Most Popular Books by Jim Lynch

A poignant coming-of-age story and an enchanting primer on the life aquatic. The Highest Tide is as crisp and clean as a cool dip into the water, and just about as refreshing.-Entertainment Weekly

A classic and hugely entertaining political novel, the cat-and-mouse story of urban intrigue in Seattle both in 1962, when Seattle hosted the World''s Fair, and in 2001, after its transformation in the Microsoft gold rush. Larger than life, Roger Morgan was the mastermind behind the fair that made the city famous and is still a backstage power forty years later, when at the age of seventy he runs for mayor in hopes of restoring all of Seattle''s former glory. Helen Gulanos, a reporter every bit as eager to make her mark, sees her assignment to investigate the events of 1962 become front-page news with Morgan''s candidacy, and resolves to find out who he really is and where his power comes from: in 1962, a brash and excitable young promoter, greeting everyone from Elvis Presley to Lyndon Johnson, smooth-talking himself out of difficult situations, dipping in and out of secret card games; now, a beloved public figure with, it turns out, still-plentiful secrets. Wonderfully interwoven into this tale of the city of dreams are backroom deals, idealism and pragmatism, the best and worst ambitions, and all the aspirations that shape our communities and our lives.

These three, inter-related stories describe the lives of three generations of the McGowan family and their personal battles to make a living by working on the Boston waterfront. The common thread that runs through them is the challenges presented by the shape-up or pick-up system, a procedure that was archaic and rife with favoritism and was the sole determining factor whether you received a salary that day. At a young age, Jim McGowan goes to work as a longshoreman not knowing one end of a ship from the other. Fighting alcoholism, bad companions and family hardship, he strives to make a decent living for his family. Jim''s uncle Owen is an immigrant from Ireland in 1920 who finds work on the docks, one of the few jobs available to him. Working alongside veteran longshoremen, he decides to become part of the political establishment in order to improve the working conditions on the docks. Owen''s cousin Mike is a seasoned dock worker, content with his life but wanting something better for his children. The Longshoremen details the working conditions and challenges of working on the Boston waterfront and is based on the real-life experiences of longshoreman, author Jim Lynch.

A longshoreman has a clue about a murdered bartender from Charlestown, a section of Boston. Rather than endanger his family by going to the police, he joins the force, falls in love with a woman, and works his way up to detective. He uncovers secrets that point to the killer but must work quickly as the Irish Mafia seems to be looking for the same person.

Set in the previously sleepy hinterlands straddling Washington state and British Columbia, Border Songs is the story of Brandon Vanderkool, six foot eight, frequently tongue-tied, severely dyslexic, and romantically inept. Passionate about bird-watching, Brandon has a hard time mustering enthusiasm for his new job as a Border Patrol agent guarding thirty miles of largely invisible boundary. But to everyone’s surprise, he excels at catching illegal immigrants, and as drug runners, politicians, surveillance cameras, and a potential sweetheart flock to this scrap of land, Brandon is suddenly at the center of something much bigger than himself. A magnificent novel of birding, smuggling, farming and extraordinary love, Border Songs welcomes us to a changing community populated with some of the most memorable characters in recent fiction.

Americans are fascinated by sports. It''s not uncommon for businessmen and businesswomen, or anyone for that matter, to read the sports news before turning to the business pages. Sports terminology has even found a place in the vernacular of the business world with commonly used terms such as "strike-out," "time-out," and "throw a curve." In Coaching for Performance Improvement, authors Jack Ramsay and Jim Lynch link successful coaching in the athletic arena to effective business management. In sports, as in business, the management of people is crucial. The authors have put together an outline for becoming an exceptional leader through their more than twenty years of experience gained coaching in the National Basketball Association, as well as in academic and corporate environments.

Following The Highest Tide, Border Songs, and Truth Like the Sun, Jim Lynch now gives us a grand and idiosyncratic family saga that will stand alongside Ken Kesey’s Sometimes a Great Notion. Joshua Johannssen has spent all of his life surrounded by sailboats. His grandfather designed them, his father built and raced them, his Einstein-obsessed mother knows why and how they work (or not). For Josh and his two siblings, their backyard was the Puget Sound and sailing their DNA. But both his sister and brother fled many years ago: Ruby to Africa and elsewhere to do good works on land, and Bernard to god-knows-where at sea, a fugitive and pirate. Suddenly thirty-one, Josh—who repairs boats of all kinds in a Steinbeckian marina south of Seattle—is pained and confused by whatever the hell went wrong with his volatile family. His parents are barely speaking, his mystified grandfather is drinking harder, and he himself—despite an endless and comic flurry of online dates—hasn’t even come close to finding a girlfriend. But when the Johannssens unexpectedly reunite for the most important race in these waters—all of them together on a classic vessel they made decades ago—they will be carried to destinies both individual and collective, and to a heart-shattering revelation. Past and present merge seamlessly and collide surprisingly as Jim Lynch reveals a family unlike any other, with the grace and humor and magic of a master storyteller.

How did the universe and life begin and what are the threats to people and the environment in a pandemic? This book is for anybody with interest in protecting life on the planet. Studies on the origin of life and scientific contributions to safeguarding the planet are examined in light of current thinking on climate change. A major focus is the spread of microbes, put in the context of environmental assessment and management, including descriptions of microbiomes and a consideration of the risks of genetic modifications. Professor Lynch shows how failure to control disease can lead to the collapse of any biotic population. To avoid this, the ethics of management of disease by biological control and by vaccination are discussed, at the practical level and in a moral theological context.

The Rhapsody players is a captivating story about how a fascinating group of characters create a springboard to longevity. The story examines the choices they make with respect to their own health, wellness, sexuality and spirituality, even as they build a business that provides these choices to others. The novel is rich with vibrant characters whom you quickly learn to love or to despise. All of this is achieved in a global setting, replete with the issues that face the world during the years 2008 through 2012.

Une nuit, Miles O''Malley, treize ans, se faufile hors de chez lui pour aller explorer les étendues du Puget Sound à marée basse. Il fait une découverte qui lui vaut une célébrité locale. Certains se demandent quand même si cet adolescent imaginatif n''est pas un affabulateur ou... peut-être même davantage ? En fait, Miles est surtout un gosse qui s''apprête à grandir, passionné par l''océan, amouraché de la fille d''à côté et inquiet à l''idée que ses parents divorcent. Alors que la mer continue à abandonner des présents issus de ses profondeurs mystérieuses, Miles se débat avec la difficulté d''entrer dans le monde des adultes.

Dans la famille Johannssen, le grand-père dessine les voiliers, le père les construit, la mère, admiratrice d''Einstein, étudie leur trajectoire. Par tous les temps, le dimanche est synonyme de sortie en mer. Les deux frères, Bernard et Josh, s''entraînent avec passion, sous la bruyante houlette paternelle. Ruby, la cadette, écoute à peine. C''est inutile : elle semble commander au vent. Mais lorsqu''un jour elle décide d''abandonner une carrière de championne toute tracée, la famille se disloque et s''éparpille. Douze ans plus tard, une nouvelle course sera l''occasion de retrouvailles aussi attendues que risquées.

Brandon Vanderkool n''a qu''une passion, les oiseaux. Poussé par son père, il vient pourtant d''entrer dans la Border Patrol, la police des frontières américaine, où il est chargé de surveiller un bout de frontière poreuse - et paisible - entre les États-Unis et le Canada. Est-ce parce qu''il est dyslexique, ou qu''il possède une perception unique du monde, toujours est-il qu''il commence à enchaîner les arrestations. Cette efficacité soudaine fait de lui un héros dans sa petite ville frontière, où les conversations vont bon train. Pendant ce temps-là, Madeline, la voisine canadienne de Brandon, désireuse de fuir cette petite communauté, s''initie au trafic de drogue. Une histoire fantaisiste, avec un héros décalé et attachant.

Brandon Vanderkool er en brande av en dyslektiker som trives best alene i skogen. Når han får jobb som grensevakt, sørger det skarpe blikket hans for at han arresterer smuglere, ulovlige innvandrere og antatte terrorister i et antall som skaper panikk. Grensesang handler om lokalsamfunnet i skyggen av verdensbegivenhetene. Brandons mor er på vei inn i Alzheimers, farens melkekyr blir syke, en innflyttet massøse tar opp alt som skjer på video, en pensjonert professor brøler ut sin forakt for alt amerikansk... Et satirisk portrett, en usedvanlig kjærlighetshistorie og en påminnelse om at noen ganger kan de pussigste tilfeldigheter føre til mirakler.

L''adolescence d''un jeune garçon passionné par la biologie marine. Touchant et sensible. [SDM].

Joshua Johannssen ha pasado toda su vida entre veleros. Su abuelo los diseñaba, su padre los construía y competía en ellos; su madre, obsesionada con Einstein, sabe por qué y cómo funcionan (o no). Josh y sus dos hermanos llevan la vela en la sangre, y su patio de juegos fue el estrecho de Puget, en el estado de Washington. Pero tanto su hermana como su hermano huyeron hace muchos años: Ruby a África, entre otros lugares, para hacer buenas obras en tierra, y Bernard a quién sabe dónde en el mar, como fugitivo y pirata. Con la sensación de haber llegado a los treinta y uno de repente, Josh (que repara barcos de todo tipo en un puerto deportivo al sur de Seattle) se siente dolido y confuso por lo que quiera que fuese mal en su volátil familia. Sus padres no se hablan, su desconcertado abuelo bebe cada vez más y él mismo (pese a su incesante y cómico frenesí de citas en línea) ni siquiera está cerca de encontrar novia. Pero, cuando los Johannssen se reúnen inesperadamente para la regata más importante en estas aguas (todos juntos en un velero clásico que construían hace décadas), encontrarán sus destinos y llegarán a conclusiones reveladoras.

Het zijn zware tijden op de boerderij voor Norm. Het laatste wat hij kan gebruiken is de hulp van zijn zoon Brandon, die is niet geschikt voor het zware en ingewikkelde werk. Daarom regelt hij een baantje voor hem als grenswacht. Want dat is, op de langste onbewaakte grens ter wereld, geen veeleisende baan. Het blijkt een gouden greep. De jaren waarin Brandon weinig meer deed dan naar vogels kijken, betalen zich nu uit: geen ongebruikelijk detail ontsnapt aan zijn aandacht en hij arresteert de ene smokkelaar na de andere. Dan arresteert hij opeens iemand die verdacht wordt van terroristische activiteiten en verplaatst de war on terror zich naar dit zo rustige grensdorp. Noordgrens is een verrassende en humoristische roman die laat zien dat geen plek van de wereld zich kan onttrekken aan de grote verhalen. ''

En uforglemmelig natt sniker 13 år gamle Miles O''Malley seg ut av huset for å utforske fjæra i Puget Sound på jakt etter skalldyr. I stedet oppdager han noe svært usedvanlig: en sjelden kjempeblekksprut. Han blir straks en lokal kjendis, og hans synske venninne Florence spår at enda flere forbløffende oppdagelser er i vente - tegn på at den høyeste tidevannsbølgen på femti år er underveis. Journalister flokker seg nysgjerrig rundt gutten, som tilskrives profetiske evner. Miles er bare en tenåring som svermer for nabojenta og bekymrer seg for at foreldrene hans skal skilles og at alt han er glad i skal forsvinne. Mens havet byr på stadig nye overraskelser, sliter Miles med mysteriet det er å bli voksen.