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“Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore” - Henry Ward Beecher. The once and future Denver cop, Cliff Janeway, would find himself very much in agreement with Mr. Beecher. Janeway, a “closet” reader and rare book lover finds himself assigned to the case of a dead bookscout whose body shows up in a Denver alley. Bookscouts are those edge-of-existence vagabonds who scour out-of-the -way places for rare books and resell them to dealers. It doesn’t help that Janeway has a longstanding grudge against a local thug whose MO makes him a prime suspect in the murder. But, when Janeway’s tough cop gives way to his softer inner man, he steps suddenly over the bounds of his badge and, perhaps, the law. Freed by his own resignation from the force, Janeway begins a new career as a used book dealer only to discover, to his horror, what Beecher’s observation might really mean. Dunning’s tale has surprising twists and turns, contains interesting insights into the rare book world, and introduces a cast of characters that are “spot on” in this bookish whodunit. If you enjoy this book, the library has other Dunning/Janeway titles. 329 pages M FIC DUN
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“Oh, what a web we weave when first we practice to deceive!” It’s 1949 and Russian-born Irina Drozdovina has just landed a job as a CIA typist. Her typing skills aren’t great but her Russian heritage and the quickly developing Cold War convince the higher ups that she might make a good secret agent. So, they assign ex-OSS spy Sally Forrester to train Irina in the art of spycraft. Meanwhile in Soviet Russia, agents are coming to arrest Olga Ivinskaya, Boris Pasternak’s lover, and send her into Stalin’s infamous Gulag. Pasternak’s novel Doctor Zhivago has been deemed anti-Soviet and they hope to cower him by imprisoning Olga, who might be the inspiration for the heroine Laura in his famous novel. Prescott’s storyline interweaves these two seemingly divergent stories into a tale of espionage, love, and literature as the three main female characters play out their roles in a CIA plot to get Pasternak’s novel into the hands of the Russian people. Based on true incidents, this is a page turning story that evokes the start of the cold war, forbidden love, and the power of a single book. It just might make you want to read, or perhaps reread Doctor Zhivago. 349 pages. FIC PAS
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Canadian vet Philipp Schott is truly an accidental vet. While thumbing through a college catalog trying to decide on a major, he came to the very last area of study -veterinary medicine. Voila, a vet was born. Schott’s little book is a series of mini-musings on a vet’s life, its ups and downs and on the patients, human as well as animal, that he treats. Along the way, he offers both practical insights on pets (how to give your cat a pill) and a vet’s everyday grind (ringing phones, sick animals, upset owners) that remind readers that veterinary medicine is both a calling and a job. He reflects on the costs of running his practice as well as the hardest part of his job- navigating the end of an animal’s life. Schott’s engaging little essays, which take only a few minutes to read, can be amusing, whimsical and informing (he’ll tell you how to give medication to an ostrich). Even if you don’t own a pet, you’ll enjoy looking over the shoulder of this young vet. 218 pages. 636.089 SCO
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“The Senate shall have the sole Power to try impeachments…” Article 1, section 3, U.S. Constitution. Elevated to the nation’s highest office by tragedy, disdainful of his predecessor’s party, a man who could readily make enemies- Andrew Johnson looked like a sure-fire loser when he was impeached in 1868. Johnson wasn’t interested in the “Lincoln” men’s agenda when he became President. And, it wasn’t long before he managed to make some of them, particularly Edwin Stanton and Charles Sumner, into personal enemies. Johnson worked quietly to unravel reconstruction efforts hoping to restore much of the Southern status that existed before April 12, 1861. Throughout the 1868 impeachment process, there was one paramount, unanswered question: What constitutes an impeachable offense? Brenda Wineapple’s compelling narrative helps readers understand the spirit of the times, the men who were so deeply involved, and the complex legal arguments that swirled around this historic event. 543 pages. 973.81 WIN
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