289.33 KRA
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer2003, 372 p.
Gifted storyteller Jon Krakauer recounts the murder of a woman and her infant daughter by the Mormon fundamentalist Lafferty brothers, who claimed divine revelation led them to kill their sister-in-law. Krakauer takes pains to distinguish extremist groups from the main body of the church. Nonetheless, he details the tumultuous and sometimes violent history of the Mormons, including the murder of Joseph Smith in Illinois in 1844 and the Utah War of 1857, when Mormon settlers battled the federal government for control of the territory. Skillfully blended with these background sketches are jailhouse interviews with Dan Lafferty that underscore the chilling mind of a religious zealot.

305.235 DOB
The Only Girl in the Car: A Memoir by Kathy Dobie2003, 228 p.
Craving attention, Kathy began acting out sexually at age 14. Despite the freedom espoused by her late-sixties generation, promiscuous experiences left Dobie with regret and a bad reputation. Retreating back into her family and her books, she found redemption in writing. Dobie’s unique voice and lyrical prose make this a distinctive coming-of-age story. But in addition to chronicling her own experiences, the author perceptively portrays the mixed-message maze that generations of women have had to navigate.

306.8742 GLI
Monkey Dancing: A Father, Two Kids, and a Journey to the Ends of the Earth by Daniel Glick2003, 343 p.
Coping with an unexpected divorce and the death of his brother, seasoned traveler and journalist Daniel Glick decided to take his children on a five-month world odyssey. Branding it their “before-it’s-too-late tour,” he yearned to bond with his kids and share the disappearing wonders of nature with them. Traveling through Australia, Indonesia, India and Europe, the three shared intimate moments while exploring challenging environments.

362.19683 VAN
The House on Beartown Road: A Memoir of Learning and Forgetting by Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt2003, 270 p.
A sandwich-generation love story about the author, her baby Ava and her elderly Dad. Ava toddles through the world “sponge-like,” absorbing everything in her orbit, while advancing Alzheimer’s disease is chipping away at Grandpa’s memory. Elizabeth cares for them both with impressive fortitude in a rural farmhouse in upstate New York. While the author is candid about the difficulty of the situation, she manages to convey love and warmth on every page.

364.1523 LAR
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson2003, 447 p.
In the shadow of the Columbian Exposition’s lavish complex of buildings known as the “White City” lurked a devil masquerading as Dr. H.H. Holmes. Erik Larson interweaves the story of Daniel Burnham’s epic efforts to construct the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 with the sinister tale of Holmes’ murder spree. As the two scenarios unfold, Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and other Gilded Age figures pepper the landscape of this remarkable drama.

364.1523 RUD
Death at the Priory: Love, Sex, and Murder in Victorian England by James Ruddick2002, 209 p.
In 1876 the poisoning of 30-year-old barrister Charles Bravo kept Victorians glued to newspaper accounts of the apparent homicide. The widow, Florence, her ex-lover Dr. James Gully, and several members of the Bravo household staff were all considered suspects, but the murder remained unsolved. Author Ruddick excavates details of the 128-year-old scandal and explores the repressive relationships of Florence Bravo and the men in her life.

364.1523 THO
Blood and Money by Thomas Thompson2001, 474 p.
The death of Houston horsewoman and socialite Joan Robinson Hill aroused suspicions. Reunited with her estranged husband Dr. John Hill after an acrimonious separation, she died suddenly following a brief mysterious illness. Her father, oilman Ash Robinson, doted on his only child and became obsessed with the circumstances of her death. Vengeance, greed, betrayal and murder are expertly exposed in this true crime tale.

597.31 CAP
Close to Shore: A True Story of Terror in an Age of Innocence by Mike Capuzzo2001, 317 p.
Peter Benchley’s Jaws was inspired by a lone shark that attacked vacationers along the New Jersey shore in the summer of 1916. The terror that gripped the seaside resort of Long Beach Island and the pursuit of the Great White are chillingly detailed here in a style guaranteed to make beachgoers look over their shoulders for years to come.

614.5123 SAL
The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race against an Epidemic by Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury2003, 303 p.
In New York’s Central Park, a bronze statue memorializes Balto, an intrepid sled dog who captured the nation’s attention in 1925 as a real life drama played out in Nome, Alaska. When a diphtheria epidemic threatened the icebound city, there was a desperate need for lifesaving serum. Because the formidable cold was too perilous for temperamental airplanes of the era, 20 mushers relayed the precious cargo nearly 700 miles in less than 6 days, dealing with treacherous storms, ice floes and seemingly endless wilderness. This narrative by cousins Gay and Laney Salisbury conveys the tension of the events and the heroism of a handful of hardy men and their canine companions.

618.2 VIN
Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent2002, 336 p.
After beginning her career as an obstetrical nurse, Peggy Vincent soon became an advocate for laboring women who didn’t want a conventional hospital birthing experience. She developed a private practice in Berkeley, California, as a professional midwife. Here she shares tender, harrowing and humorous glimpses of families at the intimate moment when they welcome a new soul into their midst.

636.0887 TAR
Enslaved by Ducks by Bob Tarte2003, 308 p.
After 38 years of urban life, Bob Tarte found himself ensconced in rural Michigan with his wife Linda and a menagerie of critters that overtook their existence. Belligerent bunnies, noisy parrots, and cantankerous barnyard animals eventually charmed him into the willing ringmaster of the domestic circus amusingly detailed here.

798.4 HIL
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand2001, 399 p.
In 1938, the name on everyone’s lips was Seabiscuit. Thanks to author Laura Hillenbrand and a major motion picture released in 2003, the Cinderella racehorse has regained iconic status. Hillenbrand introduces the reader to the men determined to make him a champion, and recaptures the exhilaration that Depression-era fans found in following the spirited underdog and his hard-luck jockey, Red Pollard.

914.4 EDM
Spotted in France by Gregory Edmont2003, 230 p.
American in Paris Greg Edmont and his aristocratic Dalmatian JP were living a quiet life in the City of Lights until an eccentric dog breeder in the south of France requested JP’s sire services. The duo, each outfitted in protective goggles, hit the open road on a Vespa scooter. After a breakdown or two and encounters with assorted colorful locals, JP discovered true love, but not without a few twists of fate. This is a lighthearted travel adventure, recommended for Francophiles and dog lovers.

940.4814 MAC
The Englishman’s Daughter: A True Story of Love and Betrayal in World War I by Ben Macintyre2002, 254 p.
In 1914 the villagers of Villeret, France sheltered a group of British soldiers trapped behind enemy lines. In addition to recounting a love story between Private Robert Digby and a local woman, Macintyre’s saga interweaves the tale of the soldiers’ eventual discovery by the Germans. The author traveled to Villeret to interview the descendants of those involved, and played detective to flesh out the story of betrayal that led to the execution of Digby and others. A portrait of the destruction of war and the multiplicity of human nature.

958.104 CRI
Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile2003, 550 p.
Congressman Charlie Wilson was a stereotypical Texas good old boy, a boozing womanizer and a staunch anti-Communist. In the waning years of the Cold War he aligned himself with a CIA operative named Dr. Dirty and a host of unlikely international characters to assist Afghan freedom fighters in defeating invading Soviet forces. He used his clout as a member of the House Defense Appropriations Committee to procure weapons for the Mujahideen rebels, some of whom now use those weapons against us. Written with the pacing of a Tom Clancy thriller by a former 60 Minutes producer, this larger-than-life tale has been optioned for the screen by Tom Hanks.

Biography PERRY, M.
Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael Perry2002, 234 p.
Perry’s vignettes of small-town life in New Auburn, Wisconsin are told through the eyes of a native son who left for 12 years, returning to see his childhood hometown in a new light. As an emergency medical technician and volunteer firefighter, he shows us the dramas and dilemmas of everyday life. As a poet, he guides us to the bittersweet heart of what it feels like to be part of a community.

Biography STERBA, J.
Frankie’s Place: A Love Story by Jim Sterba2003, 273 p.
Invited to spend a weekend at the Maine summer home of award-winning writer Frances “Frankie” FitzGerald, Jim Sterba discovered the ideal retreat and grew to be a permanent fixture at “Frankie’s Place.” A down-to-earth war correspondent, Sterba became the Tracy to Frankie’s more patrician Hepburn. What began as a food journal recording the author’s summertime culinary experiments evolved into this lovingly rendered memoir that details his relationships with a woman, a place and a way of life.

Prepared by Lori Sennebogen, September 2004