SCC plays host to pair of Vowell appearances

Sarah Vowell, the well-known author with a unique and entertaining take on American history, will make two appearances at Spokane Community College this week.

Vowell is the author of “The Wordy Shipmates,” which tells the story of the Puritans, and “Assassination Vacation,” about her tour of presidential assassination sites.

Her most recent book is “Unfamiliar Fishes,” about how Hawaii became American. She has also been a familiar – and instantly recognizable – voice on public radio’s “This American Life.”

Vowell will be the speaker in SCC’s Presidential Speaker Series, Monday, 7 p.m. in the Lair-Student Center Auditorium, Bldg. 6, 1810 N. Greene St.

She will also do a casual question-and-answer session on Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. in the Hagan Foundation Center for the Humanities at SCC.

Both events are free and open to the public.

The Cecil Andrus story

You can tell what author Chris Carlson thinks about Cecil Andrus by his book title: “Cecil Andrus: Idaho’s Greatest Governor” (Caxton Press).

Carlson was Andrus’ longtime press secretary, so he certainly knows his subject. He calls Andrus “one of the rare gems in modern political life.”

Besides serving four terms as Idaho governor, Andrus was also a U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Carlson calls it an “authorized reminiscence,” although there’s one thing Andrus did not authorize: the title, which he apparently believed was too boastful.

North Idaho resident Carlson will discuss his book on Saturday, 1 p.m. at Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave.

‘Everybody Reads’ C.J. Box

The Everybody Reads event, featuring “Blue Heaven” by C.J. Box, takes place this week across a wide swath of the Palouse.

Box is best known for his Joe Pickett series, but this book is a stand-alone thriller set in an area of North Idaho that may seem familiar to many readers.

Here’s the list of Box’s appearances:

• Monday, noon: The Bundy Reading Room, Avery Hall, Washington State University, Pullman.

• Monday, 7 p.m.: 1912 Center, Moscow, Idaho.

• Tuesday, noon: Whitman County Library, Colfax.

• Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Neill Public Library, Pullman.

• Wednesday, 10 a.m.: Lewiston High School.

• Wednesday, 7 p.m.: Nezperce Community Library, Nezperce, Idaho.

• Thursday, noon: Asotin County Library, Clarkston.

• Thursday, 6 p.m.: Reception at The Orchid Room in Lewiston followed by a 7 p.m. presentation.

For more information, go to www.everybody-reads.org.

‘Angus McDonald,’ fur trader

Here’s a new book of local, historical interest: “Angus McDonald of the Great Divide: The Uncommon Life of a Fur Trader, 1816-1889,” by Steve A. Anderson (Museum of North Idaho, $19.95).

Anderson has gathered together the writings of McDonald, who was a key figure in the fur trading history of the Inland Northwest and beyond.

One reviewer has compared this book to sitting around the campfire and listening to the old fur trader himself telling stories in his “own Shakespearean-like prose.”

Anderson lives in North Carolina, but he is the former administrator of the Fort Nisqually Living History Museum in Tacoma and has been researching the fur trade for decades.

The book is available in area bookstores, or at the Museum of North Idaho in Coeur d’Alene, (208) 664-3448.