Big Sky Politics is an overdue, detailed account of post-war politics in Montana. Starting with the break-up of the New Deal coalition in 1946 and ending with the most recent off-year election in 2002, Big Sky Politics lays out each general election for president, governor, U.S. Senate and Congress with well-researched commentary. Each summary has a detailed map showing which candidate each county supported. Photos, graphs, and certified election results complete the picture and bring each political contest to life. The author, Jon Bennion, is a native of Montana, born and raised in Billings. He has worked on compaigns at both the state and local levels. He is currently pursuing a law degree at the University of Montana in Missoula.

Iconoclastic detective Jackson Brodie returns in a triumphant new novel about secrets, sex, and lies. Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son and an aging Labrador, both at the discretion of his ex-partner Julia. It's picturesque, but there's something darker lurking behind the scenes. Jackson's current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for his suspicious wife, is fairly standard-issue, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network -- and back across the path of his old friend Reggie. Old secrets and new lies intersect in this breathtaking novel by one of the most dazzling and surprising writers at work today. "Thank goodness the long Jackson Brodie hiatus is over." --Janet Maslin, New York Times

Battle for the Big Sky delves into one of the few competitive races of the 2012 election: the US Senate campaign in Montana. Author David C.W. Parker was granted exceptional access by both candidates over the 21 months preceding the election, allowing him to tell the story of the race in rare and fascinating detail, while also exploring the impact of Citizens United and so-called "dark money" on the campaign. The Montana setting offers readers a view into the rising political influence of the West, the importance of "place" in politics, and the impact of congressional styles and constituent relationships on campaigns and elections. Parker skillfully weaves political analysis into his narrative and places the race in the broader context of congressional elections and the research literature.

"For three decades, Mike Dennison has reported from the trenches on campaigns, crime and community. He has covered razor-thin victories by Senator Jon Tester. He has helped cover the downfall of Senator Conrad Burns, as well as the conservative senator's improbable compassion for a liberal friend charged with marijuana possession. Also examined are Governors Brian Schweitzer, Judy Martz and Marc Racicot and Montana's longest-serving U.S. senator, Max Baucus. And Dennison has tracked down stories beyond the Capitol, from the devastating fall of the Montana Power Company to a teenager falsely accused of rape who waited sixteen years to be fully exonerated. Dennison treats readers to the rare insights and highlights of a storied career in journalism, along with revelations that have never been exposed--until now."--Amazon.com

Essays, poems, photographs, and letters explore the link between Buddhism and the Beats--with previously unpublished material from several beat writers, including Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder, and Diane diPrima.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NEWBERY HONOR AWARD WINNER A classic YA novel about a teenage girl searching for a sense of home and family that celebrates the true spirit of independence on the American frontier. For most of her life, sixteen-year-old Hattie Brooks has been shuttled from one distant relative to another. Tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she summons the courage to leave Iowa and move all by herself to Vida, Montana, to prove up on her late uncle’s homestead claim. Under the big sky, Hattie braves hard weather, hard times, a cantankerous cow, and her own hopeless hand at the cookstove. Her quest to make a home is championed by new neighbors Perilee Mueller, her German husband, and their children. For the first time in her life, Hattie feels part of a family, finding the strength to stand up against Traft Martin’s schemes to buy her out and against increasing pressure to be a “loyal” American at a time when anything—or anyone—German is suspect. Despite daily trials, Hattie continues to work her uncle’s claim until an unforeseen tragedy causes her to search her soul for the real meaning of home. This young pioneer's story is lovingly stitched together from Kirby Larson’s own family history and the sights, sounds, and scents of homesteading life.

People feel angry and let down by their leaders, as well as by the institutions that dominate their lives: political parties, government bureaucracy, and corporations. Yet the cause of this malaise, according to political -- advisor -- turned -- tech -- CEO Steve Hilton, is not being addressed by politicians on the left or the right. Hilton argues that much of our daily experience -- from the food we eat, to the governments we elect, to the economy on which our wealth depends, to the way we care for our health and well -- being -- has become too big, too bureaucratic, and too distant from the human scale. More Human sets out a radical manifesto for change, aimed at the root causes of our problems rather than just the symptoms. Whether it's using the latest advances in neuroscience to inform the fight against poverty and inequality, or applying lessons from America's most radical schools to transform our children's education, this book is an agenda for rethinking and redesigning the outdated systems and structures of our politics, government, economy, and society to make them more suited to the way we want to live our lives today. To make them more human.