books
September 27, 2017
Life-changing documents
A quirky and thought-provoking new book from an iSchool professor.
December 19, 2016
From Betsy to Betty
Dropping out of college may be the best thing Betty MacDonald ever did. The irreverent author called it quits after studying design and drawing for one year at UW. A new book explores her outlandish life.
June 1, 2016
Nordic Noir
Scandinavian Studies Professor Andy Nestingen shares his research into the genre and how it contrasts with American Noir’s heroes and villains.
March 1, 2016
War is sexy. Huh?
David Shields, author, essayist and UW English professor, takes the New York Times to task in his book, "War Is Beautiful."
Author preserves memory of his great-grandfather, a slave
Carver Gayton, ’60, ’72, ’76, authors a gripping biography of his great-grandfather, Lewis G. Clarke, who escaped slavery and inspired a key character in “Uncle Tom's Cabin.”
September 1, 2015
UW Press at 100
The University of Washington's press dates back to Edmond Meany's 1915 book on the governors of the state and territory.
December 1, 2014
Film buff
Cinema Books owner Stephanie Ogle reintroduces classics, champions new treasures and plays a starring role in celebrating film.
September 1, 2014
Book store lifer
Louise Little is a University Book Store icon. She started 34 years ago as a cashier and is now CEO. But it all started when she read Nancy Drew as a kid.
Life on stage
Scott Magelssen has had more lives than an accident-prone cat, thanks to interactive simulations.
March 1, 2014
'Silence is a coping mechanism'
Teresa Tamura captures poignant stories of hardship from a World War II relocation center in her book "Minidoka: An American Concentration Camp."
June 1, 2013
Home of the freer
The state constitution provides more rights than the U.S. Constitution.
March 1, 2012
Surviving and thriving
Innovative management keeps University Book Store successful despite ongoing upheavals in the publishing industry
September 1, 2011
Common Book
To commemorate the University of Washington’s 150 years of discovery and inquiry, the 2011-12 Common Book is The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist by Richard Feynman.
June 1, 2011
Uncloaked
Books such as "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" are part of a crime novel tradition dating back to at least 1965 in Scandinavia—a tradition Andrew Nestingen, associate professor of Scandinavian Studies, has followed for years.
September 1, 2009
Books of revelation
Marilynne Robinson, ’68, ’77, has authored three novels, each of which is regarded as a major contribution to American letters.
March 1, 2009
Just call her a scholar
Ellen Dissanayake is working in a field she invented: evolutionary aesthetics, the study of art-making as an innate human behavior that helps us survive.
September 1, 2008
Stories for 'kids like us'
When a little boy from Yakima asked the librarian for books about “kids like us,” she couldn’t think of any. So Beverly Cleary decided to write them herself.
December 1, 2006
100 books by Huskies
To celebrate the literary achievements of our UW community, the editors of Columns asked 15 faculty, alumni and book publishing professionals to help choose 100 outstanding books by 100 UW authors.
The black TV book
Kathleen Fearn-Banks once worked in TV, and now has written the dictionary on an important part of its history.
Book report
For a long time we’ve wanted to celebrate the creative power of the University of Washington by presenting 100 top books by 100 UW authors. While the idea sounds great on paper, coming up with the final list was no easy task. What follows is an editor’s diary of the selection process.