- Robbins, Tom (1932-2025) (historylink.org)
Pacific Northwest novelist Tom Robbins, profoundly provoked and inspired by what he called the “1960s renaissance,” is often hailed as a comic/spiritual chronicler of that tumultuous decade. But his nine novels and numerous writings spanning a career of more than 40 years place him in a broader perspective as a futurist, a sharp-eyed observer of American aesthetics, and fanciful cultural gadfly.
- La Conner — Thumbnail History (historylink.org)
Located in western Skagit County, La Conner was once county seat and most populous town in the Skagit Valley. Bounded by farmland, the Swinomish Channel and the Swinomish Indian Reservation, it was an up-to-date town and lively terminus for river steamers bringing timber and lumber down from the upper Skagit, and port for farm commodities grown in the surrounding delta flatlands. Its brief county seat status was lost to Mount Vernon in 1883 and a series of economic misfortunes caused the town to slowly fade and be left in the backwaters for decades. With its sweeping waterfront and business district overseen by “The Hill,” the wooded, residential midtown bluff, it’s a scenic, historic time capsule. The inherent beauty of the environs, the atmospherics, and the cheap rent of the moldering town attracted artists and eccentrics. In 1937, Morris Graves (1910-2001), who was to become a painter of international renown, came to town and brought his artist friends. These bohemians mixed with rough and tumble fishermen, tow boatmen, and farm hands. Resident novelist Tom Robbins says of the town they created: “That this was an intersection of art and fishing and farming is what’s interesting and unusual and singular to this community” (Hood).
- Chemistry 2e
Chemistry 2e is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the two-semester general chemistry course. The textbook provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of chemistry and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. The book also includes a number of innovative features, including interactive exercises and real-world applications, designed to enhance student learning. The second edition has been revised to incorporate clearer, more current, and more dynamic explanations, while maintaining the same organization as the first edition. Substantial improvements have been made in the figures, illustrations, and example exercises that support the text narrative. Changes made in Chemistry 2e are described in the preface to help instructors transition to the second edition. The first edition of Chemistry by OpenStax is available in web view here.
- HistoryLink.org
HistoryLink.org is the continually evolving online encyclopedia of Washington state history. We provide a free, authoritative, and easily accessible reference for the benefit of all. With a few noted exceptions, all articles on this site are original works prepared exclusively for HistoryLink.org by staff historians, contract writers, volunteers, and consulting experts.