New Books for the New Year

Hello, 2012! What better welcome could there be than a peek at new books coming this spring?

We are pleased to announce Songs of Power and Prayer in the Columbia Plateau, our first title in the First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies initiative. In his new book, Chad Hamill describes the encounter between a Jesuit and his two Indian “grandfathers”—one a medicine man, the other a hymn singer—exploring the transformative role of song in the twentieth century. First Peoples blogged about Chad in July.

Another addition to our indigenous studies books, Asserting Native Resilience, explores Native responses to the climate crisis from a rich variety of perspectives. The volume is edited by Evergreen State College professors Zoltán Grossman and Alan Parker.

Many readers have discovered Brian Doyle through his first novel, the amazing Mink River. (And Mink continues to be discovered by new readers—it is the current selection for Lake Oswego Reads and remains on Powell’s bestsellers list.) Don’t miss The Wet Engine, a poignant exploration of the heart as a physical organ and as a metaphor, woven with the author’s experience of his infant son’s heart surgery. The Press is proud to make this wonderful book available again in a new paperback edition.

And there’s more: wildlife encounters captured in jewel-like micro-essays;  an analysis of Oregon’s land-use planning policies; essays exploring conservation thinking in the U.S.; histories of Multnomah County, of Oregon government and politics, and of the iconic Reed College; portraits of cowgirls and ranch women of the American West…

We invite you to download our Spring 2012 catalog to learn more.