Frank Carlson Library

Businessman George F. Babbitt loves the latest appliances, brand names, and the Republican Party. In fact, he loves being a solid citizen even more than he loves his wife. But Babbitt comes to resent the middle-class trappings he has worked so hard to acquire. Realizing that his life is devoid of meaning, he grows determined to transcend his trivial existence and search for greater purpose. Babbitt's quest for meaning forces him to ponder what it...

Barry M. Goldwater (1909-1998) was a five-term U.S. senator from Arizona whose 1964 campaign for president is credited with reviving American conservatism. His books include With No Apologies and a memoir, Goldwater. CC Goldwater is the granddaughter of Barry Goldwater and the producer of the HBO documentary Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater In 1960, Barry Goldwater set forth his brief manifesto in The Conscience of a Conservative. Written...

With his intelligent poodle, Charlie, as his traveling companion, John Steinbeck re-explores his native United States in a camping truck. This book is comprised of his conversations with people throughout the country and his personal observations.

Perhaps the best written of all the slave narratives, Twelve Years a Slave is a harrowing memoir about one of the darkest periods in American history. It recounts how Solomon Northup, born a free man in New York, was lured to Washington, D.C., in 1841 with the promise of fast money, then drugged and beaten and sold into slavery. He spent the next twelve years of his life in captivity on a Louisiana cotton plantation. After his rescue, Northup published...

During the U.S. Civil War, a condemned man has many thoughts as he stands on a bridge, awaiting hanging.

Moose Flanagan, who lives on Alcatraz along with his family and the families of the other prison guards, is frightened when he discovers that noted gangster Al Capone, a prisoner there, wants a favor in return for the help that he secretly gave Moose.

"Accidentally overhearing a plot to kidnap the niece of a prominent rancher as she arrives from the East, Milt Dale springs into action. He comes out of his splendid isolation to protect Helen and her kid sister, Bo. Leading them away from manmade danger, exposing them to unaccustomed rigor on mountain trails, Dale imparts his rugged philosophy. Beyond the forest, Beasley and Snake Anson are still waiting to carry out their evil plot"--Amazon.

"One of the great American novels-and one of America's most popular-featuring a new foreword by Min Jin Lee, the New York Times bestselling author of Pachinko Jay Gatsby seemingly has everything. Everybody who's anybody is seen at his glittering parties. Day and night his West Egg, Long Island, mansion buzzes with bright young things drinking, dancing, and debating his mysterious character. For Gatsby--young, handsome, fabulously rich--always seems...

Polly's friendship with the wealthy Shaws of Boston helps them to build a new life and teaches her the truth about the relationship between happiness and riches.

"The snow came down faster than train crews could clear the tracks, piling up in drifts 20 feet high. At the Wellington train depot in the Cascade Mountains, two trains sat stranded, blocked in by snow slides to the east and west. Some passengers braved the storm to hike off the mountain, but many had no choice but to wait out the storm. But the storm didn't stop. One day passed, then two, three...six days. The snow turned to rain. Then, just after...