We are very excited to be hosting the Mt. Washington Valley event for Michael Wejchert and his debut book, Hidden Mountains – the story of a climbing adventure gone wrong in a remote Alaskan mountain range, the impossible rescue attempt that followed, and the fraught cost of survival.

Michael will be in conversation with another local climber and author, Mark Synnott, as the two discuss climbing, writing, and what brought Michael to write about this event from 2018 when four friends set out on a climbing expedition to Alaska’s Hidden Mountains, one of the last wild ranges in North America.

We are hoping for a great evening and to make sure we have enough space and so that everyone can hear and see, we will be having the event up at the Theater in the Wood in Intervale. Books for both authors will be available for sale there and there will be a signing after the event.

More information on Hidden Mountains:

In 2018, two couples set out on a climbing expedition to Alaska’s Hidden Mountains, one of the last wild ranges in North America. A rarity in modern climbing, the peaks were nearly unexplored and untouched, a place where few people had ever visited and granite spires still awaited first ascents. Inspired by generations of daring alpinists before them, the four climbers were now compelled to strike out into uncharted territory themselves.

This trip to the Hidden Mountains would be the culmination of years of climbing together, promising to test the foursome’s skill and dedication to the sport. But as the climbers would soon discover, no amount of preparation can account for the unknowns of true wilderness. As they neared the top of an unclimbed peak, rockfall grievously injured one of the climbers while he was out of sight, leaving him stranded and in critical condition.

Over the course of the next nine hours, the other three climbers worked to reach their companion. What followed was a pulse-pounding rescue attempt by Alaska’s elite Pararescuers in one of the most remote regions in the country—raising difficult questions about wilderness accessibility, technology’s role in outdoor adventure, and what it means to weigh risk against the siren song of the mountains.

With visceral prose, Michael Wejchert recounts the group’s rescue and traces the scars left in the wake of life-altering trauma. Weaving the history and evolution of rock and alpine climbing with outside tales of loss and survival in the mountains, Wejchert gives a full picture of the reward—and cost—of following your passions in the outdoors.

If you can’t make it to this event – or to any of Majka’s events – and would still like a signed copy, we can do that for you. Simply scroll down to the link or just click here and order away! If you are more comfortable on the phone, just give us a call (603-356-3200) and we can take your order that way – whatever works best for you! Books will be available after the book event on March 4th.

It is very much our lucky month, kicking off with a visit from ANNIE HARTNETT that coincides with the paperback release of her book, which happens to be one of our top-selling books of 2022, Unlikely Animals!

Where’s Kermit the Frog when you need him – Yaaayyyyy!

This book was a joy to read that was only matched by the joy in selling it and sharing it with others. Sometimes, we felt we couldn’t do it justice in our descriptions – there is a fox (not real), people talking from the cemetery (also not real), a young woman who reluctantly comes home after failing to thrive in the wider world (very real), a cast of quirky characters, drugs, brain tumors, and a missing best friend (estranged). There is even a bear – because it’s set in New Hampshire!

We didn’t think Annie could top 2017’s Rabbit Cake, but then she did! Both books will be available for sale. Come meet Annie! Hear how she came up with Unlikely Animals and get the scoop on what she’s working on next. This night will be a treat!

Here is the official description of the book:

Natural-born healer Emma Starling once had big plans for her life, but she’s lost her way. A medical school dropout, she’s come back to small-town Everton, New Hampshire, to care for her father, who is dying from a mysterious brain disease. Clive Starling has been hallucinating small animals, as well as having visions of the ghost of a long-dead naturalist, Ernest Harold Baynes, once known for letting wild animals live in his house. This ghost has been giving Clive some ideas on how to spend his final days.

Emma arrives home knowing she must face her dad’s illness, her mom’s judgment, and her younger brother’s recent stint in rehab, but she’s unprepared to find that her former best friend from high school is missing, with no one bothering to look for her. The police say they don’t spend much time looking for drug addicts. Emma’s dad is the only one convinced the young woman might still be alive, and Emma is hopeful he could be right. Someone should look for her, at least. Emma isn’t really trying to be a hero, but somehow she and her father bring about just the kind of miracle the town needs.

Set against the backdrop of a small town in the throes of a very real opioid crisis, Unlikely Animals is a tragicomic novel about familial expectations, imperfect friendships, and the possibility of resurrecting that which had been thought irrevocably lost.

Eder will only be at the store for a short time, but will be able to sign books and tell a few stories. Come meet her and hear about these wonderful women whose stories should not be forgotten!

The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line are the heroes of the Greatest Generation that you hardly ever hear about. These women who did extraordinary things didn’t expect thanks and shied away from medals and recognition. Despite their amazing accomplishments, they’ve gone mostly unheralded and unrewarded. No longer. These are the women of World War II who served, fought, struggled, and made things happen—in and out of uniform.

Young Hilda Eisen was captured twice by the Nazis and twice escaped, going on to fight with the Resistance in Poland. Determined to survive, she and her husband later emigrated to the U.S. where they became entrepreneurs and successful business leaders. Ola Mildred Rexroat was the only Native American woman pilot to serve with the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in World War II.  She persisted against all odds—to earn her silver wings and fly, helping train other pilots and gunners. Ida and Louise Cook were British sisters and opera buffs who smuggled Jews out of Germany, often wearing their jewelry and furs, to help with their finances. They served as sponsors for refugees and established temporary housing for immigrant families in London. Alice Marble was a grand-slam winning tennis star who found her own path to serve during the war—she was an editor with Wonder Woman comics, played tennis exhibitions for the troops, and undertook a dangerous undercover mission to expose Nazi theft. After the war she was instrumental in desegregating women’s professional tennis. Others also stepped out of line—as cartographers, spies, combat nurses, and troop commanders.

Retired U.S. Army Major General Mari K. Eder wrote this book because she knew their stories needed to be told—and the sooner the better. For theirs is a legacy destined to embolden generations of women to come.

Before Charles Manson, there was Tony Costa—the serial killer of Cape Cod

1969: The hippie scene is vibrant in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Long-haired teenagers roam the streets, strumming guitars and preaching about peace and love… and Tony Costa is at the center of it all. To a certain group of smitten young women, he is known as Sire—the leader of their counter-culture movement, the charming man who speaks eloquently and hands out hallucinogenic drugs like candy. But beneath his benign persona lies a twisted and uncontrollable rage that threatens to break loose at any moment. Tony Costa is the most dangerous man on Cape Cod, and no one who crosses his path is safe.

When young women begin to disappear, Costa’s natural charisma and good looks initially protect him from suspicion. But as the bodies are discovered, the police close in on him as the key suspect. Meanwhile, local writers Kurt Vonnegut and Norman Mailer are locked in a desperate race to secure their legacies as great literary icons—and they both set their sights on Tony Costa and the drug-soaked hippie culture that he embodies as their next promising subject, launching independent investigations that stoke the competitive fires between two of the greatest American writers.

Immersive, unflinching, and shocking, Helltown is a landmark true crime narrative that transports us back to the turbulent late 1960s, reveals the secrets of a notorious serial killer, and unspools the threads connecting Costa, Vonnegut, and Mailer in the seaside city that played host to horrors unlike any ever seen before. New York Times bestselling author Casey Sherman has crafted a stunner.

Sherman will talk about his book, as well as the present day reverberations being felt and the TV series that is currently in development with Robert Downey Jr.

It’s back!

The One Book One Valley community read program is underway. Sixteen public libraries throughout the region and White Birch Books are pleased to announce that this year the featured author is Paul Doiron, who writes the Mike Bowditch series of crime novels.

All are invited to an evening with Doiron, when he will talk about his books and writing, Thursday, October 28 at 7:00 p.m. at the newly renovated Majestic Theatre in Conway Village.* This event will also be live-streamed. To register for the livestream link, go to https://rentals.anywhereseat.com/

Doiron is the former editor of Down East magazine and a registered Maine Guide. He now writes full time, and recently published the twelfth book in his crime novel series featuring the character Mike Bowditch, a Maine Game Warden.

*For those planning to attend the live event, wear a mask while inside, and please read and follow the recently adopted Vaccination Policy for the Majestic Theatre.

Celebrate the publication of the new THE 4000-FOOTER’S OF NEW HAMPSHIRE’S WHITE MOUNTAINS!

New Hampshire’s iconic 4,000-foot peaks, with their rugged character and natural beauty, have been attracting hikers, explorers, and outdoor enthusiasts to the White Mountains for more than 200 years. Though they are best known today for their long-standing popularity among peak-bagging hikers, these mountains played a major role in the development of the region from a daunting wilderness to a thriving recreational mecca. This transformation included the construction of the world-famous Mount Washington Cog Railway in 1869 and its various summit hotels atop the Northeast’s highest peak, the cutting of hundreds of miles of recreational footpaths in the mountain valleys and on their steep slopes, and the creation of some of New England’s first downhill ski trails on Mounts Moosilauke, Cannon, and Wildcat in the 1920s and 1930s. Over the years, the 4,000-footers have attracted visitors from all walks of life, including US presidents, renowned poets, world-class skiers, and Supreme Court justices. This is a unique photographic history and features more than 200 vintage images, many of them rare or previously unpublished.

Mike Dickerman is a longtime White Mountains hiker who has climbed all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-foot summits in both summer and winter. He has written or edited more than a dozen books about the region and is a former member of the AMC Four Thousand Footer Committee. For this book, he has collected images from the Appalachian Mountain Club, the New England Ski Museum, the White Mountain National Forest, regional historical societies, and several private collections. He is a HUGE friend of the bookstore and we are very happy to be able to host him for this event!

In this special edition of Backstage Live, join guest host Peter Gwin, of National Geographic’s Overheard podcast, and professional climber and author Mark Synnott. This interactive conversation will focus on the highly anticipated release of Synnott’s new book, The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest.

This is no ordinary adventure story. It crosses geographic, economic, social, and political lines with a team of dreamers, highly trained professional athletes, and agents working to keep some of Everest’s secrets concealed forever.

An excerpt from The Third Pole was the July 2020 National Geographic magazine cover story, and National Geographic’s acclaimed short documentary Lost on Everest (Disney+) provided a glimpse of the mountain mission. Gwin and Synnott will dive deeper into the experience and answer audience questions along the way.

You can buy signed copies of The Third Pole at White Birch Books. Use the link below, give us a call at (603) 356-3200, or just stop in!