Work Song by Ivan Doig

Several years ago, I visited Butte, Montana and had a look at the huge scar in the earth left by the Anaconda copper mine. I stood above the toxic lake, so deadly nothing can live near it, and drove through the ghost town on the hills above where the cabins of the workers stand abandoned. It was an unforgettable sight. In Work Song by Ivan Doig, the heyday of Anaconda and Butte in the early 20th century is brought to life. The central character, Morrie Morris, steps off the train in Butte, hoping to leave his previous life behind and find good paying work. Morris quickly settles in and meets a series of townspeople who draw him into the life of the town. Through two retired miners at his boarding house, he gets a look at the hard life of the miners and their families and is swept into the tensions between the union, the wobblies, and the mining company. He finds work at the public library, run by a wealthy ex-rancher, a bibliophile who buys rare books and loans them to the library, and who tells Morris not to get involved in the fight between the workers and the company.. Morris is a fascinating and complex character. He tries to avoid committing himself but finds that ultimately, he has to make a choice. Doig creates characters who deal with tragedy but keep their dignity and sense of humor. He is amazingly good at creating a sense of place. His descriptions of Butte and the land around it come to life in this book and give a real feel for the west. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good story and memorable characters.

The French Blue by Richard W. Wise

In his historical novel, The French Blue, author Richard Wise tells the amazing story of Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a 17th Century traveler and gem merchant. Son of a cartographer in Paris, he becomes fascinated with gemology and leaves home at an early age to travel to Persia and India to learn about pearls, rubies, and diamonds. He eventually becomes a highly respected gem dealer, buying for Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIV and other nobles The title refers to his greatest find, an amazing blue diamond that eventually came to be known as the Hope Diamond. Most of the novel describes Tavernier's travels though exotic lands and his dealings with merchants and royalty. Wise does an amazing job of describing the physical conditions of travel, risky at best, and the cultural environments Tavernier has to navigate. The best historical novels whisk you away to another time and place and give you a real sense of being there. Wise is a master at this. I was not familiar with this character before I read the book, and I found it very helpful that he includes an appendix which explains the fictional aspects of the story. If you like historical fiction, this book is a must read. I couldn't put it down!

Haunted Ground by Erin Hart

The first mystery by Erin Hart, Haunted Ground is set in Ireland,where archeologist Cormac Macguire and pathologist Nora Gavin are called in to investigate the uncovering of a woman's severed head. Since the bog tends to preserve tissue, the head could be hundreds of years old. Hart includes a lot of science as the two try to discover the history of the find. But this discovery unleashes new interest in a more current mystery in the town, the disappearance of the wife and child of a prominent citizen who is generally suspected of being responsible. Hart moves back and forth between the two mysteries and does a good job with both. There is also a developing personal relationship between the two scientists that is well done. She gives a good sense of place in describing the rural Irish setting. I'll definitely read her next book.

Right Foot in the Pacific, Left Foot in the Atlantic: An Adventure Across America

This is the story of David Stoess's walk across America from Los Angeles to New York City. He describes the physical difficulties of the trek but this book is primarily composed of sketches of the little towns, big cities (which he tried to avoid) and the people he encountered. He writes with a very conversational, folksy style that works well. This is probably not a book you would read from cover to cover, but it's a great book to pick up as the spirit moves you and read a couple of chapters. I enjoyed it very much.