Evanovich, Janet.  To The Nines: A Stephanie Plum novel.  NY: St. Martin’s, 2003.

Quick, light and hilarious reading.  If you’ve never been introduced to Evanovich’s novels about her somewhat inept female bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, now is your chance.  Both Evanovich and Plum are in great form here. A terrific read – funny, sexy, smart and suspenseful.  [Karen Kearns, Head of Special Collections, Idaho State University]

  Farquhar, Michael.  A Treasury of Great American Scandals: Tantalizing true tales of historic misbehavior by the founding fathers and others who let freedom swing.  NY: Penguin, 2003

Perfect vacation reading - read an anecdote or two at a time then hit the pool.  Proof that maybe the good old days weren't as good as we like to think.  Even our founding fathers could be all too human.  Sex scandals, dysfunctional families, smear campaigns, and even tales of murder punctuate this very readable collection.

[Karen Kearns, Head of Special Collections, Idaho State University]

  Grimmett, Gerald.  The Wives of Short Creek:  A Novel of Polygamy and Prophecy.  Boise, ID:  Limberlost Press Matrix Editions, 2003.

Give the author his due. The Utah ACLU believes polygamy is protected as religious expression, and the Supreme Court has removed the power of the state to sanction marriage. Polygamy - the unspoken, open secret of many fundamentalist families - will soon make the Lord's Revelation of Celestial Marriage (polygamy, and exaltation D&C 132) the Law of the Land, on all levels. Grimmett's book, coming on the fiftieth anniversary of the raid on Short Creek, is a useful, clever window on this world - with the wit of Twain, and the keen eye of a Burton, this book is highly recommended.

[Lawrence Caples, “Council of Fifty”]

Hegi, Ursula.  The Vision of Emma Blau.  New York:  Simon & Schuster, 2000.

Ursula Hegi’s The Vision of Emma Blau drew me in, held my attention for over 400 pages, and left me feeling more positive about the human race. Written in a style so uncannily perceptive Hegi resembles a modern-day seer or Volvo, the novel introduces three generations of a loveable, gifted, and oddly familiar family--and not only because we met some of the characters in the bestseller Stones from the River.

[Melanie M. Austin, Department of English, Washington State University]

Lind, Michael.  Made in Texas: George W. Bush and the Southern Takeover of American Politics.  New York:  Basic Books, 2003. 

An unsympathetic portrait of GWB by a fifth generation conservative Texan with great historical differentiation between old Texas power politicians like LBJ and Sam Rayburn and the new Bush carpetbaggers, with chilling descriptions of the Bush’s patronization of the pre-millennial Christian Right. "The economic strategy of The Confederate States of America is the trade policy of the United States," and "The Party of Lincoln has become the Party of Jefferson Davis."

[Charles Potts, The Temple Bookstore, Walla Walla, WA]

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi; a novel.  New York:  Harcourt, 2001.

Winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002 (among other honors).  This is an understated and near-surrealistic tale of a boy and a tiger, stranded together on the Pacific Ocean for months in a small lifeboat. The odd bond formed between the two while learning to survive is unforgettable, and the story is captivating from the beginning.

[Mary-Alice Boulter, Pocatello]

Preston, Richard.  The Demon in the Freezer: a true story.  New York:  Random House, 2002 

A rather frightening look at how smallpox and other biological weapons are spread. The descriptions of the germ labs and the scientists working with anthrax and other deadly viruses gives you hope that we can contain the danger.

[Kathy (Nelson) Fatkin, Librarian, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, Idaho Falls]

Russell, Osborne (edited by Aubrey L. Haines). Journal of a Trapper: In The Rocky Mountains between 1834 and 1843.  The Narrative Press: Santa Barbara, California, 2001.

This book tells of life as lived by a trapper who traveled from the Bear River on Idaho's southern border to Old Fort Hall on the Snake River and north to Yellowstone.  There is a certain amount of "rode 25 miles today," but the book is interesting and provides a vivid picture of a man and his times.

[Kathy Watson, Readers’ Advisor, Marshall Public Library, Pocatello]

Smith, Diane.  Pictures From an Expedition.  Viking Press; 2002

Like her Letters from Yellowstone, Pictures from an Expedition is an engrossing and well written historical novel, centered around a woman with an unusual career for her time.  Eleanor Peterson, a scientific illustrator, joins a paleontology group in the Montana badlands in 1876 to document their dig.  The story's narrative format is unusual; Peterson has been asked decades later to identify a collection of artwork created at the time of the expedition, and her descriptions of each item weave the fabric of the story.  The characters are intriguing and the historical aspects, fascinating.

[Kristi Austin, Reference Librarian, Idaho State University]

Spragg, Mark.  Where Rivers Change Direction.  Salt Lake City:  University of Utah Press, 1999.

I always pay attention when writers rave about a book. Where The Rivers Change Direction won the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award in 1999. Yup, it's a knock out.  Language more beautiful and more raw in truth telling can't be found.  Powerful true art.

[Kally Thurman, ?]