Books and Literature

Many villages in the North Country have a statue or a plaque memorializing men who fought in the Civil War. Some of those soldiers were very young, and some of them were Native American. Betsy Kepes reviews Joseph Bruchec's novel for young adults, March Toward the Thunder, A Native American Perspective on the Civil War.

Birders looking for the best birding spots along the big waters of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River have a new resource. The Seaway Trail Foundation has published a new birding theme guidebook to help birders find their favorite raptors, songbirds and waterfowl. Todd Moe talks with ornithologist Gerry Smith, author of Birding the Great Lakes Seaway Trail, about some of his favorite birding hot spots.

Kim Barnes, A Country Called Home. The Washington Post selected this as one of the best novels of 2009; the New York Times hailed Barnes for her descriptive writing about the American frontier. She is a past Pulitzer finalist for her memoir.

In 1946, the Adirondack hermit, Noah John Rondeau, wrote entries in his annual journal in a complicated code. Fifty years later a young man and an old man deciphered the symbols. William J. O’Hern uses the 1946 journal as the basis of his new book, Noah John Rondeau’s Adirondack Wilderness Days, a Year with the Hermit of the Cold River Flow. Betsy Kepes has this review.

Todd Moe talks with publisher and editor Andy Flynn about the new edition of Mostly Spruce and Hemlock. The Tupper Lake history book was first published by Louis Simmons in 1976. Simmons was a well-known newspaperman and historian in the town for more than 40 years. His book details the early days of life in Tupper Lake and was an instant best-seller. Flynn says the new edition is a reprint of the classic book.

This year, we've timed our reading list call-in as a resource for last-minute holiday shoppers. Once again, we'll invite your suggestions for winter reading and gift giving, for book lovers of all ages. The list will be available on our website or, by request, mailed as a hard copy. Co-hosts for this show: Ellen Rocco, Chris Robinson, Rick Hunter, and John Ernst—plus, of course, our listeners.

One of the North Country's biggest college hockey fans has written a book that profiles the hockey tradition at St. Lawrence University. Todd Moe talks with Robert Graham about his book, Go Saints! The Saga of St. Lawrence University Hockey. Graham, who lives near Massena, discovered a love of hockey as a student at St. Lawrence in the 1950s. He says his book is the story of men's and women's college hockey at St. Lawrence that's evolved into tradition. Graham will sign copies of his book from 1-3 pm Saturday at the Brewer Bookstore in Canton

Dean has been a broadcaster for more than three decades, including years as an arts and culture correspondent for NPR and as the creator and host of The Next Big Thing. Will Shortz described this book as "the most literate book on crosswords" he's read. Maira Kalman wrote, "If Dean Olsher wrote a book on the history of plumbing supplies, I would snap it up. He whips the subject in a blender of love, curiosity, elation, mystery, humor and obsession." Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson host.

For many of us, food is an important part of the holiday season. In the North Country, we have lots of regional food traditions and flavors — maple syrup, apples, wildgame and locally grown vegetables. Food writer and community organizer Annette Nielsen has edited a new collection of recipes from four decades of Adirondack Life magazine. She spoke with Todd Moe about picking out dozens of recipes for the new book that celebrates the region's favorite foods.

Francine Prose begins her novel, Goldengrove, with a drowning in Mirror Lake, a fictional lake somewhere in the mountains near Albany. Betsy Kepes has this review.