A finalist for the 2009 Washington State Book Award. Carl Maxey was, in his own words, 'a guy who started from scratch - black scratch.' He was sent, at age five, to the scandal-ridden Spokane Children's Home and then kicked out at age eleven with the only other "colored" orphan. Yet, Maxey managed to make a national name for himself, first as an NCAA championship boxer, and then as eastern Washington's first black lawyer and renowned civil rights attorney who always fought for the underdog.During the tumultuous civil rights and Vietnam War eras, Carl Maxey fought to break down color barriers in his hometown of Spokane and throughout the nation. He participated in Freedom Summer in Mississippi and made national headlines with lurid murder cases and outrageous war-protest trials, including the tumultuous Seattle Seven trial. He even took his commitment to justice and antiwar causes to the political arena, running for the U.S. Senate against the powerhouse Senator Scoop Jackson. In "Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life", Jim Kershner explores the sources of Maxey's passions as well as the price he ultimately paid for his struggles.The result is a moving portrait of a man called a 'Type-A Gandhi' by the "New York Times" and whose own personal misfortune only spurred his lifelong, tireless crusade against injustice. Jim Kershner is a journalist for "The Spokesman-Review" in Spokane.

Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life (V. Ethel Willis White Books)

Biographies & Memoirs

Kershner, Jim

Community & Culture

University of Washington Press

Carl Maxey was, in his own words, “a guy who started from scratch - black scratch.” He was sent, at age five, to the scandal-ridden Spokane Children's Home and then kicked out at age eleven with the only other “colored” orphan. Yet Maxey managed to make a national name for himself, first as an NCAA championship boxer at Gonzaga University, and then as eastern Washington's first prominent black lawyer and a renowned civil rights attorney who always fought for the underdog. During the tumultuous civil rights and Vietnam War eras, Carl Maxey fought to break down color barriers in his hometown of Spokane and throughout the nation. As a defense lawyer, he made national headlines working on lurid murder cases and war-protest trials, including the notorious Seattle Seven trial. He even took his commitment to justice and antiwar causes to the political arena, running for the U.S. Senate against powerhouse senator Henry M. Jackson. In Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life, Jim Kershner explores the sources of Maxey's passions as well as the price he ultimately paid for his struggles. The result is a moving portrait of a man called a “Type-A Gandhi” by the New York Times, whose own personal misfortune spurred his lifelong, tireless crusade against injustice.

Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life (V. Ethel Willis White Books xx)

The human comedy, plus other species at no extra charge: A collection of columns (A Spokesman-review book)

Higgins, Shaun O'L.

New Media Ventures

When future archaeologists dig this volume from the rubble heap of our lost civilization, they will conclude, correctly, that the average American (1997–2004) was a beer-loving, fishing-obsessed owner of pet Sea Monkeys; a man constantly besieged by amorous mountain goats, psychotic robins, the occasional comatose moose and his own evil cell phone. 
Or maybe not. Maybe they will regard this collection of columns the way discriminating readers regard it today: As a psychiatric case study of a disturbed Northwest family and their various obsessions, including, but not limited to, drunken-bird watching, turducken eating, highway construction spotting, password forgetting and secrets-of-the-universe pondering. 
Here are just a few of the issues on the table: 
Middle-aged men and their penchant for beer bellies, Hawaiian shirts and "overbite dancing." 
Women and their penchant for indiscriminate nurturing. 
Cell phones, and how they want to kill us. 
Money, and how it no longer exists in America. 
Marriage, and why it is no longer a sacrilege to marry your best friend. 
Driving, and why it should never be done with relatives. 
Memory-loss, and how it sometimes strikes in the shower. 
The mountains, and the dangers of hiking with Ranger Rick. 
Trout streams, and why we fall down in them. Food, and why "spotted dick" is called "spotted dick." 
Beer, and why it is the ultimate Lenten sacrifice. 
Moose attacks, and how to avoid them. 
Germ warfare, and how to enjoy it. 
Obscene language, and how to kick some donkey. 
Saying "you’re welcome," and why it’s so hard to do. 
Sports injuries, and how to pull both of your groins. 
The war between cats and dogs, and why humans are so often caught in the crossfire. 
The universe, and the difficulty we have in grasping it. 
Children, and the difficulty we have in releasing our grasp.

Mountain Goats Are My Weakness: And Other Tales of Life in the Northwest

New Media Ventures, Inc.

Ever since the first streetcars rumbled through the streets of Seattle in 1884, public transportation in the Puget Sound region has been a wild roller-coaster ride, replete with scandals, triumphs, and momentous turning points. A complete rail transit system crisscrossed the region during the trolley days, only to be dismantled by 1941. After seventy years of turmoil―and traffic congestion―a new system, Sound Transit, arose in its place. The story is not just about trolleys, trains, and buses―it is also about the making and breaking of mayors and the way that Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett developed from the 1880s to today.

Transit: The Story of Public Transportation in the Puget Sound Region

History

HistoryLink, Staff of

Americas

History Link

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