The Oregon Book Report - Book News from Oregon

Catching the Wind wins national award

By Julie Zander,

Saturday evening in Nashville, at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference, the Carol Award for historical fiction was given to Portland area novelist Melanie Dobson for her time-slip novel, Catching the Wind. The captivating novel opens with a 13-year-old boy in Germany, Dietmar, pretending to be a knight defending his princess, 10-year-old Brigitte, but their play quickly morphs into a life-and-death escape from Gestapo agents who arrested their parents. After fleeing to England, the pair is separated. Fast forward seven decades, and a wealthy old man, with help from an enterprising female journalist and a handsome male lawyer, continues his lifelong search to reconnect with the childhood friend he promised to find.

Book Review: Message in a Body

Book Review of Message in a Body
Author is Joseph Alfuso, founder of Forward Edge International

Born into a prominent political family in New York, Joseph Anfuso grew up in a world of privilege, prestige and high expectations. Disillusioned with the values and pressures of that world, he would set out on a journey of personal discovery that would take him from the streets of London and New York to the dizzying heights of the Himalayan Mountains. What he found at the end of his journey—or more accurately, who and what found him—would not only change his life, but thousands of other lives as well. The “message” in this book could change your life, too.

Author, Ex-Sr. Obama advisor to speak in Portland

Dan Pfeiffer
Monday, June 25 @ 7:30 PM
Revolution Hall

Powell’s Book Announcement: An irreverent, no-BS take on the crazy politics of our time, Yes We (Still) Can is a must-read for everyone who is disturbed by Trump, misses Obama, and is marching, calling, and hoping for a better future for the country. After all of the sex scandals, oligarchs, rhetoric, dramatic firings, and ill-advised hirings, Pfeiffer will remind us why we were desperate for “Hope and Change.” In a conversation based on his new book, Pfeiffer, former Senior Advisor to President Obama and current Pod Save America cohost, gives real-world advice to Democrats in 2020. Please note: tickets are $38 per person (reserved seating). Price includes a copy of Pfeiffer’s Yes We (Still) Can. Books distributed at event. Tickets available here.

Review: We were winning when I was there

By Eric Shierman,

My second book was released this year. The title is of course not a reference to me. I wasn’t born yet when the Tet Offensive erupted in South Vietnam fifty years ago this week. It refers to a bumper sticker I saw as a child in the 1980s that has always made me ponder the place the Vietnam War has in American military history.

Using the American infantry battalion that saw the most combat in that conflict as a case study, I explore the question of victory and defeat. Regular readers of the Oregon Catalyst have already seen some of the fruits of my research.

Five years ago, I wrote about Oregonians who served in this battalion. There was the Portland State student killed at the first battle of Khe Sanh. There was the postman wounded in the last amphibious assault in Marine Corps history. There was the all-state wrestler who sacrificed his life to save his squad leader. And there was the Benson High School grad that performed a daring act of valor but was never cited for an award.

I argue these marines won their war. It was the politicians that lost. Perhaps it’s the Vietnam Veterans that most deserve the moniker “the greatest generation.” In some ways, their fight was actually harder than that of the Second World War.

The Kindle version can be purchased here. The physical book can be purchased here.

Eric Shierman lives in Salem and is also the author of A Brief History of Political Cultural Change.

‘Decision Tree’ book signing in Tigard

By The Decision Tree of Aging,

Join and celebrate with Dr. Randall Kinnison and Kim Christensen for the release of The Decision Tree of Aging. Dr. Kinnison will give a brief presentation at 6pm.

Remembering Kate Wilhelm

Kate Wilhelm (June 8, 1928 – March 8, 2018) was a popular author based out of Eugene Oregon. She wrote science fiction, mystery, and suspense novels and won two Hugo Awards and was inducted into The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Finding the Path to Happiness

Happiness is Chosen Wisely: 3300 Axioms of Self-Evident Truths
by Oregon author Byer
Book review by Leona Grieve

Most of us spend our lives working and raising a family, with the ultimate plan to retire to a life of happiness and tranquility. The truth is, even when we retire, we may find ourselves not happy, and wondering exactly what prevented us from achieving this goal.

Remembering Oregon’s Ursula Le Guin

In remembrance of Portland author Ursula Le Guin,
10,21,29 to 1,22,18,

This is Ursula’s final blog post.
25 September 2017

130. Poem Written in 1991
When the Soviet Union Was Disintegrating
by Ursula K. Le Guin
i

Oregonian Reviewed their best books

The Oregonian ran down their list of 21 books they loved in 2017. Read it here.