Storytellers at the Columbia River by Nancy Danielson Mendenhall

And now the news of the Plant's stored radioactive waste seeping to the river adds to the debates on evictions and nuclear bombs. Two anthropologists expecting peaceful research take notes on the vet's anger and revelations from a woman whose own family suffered the bombing of Nagasaki. But on the bus this time is a veteran wounded in Middle East wars who is shocked to view the remains of his family's holdings in what had been acres of fruit trees. The settlers take their usual bus tour to view the ruins of their old town and farms in the closed area around the ghostly defunct Plant.

The reunions are a time of nostalgic reminiscing for the families who were evicted to make way for the Hanford Atomic Plant in 1943. Includes some wonderfully evocative writing about how globally significant events can affect the lives of everyday people.' Steve Olson, author of The Apocalypse Factory: Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age When newcomers arrive with urgent messages, the annual Hanford-White Bluffs Settlers' Reunion on the mid-Columbia River turns out to be more exciting than usual. An intriguing novel about a little-known episode in American history. The reunions are a time of nostalgic reminiscing.

Storytellers at the Columbia River by Nancy Danielson Mendenhall