JULY 13, 2017 // 19
BOOK SHELF // GLIMPSE // WILDLIFE // POP CULTURE // WORDS // Q&A // FOOD // FUN
NW
BOOKMONGER
word
Science adventure books
for summer travels
asteroids and determine
what can be done to avert
catastrophic contact.
The author has produced
other engaging children’s
science books on every-
thing from harnessing the
energy of ocean waves to
infant development. But her
best book, in my opinion,
is “Eruption! Volcanoes
and the Science of Saving
Lives.”
We who live in the Pacif-
ic Northwest tend to affect
nonchalance about living
within spewing range of the
volcanoes on our horizon.
In ever-increasing num-
bers, people live and work
in potential volcanic blast
zones, yet there seems to be
little concern about exam-
ples such as Mt. St. Helens’
1980 eruption that blew out
the side of the mountain and
set off catastrophic lahars.
Heck, St. Helens, Rainier,
Crater Lake, and other vol-
canic peaks in the Cascades
are tourist destinations now.
Fortunately, while folks
like us are snapping selfi es
and watching videos in
the visitor center, there’s
a cadre of scientists that is
doing plenty of worrying on
our behalf. At the Cascade
Volcano Observatory in Van-
couver, Washington, the U.S.
Geological Survey recog-
nized that St. Helens’ erup-
tion was hardly an anomaly.
More than 50 volcanoes
erupt every year across the
globe, many of them near
densely populated areas.
So the USGS has set up the
Volcano Disaster Assistance
Program to provide training
and support for colleagues
around the world. Their goal
By RYAN HUME
FOR COAST WEEKEND
Barnesandnoble.com
“Eruption!”
By Elizabeth Rusch
Houghton Miffl in
Harcourt
80 pp
$18.99 hardcover, $9.99
paperback or eBook
is to decipher volcanic ac-
tivity and predict eruptions
far enough in advance that
at-risk populations can be
safely evacuated.
Aside from doing a great
job of detailing the hair-rais-
ing adventures of these sci-
entists, this book is terrifi c
because it spotlights their
gender and ethnic diversity.
What great role models for
a fascinating and important
profession.
The Bookmonger is Bar-
bara Lloyd McMichael, who
writes this weekly column
focusing on the books, au-
thors and publishers of the
Pacifi c Northwest. Contact
her at bkmonger@nwlink.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
If you have middle-grade
kids and you’re heading out
for a road trip around the Pa-
cifi c Northwest this summer,
may I recommend the books
of Portland science writer
Elizabeth Rusch as a way of
enriching your youngsters’
journey?
Maybe you’ll be sleeping
out under the stars some
evening, or perhaps you’re
planning to take in the total
solar eclipse next month. If
these spark conversations
with your children about
what’s out there in the great
beyond, Rusch’s book “The
Mighty Mars Rovers” might
be a good pick.
Rusch has authored
several books for Houghton
Miffl in Harcourt’s lively
Scientists in the Field series.
This one focuses on Spirit
and Opportunity, the “little
rovers that could” — re-
markable machines that
were expected to work for
three months, but actually
ended up exploring the
Red Planet for years. The
book also traces the story of
astronomy professor Steven
Squyres, who served as the
mission’s lead scientist.
Early next year, Rus-
ch will have a new book
coming out titled “Impact!:
Asteroids and the Science
of Saving the World.” Those
prone to worry might be
alarmed to know that an esti-
mated 150 million asteroids
currently hurtling through
our solar system are consid-
ered large enough to wipe
out an entire city. Rusch will
help to allay your fears by
introducing the scientists
who are working on ways to
identify the most dangerous
nerd
Live
Presents
Skamokawa
[skä• mäk•ə•wā]
noun
1. Just across the river
from Brownsmead lies the
quaint, unincorporated
community of Skamoka-
wa, Wash., in Wahkiakum
County.
Placed on the National
Register as a National
Historic District in 1976,
Skamokawa was once
known as “Little Venice” be-
cause of the construction
of the town, which is built
facing the Columbia River
and incorporates a system
of sloughs and creeks to
utilize boardwalks, docks
and boat traffi c.
Purple song, which documents
an all-consuming fi re at a Swiss
casino on Lake Geneva while
the British rock band played in
1971 with Frank Zappa and his
band the Mothers of Invention,
who lost all of their equipment
in the infamous blaze, the
Chinook word refers to the fog
that would drift down from the
three valleys surrounding the
riverfront community to the
banks of the Columbia.
“An oil tanker ran aground
near Skamokawa, Washington,
Thursday morning … The
Columbia near Skamokawa has
been the site of several recent
groundings … Petty Offi cer 3rd
Class Levi Read said the Colum-
bia shipping channel is narrow
at the river bend near Skamoka-
wa. ‘Not much can go wrong
and you can run aground there,’
he said.” — “Oil tanker runs
aground near Skamokawa,” The
Daily Astorian, July 6, 2017
“The whole Skamokawa
valley yesterday resembled
a great lake as a result of the
recent storms. Damage to the
roads and bridges is expected.
Sunday about 7:30 P. M. a fi r
raft containing more than
400,000 feet of logs belonging
to the Alger Logging Compa-
ny broke up and drifted down
the Skamokawa creek.” — “Raft
Carries Off Boats: Skamokawa
Valley Flooded By Storm With
Heavy Damage,” The Morning
Oregonian, Dec. 14, 1921 CW
origin
From the Chinook, mean-
ing “smoke on the water.”
Skamokawa was also the
name of the last Wahkiakum
Indian chief, who made
his home in the area and
sold the land to the federal
government in 1851.
Unlike the 1972 Deep
The
All-American
B OYS C HORUS
Special pre-season concert!
20 PER PERSON
$
Tickets may be
purchased online
or at the door
Sunday
July 16 th
2 pm
Experience America’s
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internationally-acclaimed
contemporary Boys Choir
In the
HISTORIC
RAYMOND
THEATRE
Buy advance tickets at: www.sundayafternoonlive.org
or phone (360) 875-5207
Is presented through special arrangement with music
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materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIshows.com