and life, mathematicians humorously developed the Erdös number.  Erdös himself was awarded the number 0.  Erdös co-authors are awarded the number 1.  Co-authors of co-authors, the number 2.  And so on.  A low Erdös number is considered to be a great distinction (Steven Hawking, Bill Gates, Noam Chomsky and J. Robert Oppenheimer are 4's; Einstein a 2).  Hank Aaron jokingly has a 1 after co-signing a baseball with Erdös.  And, of course, a few mathematicians have tried to auction their Erdös numbers on Ebay.

It's not so easy to retire when you are one of Spain's finest swordsmen.  Much as he tries to avoid it, Diego Alatriste keeps getting pulled back into danger's unsympathetic maw.

Arturo Pérez-Reverte is one of my favorite authors, ever since I stumbled across The Fencing Master.  Although he has a number of excellent stand-alone titles, Pérez-Reverte is best known for his musketeer-like Captain Alatriste series.  One of Spain's (and Europe's) most popular authors, he writes in what I think of as a deliciously old world European style - hard to describe - patient and eloquent, but not at all slow.  I find his writing similar to Gabriel Garcia Marquez (without the magical realism).

Diego Alatriste, an inveterate gentleman soldier and veteran of the Flemish Wars (17th century), is willing to fight for God, country and gold, but mainly for gold.  In Captain Alatriste, the first book in the series, he has been hired to assassinate two British visitors.  Always reluctant to shed needless blood, he spares their lives, opening a hornet's nest and infuriating the Holy Inquisition.  Not good.

Pérez-Reverte's works are excellent historical fiction picks for adults and (I think) older teens. If swashbuckling isn't to your fancy, Pérez-Reverte writes some other dynamite thrillers and even a narco-saga that is surprisingly entertaining given the rough subject matter.

I read a fair amount of fantasy growing up, but as an "older person," haven't often been grabbed by the genre.  When it was first published in 2006, Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora sucked me in big time, and it's by far the best fantasy novel I've read in a long time (Lynch has a second book out now, but they should be read in order).

It might be more of a guy book, but I don't think so - if any gals have read and liked it (or not), please consider leaving a comment.

The plot is based on a band of orphan thieves, purchased/enslaved by a blind priest master-thief autocrat, who teaches his fledglings the art of his trade.  They steal for him and he protects and provides (sort of) for them.  Locke Lamora is a slight, runt of a thief, but clever and extremely adept.  As he leads a band of co-thieves on increasingly bold and successful raids, the authorities label him the Thorn of Camorr, and want his head.  A powerful, evil magician is also out for Locke, and rival thieves would like nothing more than to see him fall.  Scott Lynch throws in lots of fun, skin-of-his-teeth adventures, with really great writing, and some unpredictable plot turns.

I'm not sure why this book never made bigger waves - it did get on some "best books" lists.  I mentioned it to co-workers and they all loved it (including a few gals).  Scott Lynch now has a broad fan base, and I read that a studio has purchased the movie rights.  So give it a try, read 20 or 30 pages, and if you're not hooked, money back guarantee (library books only).

As far as anyone knows, there has only ever been one Sitka spruce of this color.  The Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands named it and considered it sacred.  Two hundred years later, when scientists became aware of the tree, they gave it a unique scientific name.

And then a logger-turned-environmentalist cut it down.  To protest logging.  Go figure.

I'm not giving away the story - John Vaillant begins The Golden Spruce:  A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed with this sad event.  It's an intriguing story, and even though it's Vaillant's first book, he writes masterfully.  Readers who enjoy Jon Krakauer will like this book.  In between the story line, Vaillant offers vivid descriptions of the natural and cultural history of the Canadian pacific coast.

Grant Hadwin was apparently a bit of a cross between Rambo and Edward Abbey, which I know sounds nutty.  Those who knew him said that he would disappear into some of the most rugged portions of Canada's pacific forest, carrying just a rifle.  He would re-emerge days or weeks later, none the worse for the wear.  And although he worked on and off as a logger in his earlier years, he came to see the logging industry as a rapacious and malignant entity.  So why cut the tree down?  And - in a further mystery - what happened to Grant Hadwin?