Working in close proximity to more than a million books, Powell's employees can read virtually anything they like. Access isn't a problem. So what do we read? On this page, we've collected a sample of our favorites. If you like, you can also go directly to one of our Staff Picks by Subject pages in the orange box below.

 

Staff Picks by Subject: Animals & Nature | Americana | Biography & Memoir Books on Books | Children's Books | Food & Cooking General Nonfiction | History | Humor | Literature Mystery & True Crime | Poetry | Science Small Press | Sports | Travel Writing Staff Picks by Employee

 

Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape by Barry Lopez Barry Lopez won the 1986 National Book Award for Arctic Dreams. A more accurate test, though, for the true quality of a book is how well it wears over time. And though it may yet be too soon to conclude, Arctic Dreams appears to have taken its place as the classic work on the wild regions of the far north. To write this book, Lopez made a number of extended trips to northern Canada to observe the flora and fauna of the region – polar bears, killer whales, caribou, narwhals – as well as the spectacular Arctic landscape – eerie encounters with the aurora borealis, massive migrating icebergs, etc. His descriptions not only bring the reader as close as a book can to a palpable experience of the landscape, but also to a sense of why this region is so important, not only for the ecological health of the planet, but also for the imaginative health of humankind. His evocation of the way of life of the indigenous Arctic peoples is particularly moving, illustrating how human beings are capable of living in harmony with their environment, are capable of creating honorable societies. This is a very important book by one of our greatest writers, one that will only grow in importance as we continue to encroach upon and exploit the few remaining wild areas on our planet. Recommended by Jo

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An Empire Wilderness: Travels into America's Future by Robert D. Kaplan In the 19th century, America's "Manifest Destiny" started at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and moved west. In the 20th century, Robert Kaplan returns to Fort Leavenworth to begin his odyssey across the west. From Kansas to the Pacific and from British Columbia to Mexico City, this is a record of where our destiny has taken us. Kaplan chronicles a nation polarized along ethnic, economic, and political lines. Urban fragmentation and sprawl typify the American landscape. The question is, Will this be America's future? Will American communities completely succumb to the disjointed development schemes that seem to typify places like Los Angeles? Or will Americans embrace a more community-centered, city-centric model like that created in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia? An Empire Wilderness is a prescient look at America as it is, rather than as we might like it to be. It is a work that is neither science fiction nor mere speculative futurism. Kaplan shows us, in keenly observed detail, why 21st Century America, if she continues on the path she seems determined to ride, will see sharply polarized communities, displaced loyalties and allegiances, and corporations assuming many government functions. This is perhaps the most thorough examination of the values and forces guiding America since de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. Recommended by Fidel

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The Monitor: The Story of the Legendary Civil War Ironclad and the Man Whose Invention Changed the Course of History by James Dekay An account of the ship that defeated The Merrimac, or at least fought it to a draw, in Chesapeake Bay in the early part of the Civil War. Had The Merrimac been successful in breaking the Union blockade, both trade and European recognition for the South might have followed. The Monitor reached the Bay on the day it needed to be there, fought the battle, and prevented all of that from happening. This occurred due to a man named Ericsson, Swedish by birth, who came to the United States from England. Ericson was an inventive genius who always felt somewhat thwarted, but when confronted by this challenge, he conceived the creation of the first modern battleship, which represented, in one ship, dozens of technological leaps forward. It's a great story, well told. Recommended by Michael P.

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The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea This gem of a book was published years ago and, unfortunately, went out of print. Now, HarperCollins has brought it back, and we are oh so lucky! Ten year old Pidge (and how could you NOT love a book with a main character named Pidge!) finds an ancient book while browsing in a used bookstore in his hometown of Galway, Ireland, and mistakenly releases the evil force of the serpent Olc Glas back into the world. The Morrigan, a famous goddess of Destruction in Celtic mythology, wants the serpent's power and sets a plot in motion to recover the book and unleash its power on the world. Poor Pidge and his feisty little sister, Brigit, are caught up in this battle, and become unwitting heroes in the process. The book is a long one – about 700 pages – but the reading is quick and the plot swift. If there is a voracious reader in your home who longs for something new to read and loves reading about mythology, this will be the PERFECT book to give. Recommended by Colleen

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Valley by Mike Daily (Bend Press) Mike Daily (editor of Stovepiper) put together this dazzling hodge-podge of a novel, complete with photos, screenplay bits, poetry, and other odd tangents. The result is an extremely entertaining and beautifully-designed book that seems to please and baffle nearly everyone. Actually, baffle might be misleading. How about delightfully confuse. A grand mix of dada, beat, and depressed-guy journalism. Superb! Recommended by Kevin Sampsell

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The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric What the hell is going on in the Balkans anyway? In this era of the "global village," of freely shared information, and of 24-hour CNN simulcasts, how is it that a large swath of Europe has fragmented into feuding tribes and gone completely crazy? No one really knows, but Nobel Prize-winner Andric's The Bridge on the Drina sheds some light on the history of the region and its simmering conflicts. Written in a style as gritty and tight as a crime novel, the book traces the history of a bridge on the Serbian border and the events that lead to its destruction during WW1. By writing the book as historical fiction, rather than straight history, Andric helps us understand more clearly why the disparate groups in the area have such animosity towards one another. Not for the faint of heart, The Bridge on the Drina is a portrait of a nation's dysfunctional childhood, one that has led an entire people to the paryoxsm of sociopathic madness that we watch on TV every night.   Recommended by Clark

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