New books published on the Klallam Tribe, timber towns and Meriwether Lewis

Local books |

Books on the Klallam Tribe, timber towns and Meriwether Lewis are among new releases with Northwest connections:

"Breaking Ground: The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the Unearthing of Tse-Whit-zen Village" by Lynda V. Mapes (University of Washington Press, $29.95). The Seattle Times reporter chronicles the conflict between Washington state and the Klallam people after an excavation for a dry-dock facility in Port Angeles led to the discovery of a major Native American archaeological site.

"Sawdust Mountain" by Eirik Johnson (Aperture, $50). Color photographs of faded fishing and timber communities, shot over four years in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. With an essay by Port Angeles author Tess Gallagher and a poem by Bainbridge author David Guterson.

"Red Rooms and Others" by Carol Levin (Pecan Grove Press, $8, library.stmarytx.edu/pgpress). Poems by a Seattle writer.

"Legends of the Lake, Volume I" by Dick Wagner, foreword by Paul Dorpat (The Center for Wooden Boats, $14.99). A history of Seattle's Lake Union by the founding director of the Center for Wooden Boats. Dorpat's weekly column, "Now & Then," runs in Pacific Magazine.

"Everything I Understand about America I Learned in Chinese Proverbs" by Wendy Liu (Homa & Sekey, $16.95, www.homabooks.com). Memoir by a Chinese writer who's lived in Seattle for 20 years and has written occasionally for The Seattle Times.

"Standing By: The Making of an American Military Family in a Time of War" by Alison Buckholtz (Tarcher/Penguin, $24.95). Memoir by an East Coaster, about living in Anacortes for several years after her husband was transferred to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

"The Real Messiah: The Throne of St. Mark and the True Origins of Christianity" by Stephan Huller (Watkins, $24.95). A Kirkland author's book contesting "the myth that Jesus was the long-prophesied Messiah of the Jewish nation."

"Meriwether Lewis" by Thomas C. Danisi and John C. Jackson (Prometheus, $28.98). A revisionist biography of the co-leader of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, with a new focus on his post-expedition years as governor of the newly created Louisiana Territory. Co-author Jackson lives in Olympia.

"Crazy Good Sex: Putting to Bed the Myths Men Have about Sex" by Dr. Les Parrott (Zondervan/HarperCollins, $19.99). The founder of Seattle Pacific University's Center for Relationship Development offers a "straight-talking guide to satisfying marital sex."

"Mortal Coils" by Eric Nylund (Tor, $14.95). Fantasy novel by a Seattle-area writer ("Halo: Ghost of Onyx") about two orphaned teens, "the offspring of a goddess and Lucifer, Prince of Darkness," who are mired in an "epic custody battle."

Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com