Saul Wisnia knows a thing or two about the Red Sox and Fenway Park. He grew up in Boston near the historic ballpark, and he's been going there ever since he was a child growing up in the golden era of Red Sox baseball after being born just before the famous 1967 season began. He's put that knowledge to use in the forms of various books, and he's done the same with his new book, Fenway Park: The Centennial -- 100 Years of Red Sox Baseball.

There's been no shortage of memories at Fenway Park over the years, but Saul Wisnia's new book, Fenway Park: The Centennial -- 100 Years of Red Sox Baseball, seeks to capture them all -- and then some. The book includes supreme photography, a wealth of memorabilia and original commentary by three generations of Boston Red Sox heroes and loyal fans, as it looks back at Fenway Park's 100 illustrious years. It also includes images from the archives of the Boston Public Library that enhance the nostalgic experience. The book also comes with an exclusive DVD narrated by Red Sox World Series hero and Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk.

Sunday, December 18, 2 p.m. at White Birch Books
An afternoon with Jeff Leich, local author of the updated and expanded Over the Headwall: The Ski History of Tuckerman Ravine

Jeff Leich is the longtime director of the New England Ski Museum. After originally publishing Over the Headwall in years ago, he realized there was more of a story to tell. So he went back to the material and the result is a greatly expanded book with more pictures, more details and more information. This is a must-have book!

This greatly expanded new edition is a must for anyone interested in the ski history of Tuckerman Ravine. It's all covered here: early ski mountaineering, Joe Dodge & the Inferno, Toni Matt's legendary run, the Hermit Lake Shelters, top Tucks skier Brooks Dodge, the Forest Service and avalanche control, the Volunteer Ski Patrol, and postwar racing in the ravine. Illustrated with more than 150 great vintage photos.

Many of you might remember last year when we regrettably had to cancel our scheduled event with Louise Penny due to illness. (You might remember we had the party anyway –just without the author.) Well… she’s coming back! I told you she would and now it is confirmed. We will welcome Louise to the bookstore and celebrate the publication of her newest Inspector Gamache/Three Pines mystery – A Trick of the Light.

I remember the day when my rep handed me a book by a new Canadian mystery writer. As she gushed on and on I said, “Fine, I’ll read it.” I hate to admit that I let it sit for a bit, but every time I looked at the book, I thought of Ellen exhorting me to read it. At long last I picked it up and a fan was born. The books are phenomenal. Still Life, A Fatal Grace, The Cruelest Month, A Rule Against Murder, The Brutal Telling and last year’s Bury Your Dead.
Penny has managed to create a place and a cast of characters that are so real and so warm. Although most of the action takes place in the cute village of Three Pines, Quebec, these are not cute, cozy mysteries. There is a depth and realism to these books that rival any novel.

Every one who I have given these books to has thanked me profusely. Mark your calendars for this one. You’ll love the books, you’ll love Louise in person and you’ll have a great night!

“Hearts are broken,” Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. “Sweet relationships are dead.”

But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow's garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara's solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal. Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide at the Sûreté du Québec, is called to the tiny Quebec village and there he finds the art world gathered, and with it a world of shading and nuance, a world of shadow and light. Where nothing is as it seems. Behind every smile there lurks a sneer. Inside every sweet relationship there hides a broken heart. And even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they've found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light.

We love our events with local flavor and this one certainly qualifies. Cassie Horner, who has written for several publications in Central Vermont and co-publishes Rutland Magazine, based her first novel on years of research. What drew me to this book – it could be the cover with Lucy looking right out at me, it could be the five husbands she had, or it could be the fact that it’s a great story culled from true accounts. Whatever it was, I think the book is well worth the read and I can’t wait to talk with Cassie and ask her how she put it all together!

Meet Lucy E., a tough, driven woman, born in the mountain town of Mount Holly, Vermont, about 1826. This is the story, based on fact, of her survival through increasingly hard times in Vermont and New Hampshire, beginning with the painful deaths of her father and husband, and her fateful second marriage to a Civil War veteran who turned out to be a drinker, gambler, arsonist and abusive husband, and who ended up in the state prison in Concord. Through all the roughness of her life, including three more husbands, Lucy E. persevered in her goals to be a landowner and farmer like her father. How she succeeded and failed is at the heart of Lucy E.

We were recommended Angela’s book by a friend, only to find out we had ordered it on our own anyway! I think that always speaks well of a debut – if it can sell itself on its own merits, things are looking good. And we do love these afternoon events – it allows us to host new authors and allows all of you a chance to meet with them. You can chat about the book, their path to publishing and even the writing process/publishing/marketing/touring process as a whole. Angela has taken her real life passion – for campaigning and political consulting – and turned it into a great mystery!

Politics, money love – what could go wrong? Susan Callisto is pushing 30 and taking stock. Before she traded financial security at a Boston law firm for sandals and jeans in Waltham, she specialized in real estate law. Now she has reinvented herself as a political consultant for ordinary people seeking low-level office. Her income may be dicey, but Susan loves her new life – until her sometime boyfriend, Detective Lieutenant Michael Benedict, dumps her without a goodbye.

Susan’s new world is one where politics can turn deadly and even love may not survive. So when local high roller Charles Renfrow offers her a huge retainer to advise his political campaign, Susan is wary. Why would a scientist stalking the human genome want to be mayor of a small Massachusetts town? Finding the answer takes Susan through a maze of toxic secrets including those floating around Renfrow’s biotech company. On her way to confront him, she finds a body instead and Michael re-enters her life. But as she probes into the case, hoping to prove Michael’s suspicions wrong, she uncovers a crack in everything.

BEYOND THE NOTCHES is a wonderful collection of essays from the north country of New Hampshire including chapters on settlement and working the land to conservation, recreation, and competing visions. Join essayists Rebecca Brown and Laura Alexander as they share readings and discussion from their stories of the north country entitled Coos at a Crossroads and The Rediscovery of the North Country. We will be there with the books!

Donations of $3/person and $5/family are appreciated; members are free. Tin Mountain nature programs are sponsored in part by L.L. Bean, the Evenor Armington Fund and Residence Inn by Marriott North Conway.

Clarence feels like he's not big enough and not helpful enough, especially compared to his two big brothers. He just can't seem to find his place on the family farm. But not every little boy has an uncle like Clarence's Uncle Leon. And when it comes time for the annual county fair, it's Uncle Leon who gives Clarence the advice and self-confidence he needs to turn things around.

Accompanied by Sarah Brannen's wonderful illustrations of an adorable pig every kid will want to take home, The Pig Scramble is perfect for read-aloud story times or for newly independent readers. County fair fans will appreciate author Jessica Kinney's detailed depiction of this beloved New England tradition.

In celebration of Curiosity Day – named for that silly monkey Curious George – we’ll be hosting a morning story time with the monkey himself, courtesy of the Believe in Books Literacy Foundation. All ages are welcome to come by to hear a few Curious George adventures. We’ll also have some “curious” handouts such as coloring sheets or word mazes and one lucky family will win passes to Story Land!

And if you can’t get enough of Curious George, he will then be heading to Story Land for the rest of the weekend. Start the weekend at White Birch Books and make it a “curious” one!

Perhaps you’ve been in the store one day and noticed Atticus, the handsome miniature schnauzer, shopping with his person Tom. At long last, their book Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog and an Extraordinary Friendship, will be out and we will be celebrating with an event on its release date! Who is this book for? Dog lovers obviously. But it’s also for hikers, nonhikers who love the mountains, people who love this area that we live in and for anyone who has had a strong bond with another, be it dog or man or beast. In other words – this book is for EVERYONE! And we’ve got it! On the day it comes out! For the first event in the country, or the world for that matter! You need to be here – mark your calendars now.
ALSO – if you preorder this book before the event, we will donate $2 for each book to the Animal Rescue League in Conway.
For those of you further afield who are looking for a signed copy of Following Atticus – we can get that done for you and shipped right out first class. Until we build a better form, the BEST way is to just call us and we’ll take down all your information and go from there. (603-356-3200) We are very much looking forward to shipping Atticus off across the country!

Following Atticus is the remarkable true story of a man and a dog embarking on the challenge of a lifetime. This is author Tom Ryan’s inspiring tale of how he and his miniature schnauzer companion, the “Little Buddha” Atticus M. Finch, attempted to scale all forty-eight of New Hampshire’s four thousand foot White Mountains twice in the dead of winter. It is a story of love, loss, and the resilience of the human and animal spirit that’s as thrilling as Into Thin Air and featuring the most endearing and unforgettable canine protagonist since Marley and Me.

Tuesday, September 6, Noon at Maestro’s Restaurant
A luncheon with SPENCER QUINN, author of the Chet & Bernie mystery series and the upcoming, The Dog Who Knew Too Much
Tickets: $20, proceeds to benefit the North Conway Public Library

Yay! We are so excited to be hosting another author event – this time with Spencer Quinn, author of the NYT-bestselling Chet & Bernie mysteries. For those of you unacquainted with the series, suffice it to say that Chet is a dog and he is the narrator of these wonderful stories. These books are addictive and we are so happy to have Spencer Quinn here in North Conway on the day his fourth Chet & Bernie book comes out.

Maestro’s is our host for the event and they have put together a wonderful menu with a 3-course meal and four entrée selections – plus a canola with fresh fruit for dessert. (Why I keep focusing on dessert, I do not know!) Space is limited so we encourage you to get your tickets early. They are available at both the library and the bookstore. For an added twist, we will also be raffling off the Chet & Bernie collection, which consists of Dog On It, Thereby Hangs a Tail, To Fetch a Thief and the newest entry, The Dog Who Knew Too Much. Tickets for the raffle are $5 and will be available for sale at the event. Proceeds from the raffle will go to the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire – North, also known as the Conway Area Humane Society.

The Dog Who Knew Too Much is the fourth entry in the irresistible New York Times bestselling mystery series featuring canine narrator Chet and his human companion Bernie. Combining suspense and intrigue with a wonderfully humorous take on the link between man and beast, Spencer Quinn's exceptional mystery series has captured widespread praise since its New York Times bestselling debut, Dog on It. The Dog Who Knew Too Much marks the duo's triumphant return in a tale that's full of surprises.

Bernie is invited to give the keynote speech at the Great Western Private Eye Convention, but it's Chet that the bigshot P.I. in charge has secret plans for. Meanwhile Chet and Bernie are hired to find a kid who has gone missing from a wilderness camp in the high country. The boy's mother thinks the boy's father—her ex—has snatched the boy, but Chet makes a find that sends the case in a new and dangerous direction. As if that weren't enough, matters get complicated at home when a stray puppy that looks suspiciously like Chet shows up. Affairs of the heart collide with a job that's never been tougher, requiring our two intrepid sleuths to depend on each other as never before. The Dog Who Knew Too Much is classic Spencer Quinn, offering page-turning entertainment that's not just for dog-lovers.

As Spencer Quinn, Peter Abrahams writes the Chet and Bernie mystery series. He lives with his family on Cape Cod. Chet the Dog has a website – www.chetthedog.com, and that Peter guy does too – www.peterabrahams.com.

Saturday, August 27, 3 p.m. at White Birch Books
An afternoon with debut author JM TOHLINE author of The Great Lenore

When you get an email from someone who resides in the Great Plains and he tells you he’s written a book and planning a New England tour and he HAS to come to White Birch Books because it’s awesome. How are you going to say no? Of course, you can’t. So now we can’t wait to meet Mr. Tohline, learn about his first novel and see where he comes by his opinions. Another thing that intrigued me – his cat is named The Old Man in the Sea. You know there’s a story there and you know you what to hear it! Continue reading to find yourself more intrigued.

When Atticus Books signed JM Tohline to a book contract, publisher Dan Cafaro knew he had discovered a leading voice amidst a vibrant online community of young and talented writers.
“Jordan knows how to break boundaries and rally like-minded souls," said Cafaro, founder of the D.C. metro-based independent press. "He's connecting with writing peers on a level that's very personal.” Tohline's aim: "To write soaring stories about humanity that are complex in their simplicity, beautiful for their honesty, and full of life through characters who become alive to the reader and stay with them forever.”
Enter The Great Lenore, the tale of a ravishing young Brit whose falsely-reported death provides her with an opportunity to begin a new life. Before she can disappear for good, however, she longs to know the reaction of her two-timing husband and his aristocratic family. To find out, Lenore enlists Richard—an outsider in the money-and-booze sodden landscape of Nantucket high society—to be her eyes and ears. As events unfold, Richard discovers the entanglements of Lenore's relationships are more intricate than he ever expected, more intricate even than the secrets within Lenore's miniature punt boat. With lively, modern prose reminiscent of The Jazz Age, Tohline orchestrates a playful literary riff on affluence, love, grief, and duplicity. In the author's words, the book "is about dreams, and about the things we sacrifice to chase them.'' If you read it, you will understand.

Sunday, August 28, 3 p.m. at White Birch Books
An afternoon with children’s authors ANDY CUTTS and ROBIN TAYLOR-CHIARELLO

We do love our children’s events and we especially love to showcase local authors as well. So it is especially wonderful when we get to do both things at one event. Andy has written The Penny, a beautiful picture book, illustrated in black and white by Katherine Roy, about family, transitions, memory and summers on the lake. Robin’s book, The Blue Lobster, is very different – colorful and a little silly – but it also has a wonderful message about differences and acceptance. Both authors will be here and both will be happy to read their book and talk about where their ideas came from. This is a wonderful afternoon program for the whole family!

The Penny: One day six-year-old Annie watched her father cut apart an old wooden sailboat. That evening while being tucked into bed, she asked him to tell her a story about the boat, named "Penny." Her father told her about the adventures of the Penny, the grandfather who built her, and the grandson who learned dear lessons from both. Andy Cutts and Katherine Roy offer an affectionate tale—based on true events—about transition, family, and new beginnings that will resonate with readers of all ages.

The Blue Lobster: While at her home in Center Lovell, Maine, author Robin Taylor-Chiarello listened to a radio announcement that a blue lobster had been caught off the coast. Inspired by the news, Robin wrote her second children's book, "The Blue Lobster." Robin has used the "Blue Lobster Story" as a vehicle to talk about differences and the desire for everyone seeking acceptance.

Karel was one of our guests during this last holiday season and we are very pleased to have her back. Karel lives not to far away in New Hampshire and was last here with her dog Snowy, the star of her previous book. This time we will here about The Summer Visitors, a wonderful follow up to her 2007 book, The Winter Visitors. Also on hand, we’ll have The Amazing Journey of Lucky the Lobster Buoy, Snowflake Comes to Stay and her illustrated picture books Time for the Fair and Who’s Been Here? Maybe Snowy will visit again – or maybe we’ll see some bears! However it works out, it will be a wonderful afternoon.

The bears are back! Following her award-winning The Winter Visitors, children’s book author and illustrator Karel Hayes traces the interactions between a family of bears and a human family during their summer stay at a lake cottage. Told primarily through pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations, with only a few dozen words of text, The Summer Visitors is a feast for the senses. Children and parents (and grandparents) alike will delight in following the antics of the bumbling bears as they enjoy the comforts of cottage life, but also try to avoid detection by their human “hosts.

Every so often we get that wonderful phone call from a publicist – usually in New York – who casually offers to set up an event, if we are so inclined. Trust me – we were inclined! Brunonia Barry first shot to fame with The Lace Reader, a haunting tale told by a woman who can foretell the future in patterns of lace. With her second novel, The Map of True Places, she has cemented her place. Several local book groups have read Barry’s novels over the last few years and we encourage you to come out and meet the author in person. I am very much looking forward to this evening. As an added bonus, our book group will discussing The Map of True Places on August 25th and all are welcome to join us!

The Lace Reader: In Barry's captivating debut, Towner Whitney, a dazed young woman descended from a long line of mind readers and fortune tellers, has survived numerous traumas and returned to her hometown of Salem, Mass., to recover. Any tranquility in her life is short-lived when her beloved great-aunt Eva drowns under circumstances suggesting foul play. Towner's suspicions are taken with a grain of salt given her history of hallucinatory visions and self-harm. The mystery enmeshes local cop John Rafferty, who had left the pressures of big city police work for a quieter life in Salem and now finds himself falling for the enigmatic Towner as he mourns Eva and delves into the history of the eccentric Whitney clan. Barry excels at capturing the feel of smalltown life, and balances action with close looks at the characters' inner worlds.

The Map of True Places: Zee Finch has come a long way from a motherless childhood spent stealing boats—a talent that earned her the nickname Trouble. She's now a respected psychotherapist working with the world-famous Dr. Liz Mattei. She's also about to marry one of Boston's most eligible bachelors. But the suicide of Zee's patient Lilly Braedon throws Zee into emotional chaos and takes her back to places she though she'd left behind.

What starts as a brief visit home to Salem after Lilly's funeral becomes the beginning of a larger journey for Zee. Her father, Finch, long ago diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, has been hiding how sick he really is. His longtime companion, Melville, has moved out, and it now falls to Zee to help her father through this difficult time. Their relationship, marked by half-truths and the untimely death of her mother, is strained and awkward.

Overwhelmed by her new role, and uncertain about her future, Zee destroys the existing map of her life and begins a new journey, one that will take her not only into her future but into her past as well. Like the sailors of old Salem who navigated by looking at the stars, Zee has to learn to find her way through uncharted waters to the place she will ultimately call home.

The American Birkebeiner, with its 8,000 participants, is the largest Nordic ski marathon in North America. Jeff Foltz has completed the 52 kilometer (32 miles) race five times. It was there that he first saw a portrait of two medieval soldiers, heavily armed, on skis, and carrying a curly haired infant. He made the reasonable assumption that the men were not baby sitters, but what were they? The story behind that portrait by Knud Larsen Bergslien drew him to Norway where he researched the history of the two Birkebeiner soldiers and the baby. During his studies, he discovered Inga, the baby’s mother, and how much Norwegian history and the people of Norway revere her. Never one to miss the opportunity to cross country ski, Foltz made his visit in the winter and skied terrain similar to that which his characters traversed over 800 years ago. The result is this novel, Birkebeiner.

A mother’s compulsion to protect her children is timeless and primal. War is insidious and ageless. Birkebeiner is a story of both.

Two years after her son Hakon’s birth, Inga is with her husband, King Hakon, in the besieged fortress of Lillehammer. The enemy, the Crozier army, is certain to overrun Lillehammer. Once the Croziers breach the walls, they will kill Inga’s child, heir to the Norwegian throne and the prince who may unite the country.

To save little Hakon, King Hakon asks his two best warriors to flee with his son for the safety of Nidaros (present-day Trondheim). It’s a long and dangerous journey on skis through two treacherous winter valleys and over a 7,000-foot snow-blown mountain. Willing to risk everything for her son, Inga insists on going with them. For eight harrowing, exhausting days, they’re pursued by a cadre of enemy soldiers bent on killing her child. Magnus, the Crozier’s military leader whom the church and the bishop call King -- and who has lost his own wife and two-year-old son -- must lead the chase.

Sunday, August 7, 3 p.m. at White Birch Books
An afternoon with local expert Jennifer Karnopp, author of Family Child Care Basics

You know how we sometimes forget that people are experts in their field – just because they live here in town. Somehow we discount their knowledge because they choose to live in this awesome place instead of in some big city. Well, we have an expert among us and that is Jennifer Karnopp. After working in the training department of a resource and referral agency where she specialized in finding and creating resources for both English and Spanish speaking child care providers, Jenn became a certified elementary school teacher and taught in both traditional and bilingual public schools. In 2001, Jenn began World of Wonder, a curriculum company dedicated to providing hands-on learning experiences for young children. Of course, she’s been a bookstore customer, too, so we are doubly pleased to host this event for her and to celebrate her new book!

Family Child Care Basics: Advice, Activities and Information to Create a Professional Program
is THE basic guide to starting and operating a professional child care program in your home. Setting up an in-home child care program can be especially challenging. After the licenses are all in – what comes next? Jenn Karnopp, an expert on the subject, provides advice, tips, information and activities to get an in-home child care program up and running smoothly. From creating a healthy, safe environment for children to developing daily plans, Family Child Care Basics is the companion you need to ensure the success of your child care business. In simple language, Karnopp explains how to plan and implement a program where children will learn, play and thrive.

Monday, July 11, 7 p.m. at White Birch Books
An evening of White Mountain History with authors Bruce Heald and Meghan McPhaul

It all started with the Weeks Act Centennial, which most of you know is being celebrated this year. Bruce Heald, in conjunction with Arcadia Publishing, recently put out a book – White Mountain National Forest and Great North Woods, an area that owes its existence to the passage of the Weeks Act in 1911. It is one of the most visited natural sites in the country, and tourists from all over the world make seasonal visits to this recreational haven. This book takes the reader on a historical journey through the national forest, including the majesty and grandeur of the Presidential Range, Great Gulf Wilderness, Pemigewasset Wilderness and Sandwich range Wilderness, as well as Franconia Notch, Pinkham Notch, Crawford Notch and Great North Woods.

But that is not all that Bruce did. He also recently wrote The Mount Washington Cog Railway: Climbing the White Mountains of New Hampshire. On July 3, 1869, the approximately three-mile track leading to the summit of picturesque Mount Washington opened for public use. Once, only those daring enough to scale the 6,288 feet could enjoy the splendor of the scenery, but now everyone could journey to the summit using the invention of retired businessman Sylvester Marsh, who dreamed of this mountainous mode of transportation. Created at the height of the age of rail, the Cog Railway continues to chug up the mountain and into the hearts of tourists each year. Heald ties together the history of its construction with the grand romance of the railway as they triumphantly converge at the top of Mount Washington.

And since we have Bruce coming, we thought it only fitting to also have Meghan McCarthy McPhaul join him. She will be talking about her new book, A History of Cannon: Trails, Tales and Ski Legends. Cannon Mountain’s history is steeped in skiing legend and lore. Rising at the western edge of New Hampshire’s magnificently beautiful Franconia Notch State Park, the granite-domed mountain has been the playground of skiers since the 1930s. Here, the country’s first down-mountain ski trail was cleared in 1933, the first aerial tramway was built on the mountain and the first professional ski patrol was established. More than a dozen members of the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame—whose contributions to the sport include historic racing feats, the development of ski techniques and designing countless ski areas across the country and around the world—have called Cannon their home hill.

We’ll hear about the Cog Railway, Cannon Mountain and everything in between. If you have an interest in White Mountain history – this is your night!

Fryeburg Academy graduate and bestselling author Casey Sherman offers audiences the gripping true stories behind his acclaimed books. From his internationally renowned re-investigation of his aunt’s murder in the notorious Boston Strangler case, to a small town slaying in Franconia, New Hampshire where the truth is anything but what it seems, to his discovery of a dramatic New England sea rescue lost to history.  See why Casey Sherman has been called one of the best storytellers in American today. White Birch Books will be on hand to sell copies of The Finest Hours and Bad Blood. 

The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue is the story of a dramatic Coast Guard operation during a 1952 Nor’easter. Two vessels, both World War II surplus, cheaply built and unwisely kept in service, were broken in two by the storm. All four halves floated, for the moment, and the authors’ narrative accordingly tracks four separate search-and-rescue efforts that form the complete story.
Bad Blood: Freedom and Death in the White Mountains is a riveting true crime tale of the Franconia, N.H. double shooting that left “wild child” Liko Kenney and authoritarian police officer Bruce McKay both dead and the town divided. As daunting facts come to light, the townspeople form two opposing camps-those for Floyd, the foul-mouthed Vietnam vet who shot Kenney, and those against-making it all but impossible for them to discern anything important from the shooting. Focusing the testimony of witnesses, loved ones and officials, Sherman provides that missing sense of perspective with skill.

On a warm September evening in the Millers Kill community center, five veterans sit down in rickety chairs to try to make sense of their experiences in Iraq. What they will find is murder, conspiracy, and the unbreakable ties that bind them to one other and their small Adirondack town.
The Rev. Clare Fergusson wants to forget the things she saw as a combat helicopter pilot and concentrate on her relationship with Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne. MP Eric McCrea needs to control the explosive anger threatening his job as a police officer. Will Ellis, high school track star, faces the reality of life as a double amputee. Orthopedist Trip Stillman is denying the extent of his traumatic brain injury. And bookkeeper Tally McNabb wrestles with guilt over the in-country affair that may derail her marriage.
Will Ellis is looking for some reason to keep on living after losing both legs to an IED. Tally McNabb has brought home a secret—a fatal one. Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne just wants Clare to settle down and get married—to him. But when he rules Tally McNabb’s death a suicide, Clare sides with the other vets against him. Russ and Clare’s unorthodox investigation will uncover a trail of deceit that runs from their tiny Adirondack town to the upper ranks of the Army, and from the waters of the Millers Kill to the unforgiving streets of Baghdad.
Since their first meeting, Russ and Clare's bond has been tried, torn, and forged by adversity. But when he rules the veteran's death a suicide, she violently rejects his verdict, drawing the surviving vets into an unorthodox investigation that threatens jobs, relationships, and her own future with Russ. As the days cool and the nights grow longer, they will uncover a trail of deceit that runs from their tiny town to the upper ranks of the U.S. Army, and from the waters of the Millers Kill to the unforgiving streets of Baghdad.

With a foreword written by the Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist, Dave Marash, the former ABC News Nightline correspondent who anchored the opening season of Baseball Tonight on ESPN, A Bitter Cup of Coffee tells the story of a group of former big-league ballplayers denied pensions as a result of the failure of both the league and the union to retroactively amend the vesting requirement change that granted instant pension eligibility to ballplayers in 1980. A lifelong baseball fan, Doug Gladstone is a journalist by training, whose published articles have appeared in the Chicago Sun Times, Baseball Digest and the San Diego Jewish World, among others. A Bitter Cup of Coffee is his first book. 

This painstakingly researched book by Douglas J. Gladstone examines the plight of 874 Major League Baseball players who played between 1947 and 1979, all with brief trials in the majors, careers figuratively "just long enough to drink a cup of coffee." Since 1980, Major League Baseball players have needed one day of service credit for health benefits and 43 days of service credit to be eligible for a retirement allowance, but those former ballplayers who played during the 1947-1979 seasons were not included retroactively in the amended vesting requirement, and so receive no pensions for the time they gave to our national pastime. These men, the author suggests, have gulped bitter cups of coffee. In his careful examination of this issue, which includes many interviews with former players and some poignant stories of their plight, Gladstone asks his readers to examine our national relationship to sports and its heroes, as well as our relationships with those who precede us in the game of life.

Every so often, things kind of serendipitously happen and so it is with this event. I got an email from a publicist in NYC telling me about Matt’s book and asking if I wanted to do an event with him. After looking into a bit, I decided that this would be a great opportunity and we wouldn’t want to miss it.

When Lieutenant Matt Gallagher first arrived in Iraq in 2007, it was all too surreal. In the midst of a shift in U.S. policy from lethal operations to counter-insurgency, he encountered a world where nothing was as it appeared. Friends were his enemy, reconciliation was war, roads were bombs and silence was deadly. But it was all too real, and there was nothing left to do except learn to “embrace the suck.” And write about it.
Based on Captain Matt Gallagher's controversial and popular blog, which the U.S. Army shut down in June 2008, Kaboom is a sardonic, unnerving, one-of-a-kind Iraq war memoir. "At turns hilarious, maddening and terrifying," providing "raw and insightful snapshots of conflict" (Washington Post), Kaboom resonates with stoical detachment from and timeless insight into a war that we are still trying to understand.

Catherynne Valente is a poet and author with an interesting story. Born in Seattle and raised in Northern California, Catherynne graduated high school at age 15 and went on to UC San Diego and Edinburgh University, receiving her B.A. in Classics with an emphasis in Ancient Greek Linguistics. She then spent a chunk of time in Japan and currently lives on a small island off the coast of Maine. Are you intrigued yet? I certainly was and that’s why I booked this event. I think it’s going to be a wonderful evening and I can’t wait!

Koschei the Deathless is to Russian folklore what devils or wicked witches are to European culture: a menacing, evil figure; the villain of countless stories which have been passed on through story and text for generations. But Koschei has never before been seen through the eyes of Catherynne Valente, whose modernized and transformed take on the legend brings the action to modern times, spanning many of the great developments of Russian history in the twentieth century.

Deathless, however, is no dry, historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei’s beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death, which will bring Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation.

Alan Sparks came into the store one afternoon and we were immediately intrigued with his book on wolves. Yes, he is talking about wolves in Transylvania which is half a world away, but the pictures were amazing and the book looked stunning and now, here we are. Alan will be here to talk about his book but he also has a wonderful slide show presentation. This should prove to be a wonderful afternoon.

Part travelogue, part memoir, part natural and cultural history, Dreaming of Wolves presents a unique and thought-provoking story of adventure. Through a series of entertaining vignettes and informative essays, the author paints an intimate and intricate portrait of the lives of wolves, of the researchers who study them, and of the rural people who share their territory in a remote mountainous region of Eastern Europe – an exotic land that has remained largely untouched by modern trends and undiscovered by western travelers. Whether joining the narrator as he tracks wolves through the deep snows and dense forests of the Carpathian Mountains, or fends off belligerent shepherd dogs, or journeys through history to discover the real Dracula, the reader learns a remarkable amount of fascinating information about wolves, about the history and folklore of Romania, and about traditional rural life in the mountain villages of Transylvania. The story is written in an understated voice that is at once honest and humorous, deriving from events perceived with a keen and sensitive eye. The book presents several sub-themes – such as the benefits of conserving wilderness, the joy of discovering self through the pursuit of dreams, and an unusual perspective on the nature of time and consciousness – all of which are woven smoothly into the fabric of a well-told story.

Saturday, February 19, 7 p.m. at White Birch Books
DAVID GOODMAN, author of Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski Tours in New England and New York

Multi-media slide presentation!
David Goodman wrote the “bible of backcountry skiing” 20 years ago and now he is back with a completely revised and updated edition. With this season’s great snow, this book could not be more timely. Come meet David, check out his presentation, share some stories and have a good time.

From the author of the bible of Eastern backcountry skiing comes the most up-to-date resource for exploring the backcountry ski trails of the Northeast. This book features 50 trips through New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York, and Massachusetts, including extensive coverage of Tuckerman Ravine, Mount Mansfield, the Adirondacks and the historic Thunderbolt Ski Trail, as well as backcountry huts and lodge-to-lodge skiing in Maine's 100-Mile Wilderness. You'll learn how to prepare for your adventure with helpful references on when to go, what to bring, and must-have backcountry safety skills.
Each trip includes a description, distance, elevation, topographic map, difficulty rating, directions, and other tools to help plan your adventure. Whether you're a seasoned Nordic or tele-mark skier looking for a new challenge, or a resort skier ready to take on the backcountry, this book will help you expertly navigate the Northeast in winter.

White Birch Books is on the road! Singer, songwriter Rodney Crowell is also a new author and we will be selling his book at his upcoming appearance at Stone Mountain. Of course, we encourage everyone to go to the show – Stone Mountain is the most awesome place in Brownfield – but if you can’t make it and really want the book, just let us know.

From the acclaimed musician comes a tender, surprising, and often uproarious memoir about his dirt-poor southeast Texas boyhood.

The only child of a hard-drinking father and a Holy Roller mother, Rodney Crowell was no stranger to bombast from an early age, whether knock-down-drag-outs at a local dive bar or fire-and-brimstone sermons at Pentecostal tent revivals. He was an expert at reading his father’s mercurial moods and gauging exactly when his mother was likely to erupt, and even before he learned to ride a bike, he was often forced to take matters into his own hands. He broke up his parents’ raucous New Year’s Eve party with gunfire and ended their slugfest at the local drive-in (actual restaurants weren’t on the Crowell’s’ menu) by smashing a glass pop bottle over his own head.

Despite the violent undercurrents always threatening to burst to the surface, he fiercely loved his epilepsy-racked mother, who scorned boring preachers and improvised wildly when the bills went unpaid. And he idolized his blustering father, a honky-tonk man who took his boy to see Hank Williams, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash perform live, and bought him a drum set so he could join his band at age eleven.

Shot through with raggedy friends and their neighborhood capers, hilariously awkward adolescent angst, and an indelible depiction of the bloodlines Crowell came from, Chinaberry Sidewalks also vividly re-creates Houston in the fifties: a rough frontier town where icehouses sold beer by the gallon on paydays; teeming with musical venues from standard roadhouses to the Magnolia Gardens, where name-brand stars brought glamour to a place starved for it; filling up with cheap subdivisions where blue-collar day laborers could finally afford a house of their own; a place where apocalyptic hurricanes and pest infestations were nearly routine.

But at its heart this is Crowell’s tribute to his parents and an exploration of their troubled yet ultimately redeeming romance. Wry, clear-eyed, and generous, it is, like the very best memoirs, firmly rooted in time and place and station, never dismissive, and truly fulfilling.

Will came to the store one day toting his beautiful book and we immediately fell in love. This book is a piece of art that will entrance people of all ages. We are very pleased to have him at the store – and even more excited about his presentation. After reading the book, Will will do an interactive drawing program. With each new page of the book, kids will be encouraged to draw the new thing the Stonecutter becomes. At the end, they will be encouraged to draw a self-portrait. Although geared to children aged 5-8, I think this will be a great exercise – and a treat - for any age!

The Stonecutter is a retelling of the traditional folk tale about Iwao, a humble Stonecutter, who one day wished for a better life. Will was initially drawn to the story for one of its key messages: “always be proud of who you are." In the tradition of passing on folktales from generation to generation, after reading a few different versions, Will retold his own version, offering a more positive spin on the story. The illustrations in the book are a combination of watercolor and gouache, and were hand-created over the course of five years.

Saturday, December 18, 2-4 p.m. at White Birch Books
KAREL HAYES, author of Snowflake Comes to Stay

Since it is that season, we are happy to welcome another children’s book author/illustrator! I met Karel at a library program a couple of years ago and I found her charming and delightful. Her new winter story is sure to be a hit and talking with her will be intriguing to children and adults alike. Again, I highly recommend fitting in White Birch Books for a relaxing, yet fun and informative, stop on a busy day!

“Harriet Harrington lived alone in a little house in the woods. . ." until a small white dog came to stay and changed her life forever. The antics of Snowflake, the charming little white dog, charm and warm the heart of her hostess, and eventually two friends come to realize they need and enjoy each other's company very much (despite a few inconveniences). Snowflake Comes to Stay is a love story that will appeal to children of all ages.

I remember the day when my rep handed me a book by a new Canadian mystery writer. As she gushed on and on I said, “Fine, I’ll read it.” I hate to admit that I let it sit for a bit, but every time I looked at the book, I thought of Ellen exhorting me to read it. At long last I picked it up and a fan was born. The books are phenomenal. Still Life, A Fatal Grace, The Cruelest Month, A Rule Against Murder, The Brutal Telling and Bury Your Dead is the series as it stands so far - with more coming.
Penny has managed to create a place and a cast of characters that are so real and so warm. Although most of the action takes place in the cute village of Three Pines, Quebec, these are not cute, cozy mysteries. There is a depth and realism to these books that rival any novel - and the newest book is an amazing case in point.
Mark your calendars for this one. You’ll love the books, you’ll love Louise in person and you’ll have a great night!

It is Winter Carnival in Quebec City, bitterly cold and unsurpassingly beautiful. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has come not to celebrate but to recover from an investigation gone hauntingly wrong. But violent death is inescapable, even in the seemingly peaceful Literary and Historical Society - where an obsessive historian’s search for the missing remains of the founder of Quebec ends bizarrely in murder. Injured himself and in need of rest, Gamache cannot walk away from a crime that threatens to ignite long-smoldering tensions between the English and the French.
Meanwhile, he receives letter after letter from the village of Three Pines, where beloved Bistro owner Olivier was recently convicted of murder. “It doesn’t make sense,” Olivier’s partner writes every day. “He didn’t do it, you know.” Despite the overwhelming case against Olivier, Gamache sends his deputy back to Three Pines to make sure that nothing was overlooked. Through it all, in his painstaking quest for justice, Gamache must relive the terrible events that killed one of his men before he can begin to bury his dead.

Thursday, November 4, 7 p.m. at Lutheran Church of the Nativity (across from the bookstore)
CASTLE FREEMAN JR. author of Go With Me
Final event of ONE BOOK ONE VALLEY 2010

It seems like just yesterday when we were sitting around the table trying to decide the book choice for this year’s One Book One Valley - and now here we are, at the big finale! I’ve had a lot of fun with this book and am definitely looking forward to meeting Castle in person. I know there have been some mixed feelings about the book, but I just re-read some of the dialogue and it is so spot on - I could tell you who those people are! This is going to be a fun night with so many readers gathered in one place to talk about the one book that they’ve all read. Remember, though, it is not a requirement to read the book in advance, so don’t let that stop you!

A young woman recently relocated to a tiny Vermont logging town, Lillian is menaced by a mysterious stalker named Blackway. This one man—who kills her cat, forces her boyfriend to flee the state in terror, and silently threatens her very existence—is a force little understood by the local figures to whom she turns for help. Yet, in this spare and powerful tale, Lillian enlists the powerful brute Nate and the curmudgeonly Lester to take the fight to her tormenter as a raggedy quartet of town elders ponders her likely fate. With simple strength and extraordinary force, Go with Me is a riveting modern fable of good provoked to resist evil.

Thursday, November 18, 7 p.m. at Tin Mountain Nature Learning Center
DONALD and LILLIAN STOKES authors of The Stokes Field Guides to the Birds of North America

Wow! That’s about all I could say when I started looking through the new bird guide put together by Don and Lillian Stokes. The colors and pictures were so amazing - I wanted to grab my binoculars and head right outside. And I’m not even a birder!
The Stokes have been putting together guide books for years and they come with a wealth of knowledge. This is going to be a great evening for anyone who has a life list - or wants to get one. You’ve really got to see this guide book to believe it - and once you hear how they put it all together, you will be suitably impressed.

The culmination of many years of research, observation, and study, the new STOKES FIELD GUIDE includes more species, more photographs, and more useful identification information than any other photographic field guide.
The guide features 853 North American bird species and more than 3,400 stunning color photographs. And yet it's portable enough to fit in your pocket!
The photographs cover all significant plumages, including male, female, summer, winter, immature, morphs, important subspecies, and birds in flight.
Also included
* the newest scientific and common names and phylogenetic order;
* special help for identifying birds in flight through important clues of behavior, plumage, and shape;
* detailed descriptions of songs and calls;
* important behavioral information;
* key habitat preferences of each species; and
* the newest range maps, detailing species' winter, summer, year-round ranges, and migration routes.

Sunday, November 21, 3-5 p.m. at White Birch Books
CHRIS DAVENPORT, author of Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America

This is quite a book! Jim Surette, who lives locally, recently traveled to the Antarctic Peninsula and made a ski movie with Chris Davenport. Chris is coming to town to promote the movie with Jim (as a benefit for the Kismet Rock Foundation http://www.kismetrockfoundation.org/ ) and wanted us to have a book signing for Chris and his awesome new book. Well, I will never ski like this – and frankly never wanted to – but it is really amazing to look at! Stunning, beautiful, breathtaking – I am running out of adjectives!
Our event, as always, is free and open to the public, so you can come enjoy the book and talk to Chris and find out about his amazing skiing exploits. Then, make an evening of it by seeing Chris and Jim’s movie, Australis, An Antarctic Ski Odyssey, at the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel at 8 p.m. Tickets for that event are $10 (kids are free) and will raise money for Kismet, as mentioned above. For more information on that part of the evening, contact the Kismet Rock Foundation. http://www.kismetrockfoundation.org/

Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America is a large-format compilation of iconic and aesthetic ski descents from Alaska to Mount Washington. Created by ski mountaineers Chris Davenport, Art Burrows and Penn Newhard, Fifty Classic Ski Descents taps into the local knowledge of contributors such as Andrew McLean, Glen Plake, Lowell Skoog, Chic Scott and Ptor Spricenieks with first person descriptions of their favorite ski descents and insightful perspectives on ski mountaineering past, present and future. The book features 208 pages of gorgeous action and mountain images from many of North America’s top photographers. Whether you are planning an expedition to Baffin Island’s Polar Star Couloir or heading out for dawn patrol on Mount Superior, Fifty Classic Ski Descents is a visual and inspirational feast of ski mountaineering in North America.

Saturday, November 27, 2-4 p.m. at White Birch Books
TOM MERRIAM, author of Yak Attack

The season is upon us and so we begin our Seasonal Saturday Author Series which kicks off with local children’s author Tom Merriam. Tom is a self-taught artist whose paintings, wood sculpture and sign carvings reflects his roots as a Maine native. As an apprentice to George Carpenter, the last surviving member of the Whiskey Water Color Association, Merriam received a unique grounding in a technique which he continues to build on today. From the sea to the hills, Merriam learned to observe and record by painting small watercolor studies for use, later, when producing full size versions in his studio. He was trained to use whiskey in the winter as a wash so his brushes would not freeze and he could work outside in almost any weather.
Merriam recently got together with local publisher TMC Books to print and distribute his many children’s books, the first of which is Yak Attack. Barnstorming will be out shortly, followed by several more of selections that have all been written and illustrated by Merriam.

“There once was a yak who carried a sack, a very big sack, upon his back. Tired of Carrying the sack on his back, the yak decided to attack.”
Thus begins this delightfully illustrated children’s book by Uncle Tom Merriam. Full of rhythm and rhyme and just plain fun, Yak Attack is great to read to younger children and just as much fun for older children to read out loud.

OK - it is not truly summer until Lisa Gardner kicks off a new novel with us. This year, it is a doozy. Live to Tell is a fast paced thriller with a really thought-provoking story line. I couldn't put it down and keep thinking about it, days later.

We're having our event at Horsefeathers because we thought it would be fun! We'll be upstairs and we encourage people to come early and grab some dinner before the event. This is going to be a fun night. I will be reminding everyone again, but mark your calendars NOW - you don't want to miss this.
For those of you who cannot make the event, but want to participate in the “virtual” signing, just click the preorder tab below, send us your details and we’ll contact you from there. Remember, you can order any of Lisa’s books and get them personalized. We’ll mail the books out to you the next day.

On a warm summer night in one of Boston’s working-class neighborhoods, an unthinkable crime has been committed: Four members of a family have been brutally murdered. The father—and possible suspect—now lies clinging to life in the ICU. Murder-suicide? Or something worse? Veteran police detective D. D. Warren is certain of only one thing: There’s more to this case than meets the eye.
Danielle Burton is a survivor, a dedicated nurse whose passion is to help children at a locked-down pediatric psych ward. But she remains haunted by a family tragedy that shattered her life nearly twenty-five years ago. The dark anniversary is approaching, and when D. D. Warren and her partner show up at the facility, Danielle immediately realizes: It has started again.
A devoted mother, Victoria Oliver has a hard time remembering what normalcy is like. But she will do anything to ensure that her troubled son has some semblance of a childhood. She will love him no matter what. Nurture him. Keep him safe. Protect him. Even when the threat comes from within her own house.
In New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s most compelling work of suspense to date, the lives of these three women unfold and connect in unexpected ways, as sins from the past emerge—and stunning secrets reveal just how tightly blood ties can bind. Sometimes the most devastating crimes are the ones closest to home.

I was lucky enough to see Gary talk a couple of years ago at a book event. He has a lot of great energy and a broad vision to go with it. In fact, I found him rather fascinating. We’ll be at Tin Mountain to sell Gary’s latest book and we can’t wait to hear what he’s got to say about the current state of the environment, business practices, carbon emissions and more.

A true force for change, Gary Hirshberg has been at the forefront of movements working for environmental and social transformation for 30 years. From his early days as an educator and activist to his current position as president and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm, the world's largest organic yogurt company, Hirshberg's positive outlook has inspired thousands of people to recognize their ability to make the world a better place.
In Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World, Hirshberg calls on individuals to realize their power to effect change in the marketplace—"the power of one"—while proving that environmental commitment makes for a healthier planet and a healthier bottom line. Drawing from his 25 years' experience growing Stonyfield Farm from a 7-cow start-up, as well as the examples of like-minded companies, such as Newman's Own, Patagonia, Wal-Mart and Timberland, Hirshberg presents stunning evidence that business not only can save the planet, but is able to simultaneously deliver higher growth and superior profits as well.
Hirshberg illustrates his points with practical information and advice, as well as engaging anecdotes from what he calls "the bad old days" of his yogurt company: how a power outage left him milking cows by hand, how a dumpster fire revealed the need for better packaging, and his camel manure taste test challenge to a local shock jock. He also describes hands-on grassroots marketing strategies—printing yogurt lids with provocative, politically charged messages; handing out thousands of free samples to subway commuters to thank them for using public transit; and devising the country’s first organic vending machine—explaining how these approaches make a much more powerful impact on consumers than traditional advertising.
An inspiring book for business owners and managers as well as anyone interested in saving the environment, Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World demonstrates how companies can work to save the planet, while achieving greater profits and satisfaction, and how we can all use the power of conscious consumption to encourage green corporate behavior.

James Griffin is a lifelong horseman, Western enthusiast and unofficial historian of the Texas Rangers. A member of the Connecticut Horse Patrol and owner of a paint horse named Yankee, he brings his heart and soul to all of his westerns. The author of several novels featuring Texas Ranger Jim Blawcyzk, Griffin has also written a western for the young adult crowd.
Patricia Gott is a retired businesswoman and lifelong cowgirl who presently resides in South Paris, Maine. An accomplished equestrian who trains her own horses, Gott has been horse trekking in nine states and on four continents. She has written three books for adults and two books of children’s horse stories.
White Birch Books is pleased to have these two authors together and we welcome the whole family to come and enjoy the author round-up! I have never seen such enthusiasm and it’s been a good long while since we’ve had cowboys in the shop.

Published by Aracdia, this is a picture history of Story Land. Jim Miller, who served as Story Land's marketing coordinator and general manager, is well suited to put this book together. I haven’t seen it yet, but I am already smitten by the cover with an original Cinderella. I think we all have memories of Story Land and this will be a perfect book to remind us of them. We’re looking forward to this event to support a local author writing about a local landmark.

When sedans and station wagons replaced trains for vacationers heading to New Hampshire's rugged and picturesque White Mountains, new motels and attractions catering to middle-class families sprang up amidst the established grand hotels and diversions for socialites, artists, skiers, and hikers. In 1954, a tiny children's park inspired by a collection of storybook dolls opened in the quiet village of Glen. Through a unique combination of independent innovation and regional cooperation, Story Land has continually grown for more than 50 years through economic and cultural changes that undermined many amusement parks. Parents still travel great distances for a Story Land getaway with their children, just as their own parents did, sharing a common experience that is talked about between multiple generations at family gatherings. This photograph collection illustrates the unlikely beginnings and creative entrepreneurship behind one of New England's most memorable and enduring childhood institutions.

Part of our Sunday afternoon author series, Kevin will be traveling up from Cambridge, Mass., to read his poetry and we hear that he will have his mother with him because it is her birthday. So, poetry, birthday celebration and the good folks at White Birch Books – does it get any better?

Round Trip is a collection of poems by Kevin McLellan in collaboration with fifteen women poets. It is Number Six in the Seven Kitchens Press Editor's Series. Kevin McLellan has recent or forthcoming poems in journals including Barrow Street, Colorado Review, Drunken Boat, Exquisite Corpse, Hunger Mountain, Interim, Southern Humanities Review. He is an MFA graduate of Vermont College and teaches creative writing at the University of Rhode Island (Providence). Kevin lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Kevin's collaborators are: Nellie Bellows, Carrie Bennett, Jessica Bozek, Connie Donovan, Andrea Dulberger, Rebecca Griffin, Kate Faragher Houghton, Karen Lepri, Pelle Lowe, Diana McLellan, Caroline Mercurio, Sue Nacey, Heather Overby, Judi Silverman, and Cheryl Clark Vermeulen.titutions.

We just had a fantastic event with local author Freddie Wilkinson and his book, One Mountain Thousand Summits, which was about a recent tragedy on K2. Now, we are pleased to host Jennifer Jordan with her look at the very first climbing casualty on the mountain. Jordan has done extensive research on K2, living at base camp twice. Her first book, Savage Summit: The Life and Death of the First Women of K2, won the 2005 National Outdoor Book Award for Best Mountain Literature. She also created, wrote, and co-produced the documentary Women of K2 for National Geographic, which was an official entry in scores of major film festivals, winning five. Jordan has become a celebrated public speaker, routinely addressing audiences of all ages and backgrounds on the many issues raised in her book and films. At our event, she will be giving a multi-media presentation that she’s put together to go with her book.

In 1939 the Savage Mountain claimed its first victim. Born into vast wealth yet uneasy with a life of leisure, Dudley Wolfe, of Boston and Rockport, Maine, set out to become the first man to climb K2, the world’s second-highest mountain and, in the opinion of mountaineers, an even more formidable challenge than Mt. Everest. Although close to middle age and inexperienced at high altitude, Wolfe, with the team leader, made it higher than any other members of the expedition, but he couldn’t get back down. Suffering from altitude sickness and severe dehydration, he was abandoned at nearly 25,000 feet; it would be another sixty-three years before Jennifer Jordan discovered his remains.
In a story where The Great Gatsby meets Into Thin Air, readers follow Wolfe from the salons of Europe to the most forbidding landscape on earth. Wolfe went to K2 to find his own strength, only to encounter his teammates’ lethal weaknesses in a place called the Death Zone.

Sunday, August 22, 3 p.m. at White Birch Books
MARK OKRANT, author of Icy Reception

Mark Okrant has been to the store before with his series of mysteries at the grand hotels. Now he’s got a new book and we’re happy to have him again. Mark Okrant is a professor of tourism management at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. He has conducted tourism research in South Dakota, New Hampshire, Maine, Alaska, Canada, and Romania, and is past president of a leading global organization for tourism researchers, the Travel and Tourism Research Association. And, in his spare time, he writes mysteries and has very cleverly placed his lead character in a position to work crimes scenes at historic resort hotels. To date, his sleuth, Kary Turnell, has solved crimes at the Balsams Resort (A Last Resort) and at the Mount Washington Hotel (I Knew You When). His newest book, Icy Reception, has Kary on a cruise in the Arctic – a kind of floating grand hotel.

Professor and former crime reporter, Kary Turnell, sets sail on an Arctic adventure cruise aboard the MS Explorer. While the passengers are preoccupied with the shimmering spectacle of the Northern Lights and daunting vistas of Baffin Island, one individual seizes the opportunity for murder. The clues are few and the trail is rapidly growing cold as Kary and a hastily assembled team of volunteer investigators tries to reveal who pushed a guest into the frigid water below. Can Kary solve another resort caper before the floating crime scene docks at the next port, while attempting to regain the trust of a daughter who seems determined to make him pay for past mistakes?

Tuesday, May 4, 7-9 p.m. at the Wildcat Tavern in Jackson, N.H.
JAY ATKINSON, author of Paradise Road: Jack Kerouac’s Lost Highway and My Search for America

Jay has been to visit us a couple times in the past and what’s interesting about him as a writer is that his books are always very different. During his first visit, he signed and discussed Ice Time, his book about being a hockey coach. He next came back with Legends of Winter Hill, about legendary cop Joe McCain. Both times he was funny and engaging and we’re looking forward to seeing him again at the Wildcat Tavern!

Jack Kerouac's iconic 1950s novel On the Road is a Beat Generation classic, chronicling the adventures and misadventures of Kerouac's travels crisscrossing North America with Neal Cassady, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and other colorful companions. Now gifted writer Jay Atkinson hits the road to retrace Kerouac's legendary journey today. The author's experiences offer fascinating insights on American culture and society then and now and illuminate his own quest for self-understanding and discovery.