When reading and writing books, I enjoy delving into history and thinking about social issues such as immigrants (Crossing: A Chinese Family Railroad Novel), brain injuries (Phineas Gage: After the Accident Years), and women’s agency (Haylee and the Traveler’s Stone). When my son was three years-old, I caught him jumping up and down on a book saying, “It’s not working!” He’d been watching cartoon characters flying into books to explore their worlds. Literally, everyone wants this from stories – to jump into spaces different from our own. We crave the feeling of living in there. Emotions the author works to generate help us hold onto what we learned.
For Chinese history and railroad enthusiasts, this is a must-read. Gordon Chang is a professor of American history at Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences. His book, with thorough and detailed research as its foundation, corrects a historical injustice of silence. It shines a light on the Chinese railroad workers who did the lion’s share of heavy lifting, blasting, and rock moving to complete the Central Pacific Railroad’s (CPRR) share of the Transcontinental Railroad. It’s an enlightening and smooth read, even for a layperson.
Once Ghosts of Gold Mountain was published, it quickly rose to the top of my research resources. I live near Donner Summit’s infamous Tunnel #6. Every time I put on my headlamp to walk through it, I marvel at the massive undertaking. This tunnel and the workers behind it are the inspiration for my current historical novel. If Professor Chang ever reads it, I hope he’s gratified to know that many of his research findings are included.
“Gripping . . . Chang has accomplished the seemingly impossible . . . He has written a remarkably rich, human, and compelling story of the railroad Chinese.” — Peter Cozzens, Wall Street Journal
WINNER OF THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE WINNER OF THE CHINESE AMERICAN LIBRARIANS ASSOCIATION BEST BOOK AWARD
A groundbreaking, breathtaking history of the Chinese workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad, helping to forge modern America only to disappear into the shadows of history until now
From across the sea, they came by the thousands, escaping war and poverty in southern China to seek their fortunes in…
As a life-long reader and historical novelist, Ken Follet is one of my larger-than-life heroes. When I enjoy an author’s voice, characters, and story, I treasure a big fat book that requires a significant time investment. Set in twelfth-century England, this epic tale humanizes medieval history. After completing The Pillars of the Earth, I feel like I could walk through the Kingsbridge Cathedral and experience a familiar connection with the stonemasons and architects who built it. Effortless and entertaining history absorption!
The "extraordinary . . . monumental masterpiece" (Booklist) that changed the course of Ken Follett's already phenomenal career-and begins where its prequel, The Evening and the Morning, ended.
"Follett risks all and comes out a clear winner," extolled Publishers Weekly on the release of The Pillars of the Earth. A departure for the bestselling thriller writer, the historical epic stunned readers and critics alike with its ambitious scope and gripping humanity. Today, it stands as a testament to Follett's unassailable command of the written word and to his universal appeal.
When I browse my bookshelves for recommendations, this one always stands out as one with a memorable story but also for the author’s gorgeous grammar.
In 1932 during the Great Depression, Jacob Jankowski hits a rough patch. Not yet finished with veterinary school, he’s suddenly orphaned and penniless. When he jumps on a train, Jacob is catapulted into a foreign world of misfits and freaks. The traveling circus is filled with beauties, brutal taskmasters, and animals that need his help. In spite of odds conspiring against him, Jacob discovers love in this unlikely time and place. Will he do what it takes to hold onto it?
THE INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A FILM STARRING REESE WITHERSPOON AND ROBERT PATTINSON
'Great story, loads of fun; hard to put down.' STEPHEN KING
The Great Depression, 1929. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and utterly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits in the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth: a second-rate travelling circus struggling to survive by making one-night stands in town after endless town. Jacob, a veterinary student now unable to finish his degree, is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. He…
This book (!)...is one where the language and imagery are so surprising and unusual, that alone draws the reader in like a light-dazzled moth. It is a fantasy novel based on a Polish fairy tale. A mysterious wizard claims an innocent village girl every ten years in trade for his protection against the evil Wood. It’s a beautifully crafted story with compelling characters and a satisfying end. It is well worth every minute!
A dark enchantment blights the land in the award-winning Uprooted - a enthralling fantasy inspired by fairy tales, by Naomi Novik, author of the Temeraire series.
Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel Winner of the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel Winner of the British Fantasy Society Award for Best Novel
Agnieszka loves her village, set deep in a peaceful valley. But the nearby enchanted forest casts a shadow over her home. Many have been lost to the Wood and none return unchanged. The villagers depend on an ageless wizard, the Dragon, to protect them from the forest's…
Pride’s Children is a captivating, contemporary story about love, regret, ambition, and obsession - with a glitzy backdrop. Closer examination reveals a textured and soul-searching novel that serves as a poignant reminder that we are defined by our choices - and their consequences. The treatment of an enigmatic and life-altering…
When my grandparents said, “no,” to my request to (cassette) record their sauerkraut-making memories and tales of their move to California during WWII, my heart constricted. It still hurts when I think about death permanently extinguishing their voices and stories. Tuesdays with Morrie is like the interview with my grandparents I’d envisioned. It’s wisdom, life lessons, and values - recipes for living a satisfying life - are imparted for future generations. Sadly, I missed this book when it first started making bestseller lists. It came to my awareness after I uploaded my Phineas Gage manuscript to a website providing artificial intelligence language analysis. The books were a match. I had to read it then, and I’m so glad I did!
THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON THAT HAS TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OVER 9 MILLION READERS
'Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary' Cecelia Ahern __________
Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher or a colleague? Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, and gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it? For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to…
This book is a vividly human re-imagining of the love, sacrifices, and history that laid tracks for the North America of today.
Leaving behind ancestral Chinese homelands and their family, brothers Yang and Lee face harrowing challenges as they join countless immigrants seeking a better life in the 1860s.This story follows their remarkable journey across the ocean to San Francisco, then into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where they'll labor to build the Transcontinental Railroad. Surrounded by California's new marvels, and carrying their cultural traditions in their hearts, Yang and Lee find themselves in precarious situations. Their passions, struggles, dreams, and bravery create ripple effects for generations.
A magisterial history of Indigenous North America that places the power of Native nations at its center, telling their story from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today
The aftermath of human first contact, written from the extraterrestrial's perspective.
Kelvoo is overcome with wonder at the arrival of the humans. With flawless memories and innate curiosity, Kelvoo’s community embraces the benevolent humans and their knowledge of the boundless universe beyond the cloud-covered sky. After the departure of the…
