Naked Against the Rain The People of the Lower Columbia River, 1770-1830

by Rubin, Rick; Denfeld, Rene

• ISBN13: 9781940436340
• ISBN10: 1940436346
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2016-11-15
• Publisher: Pharos Editions

Summary

Rick Rubin, a writer by trade and historian at heart, combines years of research with his journalist’s eye for detail and poet’s ear to create one of the most compelling and readable histories of the Native American people of the lower Columbia River. Rubin conveys information about the people's daily life, spiritual beliefs, mythologies, and how the introduction of white settlers into the region forever changed their culture.

Thanks in large part to the abundant salmon runs the Chinook-speakers residing along the lower Columbia River were among the wealthiest in North America. Master fisherman and expert canoeists it was not uncommon for a single canoe and crew to net two tons of succulent Chinook salmon on a single outgoing tide. A thickset people with artificially flattened heads, anarchistic politics, and a highly stratified society, they spoke a language unconnected to any known language on earth. Yet despite all their wealth and accomplishments they were all but completely wiped out in a few short decades after whites first landed on their shores.

Author Biography

A lifelong freelance writer, Rick Rubin published more than fifty short stories in national magazines including Esquire, Argosy and Playboy, as well as hundreds of articles, essays, feature stories, and columns in newspapers, magazines and literary journals. His journalism and fiction have won a number of regional and national awards. Rick was born in Portland, Oregon’s Northwest district and lived there with his wife Charlotte until his death on September 9, 2014.

Rene Denfeld is an author, journalist, and death penalty investigator. Her debut novel, The Enchanted (Harper, 2014) was published to much acclaim, including Winner of the prestigious French Prix award, a finalist for the Flaherty First Novel Prize and an ALA Notable Book Award for Excellence in Fiction. She has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Oregonian, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Her nonfiction books include the international bestseller The New Victorians; Kill The Body, The Head Will Fall; and All God's Children. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her three children, all adopted from foster care. She loves parenting, gardening and volunteering with at-risk children.