S he [fies: James J fite, fa n o f the chassies
by ERIN CAREY
news & culture editor
When James Hite isn’t working
for both Clackamas Comm unity
College and P ortland State
University as a political science
teacher, the m an often finds
him self doing countless hours
of research for thè book he’s
writing:
Inspired by political histo
ry and m ost often American
presidents, Hite sat down with
The Clackamas Print to discuss
some of his favorite books and
authors.
British writer. He’s a great story
teller and has some great themes
irthis books. He’s very humorous,
and very funny and witty in his
writing. If you haven’t heard of
him, you might have heard about
one of his other books, ‘A Good
Man In Africa.’
If you read that book too,
that’s another favorite of mine.
It’s a great book about this British
guy who goes to Africa, He’s a
bureaucrat, and just the mishaps
he gets into, it’s hysterical. You
will laugh out loud.
He tells these stories and
they’re very indicative of human
nature. He’s a great waiter.
The Clackam as P rint: W hat
is your favorite book from your
bookshelf, and why?
Jam es H ite: ‘The New
Confessions,’ by William Boyd.
He’s a great writer and he’s a
TCP: W hat writers have influ
enced you?
H ite: W illiam Boyd, defi
nitely, apd I like a lot of David
McCullough’s writing. I like biog
raphies, as well. I read lots and
lots o f fiction, so I’ve been influ
enced by everybody from John
Irving to Hemingway to Dickens.
I think I’ve read everything but
one book that Dickens wrote.T
also write fiction as well. In fact
I’m working on som ething right
now that’s presumably going to
be my first w ork offiction.
TCP: W hat have you been
reading lately?
Hite: Right now I’m read
ing for myself this book about
E.M. Forster, who was another
British writer. It’s a biography of
him called A Great Unrecorded
History.’ Forster was a novelist
who wrote prim arily in thé early
20th century. He wrote about six
novels, I think all of them have
been turned into films. ‘Passage
to' India’ is probably his most
famous book. I’m reading a really
interesting, and relatively new
biography of him rig h t now.
„ Also, I’ve got about 20 books
that are stacked up from the
library as a p art o f my research
for another book I’m working
on, having to do with Franklin
Pierce, who was the 14th presi
dent. I’m doing lots of research
right now, so I have countless
books about Pierce and that era
when he was president, and vari
ous topics related to him.
As I tend to dp when doing
research, I s a y „ T n l gonna
skim these books’ and end up
reading them all, so I’m cur
rently reading about 20-plus
books on F ranklin Pierce.
TCP: W hat was yourfavorite
book as a kid?
Hite: My favorite book when I
was a little kid, when I was about
10 or 12 was ‘The Autobiography
of Benjamin Franklin,’ and I
absolutely loved it. I love politics
and history, even when I was
a kid. A nd then when I was in
my late teens early 20s, I loved
‘The World According to Garp’,
by John Irving. That book had
a huge iinpact on me, just the
story and the way Irving writes.
HITE
Bookstore patio opening draws hungry crowd
Tap: Several students line up fo r free food, to celebrate the grand opening Of the new bookstore patio,
“The Cougar Court. ” Left: The Cougar walks up and down the line posing fo r pictures with students
and high-fiving the eager waiters. Above: Plants donated by the horticulture department to be given
away. Below: Members o f the ASG and bookstore staff barbecue hotdogs and hand out cupcakes,
Victory energy drinks and Kind Bars.