Dave Boling

From a forgotten moment in history comes an inspiring novel about finding strength and courage in the most unimaginable places. In turn-of-the-century South Africa, fourteen-year-old Lettie, her younger brother, and her mother are Dutch Afrikaner settlers who have been taken from their farm by British soldiers and are being held in a concentration camp. It is early in the Boer War, and Lettie’s father, grandfather, and brother are off fighting the British as thousands of Afrikaner women and children are detained. The camps are cramped and disease ridden; the threat of illness and starvation are ever present. Determined to dictate their own fate, Lettie and her family give each other strength and hope as they fight to survive amid increasingly dire conditions. Brave and defiant, Lettie finds comfort in memories of stargazing with her grandfather, in her plan to be a writer, and in surprising new friendships that will both nourish and challenge her. A beautiful testament to love, family, and sheer force of will, The Lost History of Stars was inspired by Dave Boling’s grandfather’s own experience as a soldier during the Boer War. Lettie is a figure of abiding grace, and her story is richly drawn and impossible to forget.

A Novel By The Author Of Guernica

The Lost History of Stars

a novel

Guernica

An extraordinary epic of love, family and war set in the Basque town of Guernica before, during, and after its destruction by the German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War.

In 1935, Miguel Navarro finds himself on the wrong side of the Spanish Nationalists, so he flees to Guernica, the most ancient town of the Basque region. In the midst of this idyllic, isolated bastion of democratic values, Miguel finds more than a new life-he finds a love that not even war, tragedy or death can destroy. The bombing of Guernica was a devastating experiment in total warfare by the German Luftwaffe in the run-up to World War II . For the Basques, it was an attack on the soul of their ancient nation. History and fiction merge seamlessly in this beautiful novel about the resilience of family, love, and tradition in the face of hardship.

A Novel

Miguel Navarro, who has his differences with the Spanish Civil Guard, flees the village of Lekeitio and ends up in Guernica, where he meets a beautiful dancer named Miren and falls in love as the horrific bombing of the city by the German Luftwaffe approaches.

A los cuatro vientos

Selected as a Richard & Judy Summer Read for 2009.

The second novel from the author of Guernica (a top ten bestseller and winner of the Richard & Judy Summer Read 2009) is a deeply moving, intimate portrait of family, friendship and love, set against the backdrop of the second Boer war. Aletta Venter was on the family farm when the British troops arrived. She watched them burn her home to the ground before she was transferred, with her mother and siblings, to a prison camp. Never complaining, just living day by day, Lettie grows out of her innocent childhood. She is determined to be a good person, but everything is so complicated in this place where making the wrong decision can be life-threatening. What should she do about Maples, for example, the nineteen-year-old British guard who tries to befriend her? Is his kindness genuine, or would trusting him be a betrayal of herself and her country? A deeply moving, intimate portrait of family, friendship and love, set against the backdrop of the second Boer war at the turn of the twentieth century, The Undesirables (the British name for the residents of the camps) is the heart-rending yet life-affirming new novel from the top ten bestselling author of Guernica, winner of the Richard & Judy Summer Read.

The Undesirables

Jim Walden

His last five Apple Cup games against Washington, Walden finally leveled the field with WSU's cross-state rivals. Walden's teams beat every opponent in the Pac-10 Conference at least once, squaring off against powerhouses USC, UCLA and Washington despite a deficit in resources that he once described as "having to fight battles every Saturday with a really short sword."

Jim Walden's Tales from the Washington State Cougars Sideline

While the vastly outnumbered Boer commandos fight in the field, half a million British soldiers torch a flaming path across the South African veld. As they go, the British imprison thousands of displaced Boer families, including Aletta Venter's, and cast them into newly devised 'concentration camps'. In a crowded tent with her mother and siblings, Aletta finds ways to cope with the confinement, privation and loss, but searches for the rarest of comforts - a bit of adolescent normalcy, perhaps even the spark of forbidden romance. Her weapon of choice in this personal battle: a young girl's powerful sense of hope. A deeply moving, intimate portrait of family, friendship and love, set against the backdrop of the Second Boer War at the turn of the twentieth century, The Undesirables (the British term for those who refused to surrender) is the heart-rending yet life-affirming new novel from the top ten bestselling author of Guernica, winner of the Richard & Judy Summer Read.

It's the mom-and-pop store that has become a national franchise. The most renowned player in school history grew up three blocks from the cozy campus, yet the program has grown into a perennial top 25 power with a coast-to-coast following--even if those casual fans still mangle the name. It's Gonzaga University--"Gon-zag-a"--as in "Zags," the endearment that has overtaken "Bulldogs" as the school's athletic ID. There are many Bulldogs, but only a few Zags. There are many Zags stories, however, and fans will find the essence of this college basketball phenomenon in Tales from the Gonzaga Hardwood. For readers who only know Gonzaga as the school that launched John Stockton toward the Basketball Hall of Fame and later rewrote the concept of being an NCAA Tournament Cinderella, this anecdotal anthology will fill in the blanks. The book focuses on a variety of names and events, like the "Tall Gaul"--seven-foot-three Frenchman Jean Claude Lefebvre; the year the Zags actually pulled their "sixth man" out of the stands; and Frank Burgess, the future judge who led the nation in scoring. These stories are all a part of the little known legacy that led to the modern-day heroics of Dan Dickau, Richie Frahm, Blake Stepp, and many others. Fans will meet them all, along with numerous other unforgettable characters, in Tales from the Gonzaga Hardwood.

Dave Boling

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