Wanderer, by Donald E. McQuinn, Del Rey, 1993, $10.00, 544 pp. After nuclear annihilation, the world is left to a forgotten age with new myths of its origin. Out of this grisly world a leader rises who unites the warring factions of the Pacific Northwest. In the peace that follows, his ally the Rose Priestess Sylah sets out against terrible odds to locate a door she saw in a vision, but Church - what's left of the former Catholic church - concludes her visions are heresy and isn't going to make her quest an easy one. Add to the mix a couple of Americans who survived the holocaust in cryogenic sleep and you've got the makings of a three ring circus with starving lions; anything can happen. This is the sequel to Warrior, a testosterone-filled pre-unification thriller.

Wanderlust: A History of Walking, by Rebecca Solnit, Penguin Books, 2001, $14.00, 326 pp. This is Solnit's aria to the virtues of walking. She includes fascinating historical background on the thing most people take for granted, and indeed seem compelled to find new ways out of. Her arguments for preserving time and space for walking are soundly rooted in her passion for it.

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, by Chris Hedges, Anchor Books, 2002, $12.95, 211 pp. War is a timely offering by New York Times correspondent Chris Hedges. Drawing from his own experiences and historical writing, he draws a disturbing conclusion: War is a very effective political tool.

The War on Choice: The Right-Wing Attack on Women's Rights and How to Fight Back, by Gloria Feldt, Bantam Dell, 2004, $12.00, 352 pp. In The War on Choice, Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood, delivers more than criticism of the Right-wing's on-going battle against women's rights; she also offers strategies for the pro-choice camp to use in defending themselves.

War Talk, by Arundhati Roy, South End Press, 2003, $12.00, 142 pp. The author of The God of Small Things takes a look at big things in War Talk. It's a collection of essays in which she examines the economic and cultural impact of American domination.

Warrior, by Donald E. McQuinn, Del Rey, 1990, $8.95, 634 pp. After a totally destructive nuclear war, the world has lost all record of its history. What's left of the Catholic church is a medievalesque hodge podge of rituals and priestesses grappling to maintain alliances to secure its survival. Out of the quagmire a leader named Gan Moondark rises, peace his goal. But to achieve it he must first wage war. With the assistance of some high tech weaponry preserved by a few Americans in cryogenic sleep, he just might succeed. Sort of a Battlefield Earth without the intrusion of pesky giantoid aliens.

Watercolor Painting Techniques, edited by David Lewis, Random House, 1983, $14.95, 144 pp. With an introduction by Wendon Blake, Watercolor will have you painting like a pro in no time. The instruction is well thought out, and the tips are applicable in real time. Makes a great companion for Pencil Drawing Techniques (Random House, $16.95), also edited by David Lewis.

Wealth and Democracy: How Great Fortunes and Government Created America's Aristocracy, by Kevin Phillips, Broadway Books, 2002, $29.95, 496 pp. Kevin Phillips covers more than three centuries of monetary influence on government in Wealth and Democracy. In his analysis he uncovers a disturbing trend of ever-increasing reliance by the American economy on finance. If it can be said governments shape history, so too it can be stated financial institutions define it.

Web Site Wizardry, by Marianne Krcma, Coriolis Group, 1996, $34.99, 414 pp. Besides an excellent source for getting started in HTML, Wizardry touches on copyright issues, graphics and sound, it debates design options and downloading versus streaming. With higher internet speeds some of the concerns raised by Krcma regarding downloading times and data limits are moot. But other, more basic design points are not, including thoughts on page layout, font styles and sizes, things all web designers need to give more attention to. Krcma covers frames too including tag usage, creating multi-level frames, resizing frames, and offers tips on when and why they should sometimes be avoided altogether. CD-ROM included.

Webster's Universal Dictionary and Thesaurus, Geddes & Grosset, 1993, 1008 pp. Not your mother's dictionary, Webster's Universal Dictionary and Thesaurus isn't even published by Webster. Printed in Canada by Geddes & Grosset Ltd. of Scotland, it is perhaps a sign of the apocalypse, or at least globalization. That said, information abounds with 90 pages of world facts and a 48-page full color atlas of the world. Noah Webster is spinning.

West of Here, by Jonathan Evison, Workman Publishing, 2011, $15.95, 494 pp. "An industrialist, a shaman and an explorer walk into a bar . . . " Sounds like the lead-in to a joke, but what Jonathan Evison does with those characters is no laughing matter. Evison has a gift when it comes to storytelling. He paints with masterful strokes in West of Here, the history of Port Bonita (Port Angeles, Washington). In 1890 it's hardly more than a collection of shacks. The Indian Nation is divided between "savages" and a Christianized enclave. The white settlers are divided between those leading lives of debauchery and a colony of art-fueled idealists. The story jumps between 1890 and 2006, but make no mistake; there is only one story here. The visionaries of 1890 Port Bonita haunt the huffers and puffers and mid-level managers of 2006 Port Bonita. With a cast of thousands, it's difficult to pinpoint precisely whose story West of Here is. It's the story of clashing cultures. It's the story of the last great expedition in the lower forty-eight. Part My Side of the Mountain, part Into Thin Air and part Here Come The Brides, it's also a story about the land, and in that respect West of Here belongs to the mountains and rivers and forests of the Olympic Peninsula. Maps by Nick Belardes.

What Did You Say "What" For? by James Paul Dey, Samuel French, 1973, .75, 23 pp. This small one act is big on heart. The action takes place one afternoon on a bench in a city park, when a man minding his own business is inadvertenly sucked into the disorganized world of an eccentric. By the end of the play he doesn't know if he's coming or going, mad or sane.

What Every American Should Know About Who's Really Running The World: The People, Corporations, and Organizations that Control Our Future, by Melissa Rossi, Plume, 2006, $16.00, 432 pp. I'm reminded of the scene from A Few Good Men when Jack Nicholson tells Tom Cruz "You can't handle the truth." If you think you can, prepare yourself for a name you probably haven't heard lately: Reverend Sun Myung Moon.

What Kids Really Want That Money Can't Buy: Tips for Parenting in a Commercial World, by Betsy Taylor, Warner Books, 2004, $22.95, 256 pp. On the surface, this book's a no-brainer: kids want more time with their folks. But, if it's such a no-brainer, why then can't parents find a way to make it? Founded by the author, the Center for the New American Dream is dedicated to giving parents a leg-up in achieving a less consumption-focused lifestyle.

What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News, by Eric Alterman, Basic Books, 2004, $25.00, 350 pp. Author Eric Alterman, a columnist for The Nation, asseses the realities of political bias in journalism. What he exposes is far from the left-wing conspiracy conservatives have led us to believe exists in today's media.

When You Ride ALONE You Ride With bin Laden: What the Government SHOULD Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism, by Bill Maher, New Millennium Entertainment, 2002, $27.95, 160 pp. Ousted from network television for comments made post 9/11, politically incorrect poster child Bill Maher has landed in the driver's seat with When You Ride ALONE. He pokes fun at the administration's approach to the War on Terrorism by offering his own propaganda campaign; one that encourages public involvement by extolling the virtues of strong civil rights and oil independence, among other things. Michael Moore (Roger and Me, Stupid White Men, Bowling For Columbine) loved this book, and chances are so will you. Read it while riding shotgun in the carpool lane.

Who Let the Dogs in? Incredible Political Animals I Have Known, by Molly Ivins, Random House, 2004, $22.95, 356 pp. This, the product of twenty years covering the movers and shakers in Washington, sums up G. Dubya with this: " . . . aside from being a racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic anti-Semite, is a fairly likable human being." Other dogs include Ronald Reagan, Hillary Clinton and Dick Cheney.

Who Owns the Sky?: Our Common Assets and the Future of Capitalism, by Peter Barnes, Island Press, 2001, $22.95, 154 pp. In Who Owns the Sky?, Barnes (founder of progressive long distance telephone company Working Assets), in the process of wrestling with the challenge of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, lands on a strategy to mitigate capitalism's vices while preserving its virtues. Whether he's hit on a solution to the global crisis of untethered greed, only time will tell.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, by Edward Albee, Signet, 1962, $4.99, 242 pp. This play put the "dys" in dysfunctional. On screen, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton portrayed Martha and George by, as some Hollywood insiders suspected, being themselves. The dialogue is mean and cutting, and while that makes for intriguing characters, it'll leave you afraid; very afraid.

Why Bother?: Getting a Life in a Locked-down Land, by Sam Smith, Feral House, 2002, $12.95, 151 pp. Got freedom? Smith doesn't think so and presents a convincing argument to that effect in Why Bother? This is a book which speaks to the struggle of creative free thinkers in their attempt to coexist in a society locked-down by global corporate structure. Hear hear!

Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design, by Michael Shermer, Times Books, 2006, $22.00, 224 pp. Penguin Wars: While Pat Robertson fires off about a little penguin movie (March of the Penguins, 2005) as supporting the case for intelligent design, Hollywood cranks out another penguin movie (Happy Feet, 2006) which is hailed - and reviled - as supporting the case for global warming. Fortunately, amidst the firestorm there is a calm voice not just debunking Robertson's camp, but presenting a fascinating account of the science we call Evolution.
Will My Child Be Ready For School?, by Elaine McEwan, David C. Cook Publishing Co., 1990, $7.95, 207 pp. Educator Dr. Elaine McEwan provides practical advice and exercises for giving your preschool aged child a head start in school. Updated and retitled in 1995 as ABC's of School Success: Nurturing Young Minds (Harold Shaw Publishers).

The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, Dell Publishing Co., 1977, $1.50, 244 pp. The gang's all here and living their beloved adventures in this classic tale. It's about four pals - Toad, Badger, Mole and Water Rat - and the mischief they get themselves in and out of, but ultimately it's about the bonds of friendship.

A Wind-storm in the Forests, by John Muir, Applewood Books, 2014, $9.95, 32 pp. Excerpted from John Muir's The Mountains of California (Fulcrum Publishing, $27.95) first published in 1894, A Wind-storm in the Forests focuses on a storm the author found himself caught up by in December, 1874. Muir's writing is addictive. It possesses an eloquence that flows as easily from the page as it does the tongue. His descriptions of the various trees he encountered on exploring the Yuba River lend them personality and sentience of being. Through motion and voice (the unique sounds different trees make when disturbed by wind), an arboreal soundtrack emerges that each species contributes to: "Each was expressing itself in its own way, - singing its own song, and making its own peculiar gestures . . ."

Applewood Books' American Roots series contains titles chosen for their ability to connect us. "Tactile mementos," they capture the passions of America's most celebrated writers, each title personally selected by the publisher.

Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne, Dell Publishing Co., 1981, $1.95, 161 pp. Everybody's favorite bear and his pals romp from one adventure to another in this, the book that introduced Pooh to the world. A study in balance, there's more to this silly old bear than mere cuteness. With full-color illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard.

Wisdom Walk: Nine Practices for Creating Peace and Balance from the World's Spiritual Traditions, by Sage Bennet, PhD, New World Library, 2007, $14.95, 281 pp. Religious scholars have for ages noted common themes in the world's major religions. In Wisdom Walk, Bennet trumps them by compiling a text that brazenly borrows from a variety of spiritual traditions, creating, if you will, a melting pot of religious theology in her quest for absolute truth.

With God on Their Side: George W. Bush and the Christian Right, by Esther Kaplan, New Press, 2005, $16.95, 340 pp. G. Dubya's legacy may be summed up thusly: With God all things are possible. Or not. Kaplan lays bare Bush's mis-deeds and political payoffs on the road to the Christian Right's Promised Land.

A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton, by Carl Bernstein, Knopf, 2007, $24.75, 628 pp. It's official: Mrs. Clinton likes it on top. A definitive biography of the former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State.

Women of Manhattan, by John Patrick Shanley, Dramatists Play Service, 1986, $5.25, 48 pp. Shanley has written a light one act comedy about three women and their pursuits, romantic and professional. The action takes place in Manhattan's Upper Westside, making this a sort of Designing Women for New Yorkers. Oh, that's Sex and the City, isn't it?

The Wonder of Girls: Understanding the Hidden Nature of Our Daughters, by Michael Gurian, Fireside, 2003, $14.00, 352 pp. The Wonder of Girls is author and educator Michael Gurian's guide to the care and feeding of the young Homo sapien female. He draws on his extensive research in biological, hormonal and brain development to offer an informative and beneficial book for everyone involved in a girl's life.
Working With Paper, Franklin Watts, 1971, $5.95, 191 pp. This colorful guide is chock-full of ideas for paper projects ranging from simple to advanced. Each project is provided with clear instructions, a list of required materials, and a rating for difficulty. Perfect for a rainy day.

The World According to Garp, by John Irving, E. P. Dutton, 1978, $10.95, 437 pp. The granddaddy of Irving's novels, The World According to Garp put him on the modern fiction map. It is about the life of Garp, a writer and son of a famous feminist, all quite by accident. The novel is a story about stories, and through the pen of Irving plays out handsomely across its pages.

Worse than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush, by John W. Dean, Little Brown & Co., 2004, $22.95, 253 pp. He's back. John Dean, infamous for his role in the Nixon Watergate cover-up, paints a secretive cloak-and-dagger White House culture under G. Dubya's administration. What may be prudent for the president, he argues, will ultimately lead to the demise of American democracy.

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