Great Books from 2012

Waging Heavy Peace
Neil Young

If you like memoirs that really reveal the interior life of the subjects, as opposed to the polished, sometimes ghost-written promotional tomes that politicians and Hollywood stars often put out, then Young’s autobiography might be for you. Disjointed, quirky, frustrating, funny and brimming with enthusiasm for life, family and making music, reading it is what I’d imagine sitting at Neil’s knee and listening to his rambling reminiscing might be like. The chapters jump around to different times in his life in no particular order, but he reveals enough interesting insights from his nearly lifelong career of rock stardom to make it hard to put down. From his early days as a struggling musician in Ottawa to an epic cross-continent road trip to the Sunset Strip, from partying in Laurel Canyon with Crosby Stills and Nash to his personal struggles with epilepsy and addiction, from his obsession with electric trains and analog sound quality to the challenges and joys of raising a severely disabled son, Young’s story is rich and rewarding. His commitment to integrity, artistic independence and serving what he refers to as “the Muse” is an inspiration for all.

The Wet Engine: Exploring the Mad Wild Miracle of the Heart
Brian Doyle

From the author of the widely praised Northwest novel Mink River comes a slim memoir about hearts—of the author’s and his wife’s, of hummingbird’s and blue whale’s, of the “seat of the soul” and the origins of God. But most crucially, the book is about his son’s heart, born with three chambers instead of the requisite four. It is hard to describe this wonderful book. Is it about the joys and heartbreak of family and fatherhood? Yes. Is it scientific writing that brings to our attention the many miracles of the organ as the engine that drives us? Yes. Is it poetry? Oh yes!

Cairns: Messengers in Stone
David B. Williams

Stacking rocks is one of the world’s oldest languages, a primitive marker that connects humans to their landscapes and, according to Williams, “a sign of community—of hikers, of family, of humanity.” From Iceland to Hawaii to Mongolia to Scotland, people have been building cairns since time immemorial for a wide variety of reasons, including burials, trail markers, cultural memorials as well as reasons lost to time. Seattle-based writer Williams, author of Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology, continues to “make stones sing” in his latest natural history exploration.

Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis
Timothy Egan

What a gifted interpreter of history we have in Egan, beginning with his classic Pacific Northwest road trip book The Good Rain to the National Book Award-winning story of the Dust Bowl, The Worst Hard Time through to 2009’s The Big Burn. In his latest, the author turns his attention, research skills and eminently readable writing style to Edward Curtis and his photographic legacy of the early 20th century. “An Indiana Jones with a camera,” Curtis spent three decades traveling around the country in an attempt to document the native inhabitants and their ancient lifeways before they disappeared. He made more than 40,000 photographs of American Indians from the Arctic to New Mexico, Pacific Northwest to Montana, in tribal regalia, in their sacred places, in dances and ceremony. The book chronicles the many adventures Curtis had in his travels, as well as his development as an artist and how his work changed the nation’s views of Indians: “Through his pictures, you see ordinary people who look extraordinary. You see pain, honor, dignity. His photos convey a sense of intimacy that is both haunting and humane.”